Kdenlive Tutorial for Beginners

About this video

A beginner Kdenlive tutorial covering editing basics and color grading in the free, open-source editor. After downloading from kdenlive.org and matching project settings to footage (shown as 4K UHD at 23.98 fps), it explains the project bin, dragging folders in, and using ProRes proxies — enabled in Project Settings > Proxy, generated for clips — for smooth playback, with originals relinked on export and proxies toggled off for grading. Timeline work covers project vs clip monitors, setting in/out points with I/O, trimming edges, ripple, slip and spacer tools, cutting with Shift+R (Ctrl+Shift+R for all under the playhead), Shift+9/0 to trim to playhead, dissolve compositions/transitions, title clips, inserting tracks, grouping/ungrouping clips, deleting camera audio, and fading music/text with corner handles. For color, it applies a technical LUT to convert log footage to Rec.709, warns exposure clips easily, prefers gamma for base brightness, uses Bezier curves for an S-curve contrast and for filmic saturation (saturation channel makes colors darker), adjusts white balance for green-magenta and temperature while checking skin tones on the vectorscope, then copies/pastes effects to other clips. Export is via Project > Render, setting an in-zone, choosing MP4 H.265, and queuing jobs.

Key takeaways

• Enable ProRes proxies in project settings and generate them for all clips to fix choppy 4K playback; toggle them off for color work and export relinks originals
• Use I/O in the clip monitor to insert only the needed section, and learn ripple, slip, and spacer tools alongside basic edge trimming
• Key shortcuts: Shift+R cuts a highlighted clip, Ctrl+Shift+R cuts everything under the playhead, Shift+Delete closes the gap, Shift+9/0 trims to the playhead
• Convert log footage first with a technical LUT to Rec.709, then grade: gamma for base exposure, Bezier curves for contrast and for saturation so colors darken naturally
• Render by setting the zone with I, choosing Project > Render (e.g., MP4 H.265), and adding multiple jobs to the render queue

Episode details: published November 9, 2025 · 23:56 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Kevin Stratvert’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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