To hand off multicam audio as an AAF from DaVinci Resolve on Mac, first expose the required source channels in the delivery timeline, then flatten a duplicate and export with the Pro Tools preset. Check each channel before sending the package.

This workflow is for an editor who needs to deliver separately editable microphone recordings to a sound editor. It uses Blackmagic’s documented Resolve 20 export procedure and explains the channel options introduced in Resolve 19.1, 20 and 21. Menu availability depends on your installed version; the version distinctions below matter.

Which multicam audio setting preserves the channels you need?

Start by identifying how the multicam was created. Blackmagic documents different ways to represent its audio, and these settings determine which source tracks you can access before export.

Version and setting Documented behavior Handoff implication
Resolve 19.1: Use source audio channels Makes the source angle’s individual tracks and channels accessible, using the source track format. Disabling it places multicam audio on an adaptive track. Inspect the channel assignments rather than judging the contents by the number of visible tracks.
Resolve 20: Reference Audio/Angle 1 Uses the first audio-only angle as the reference, or the first angle when no audio-only angle exists. Check that this reference contains the recordings required for delivery.
Resolve 21: All Angles Includes the audio tracks from every angle when creating the multicam. Useful when the handoff requires audio recorded across several cameras or recorders.

These distinctions come from the official Resolve 19.1 New Features Guide, Resolve 20 New Features Guide and Resolve 21 New Features Guide.

The Resolve 21 guide gives a concrete example: four audio tracks on angle A plus five on angle B make nine tracks available with All Angles. That documents availability inside the multicam. It does not establish that exporting an existing, differently configured edit will automatically recover those nine tracks. Treat creation settings and delivery preparation as separate checks. Resolve 21 New Features Guide, page 72.

Build a channel checklist before changing the timeline

Create a short inventory of what the recipient should receive. Use source filenames and channel numbers alongside readable track names. This gives you something concrete to compare against the imported AAF.

For example, suppose a synthetic demonstration recording contains four mono channels. The following is an illustrative delivery plan, not a description of Resolve’s automatic mapping:

Source channel Recording Intended delivery track
1 Guide mix Guide Mix, if requested
2 Microphone A Mic A
3 Microphone B Mic B
4 Room microphone Room Mic

If the sound editor requests the three individual microphones, a delivery containing only the guide mix fails this checklist even when it sounds complete. Conversely, four visible tracks are insufficient evidence if all four play the same source channel.

Choose a representative test passage where the microphones are easy to distinguish. Listen to each intended delivery track separately and record its assignment. Include a passage after an audio-angle change if your edit contains one. This listening check is an editorial recommendation: it helps detect repeated mappings that track names alone can conceal.

Expose the required channels, then flatten a duplicate

On supported source-channel multicams, inspect Audio Configuration in the Inspector’s File tab. Resolve also provides alternative mono-channel selection through the timeline clip’s context menu, with Command plus right-click offering direct access. These controls select channels available from the source angle; they do not mean every other angle has been added to the edit. Resolve 19.1 New Features Guide, pages 16–17.

For a Resolve 20 reference-audio multicam, Command plus right-click similarly accesses underlying channels in the reference audio angle. Check that angle before assuming a missing microphone is unavailable. Resolve 20 New Features Guide, page 56.

Prepare a separate timeline occurrence for every recording that must remain independently editable. Where you duplicate an existing mono audio edit onto another mono track, assign the intended alternative source channel and listen again. Keep the original timing and duration, and give each track an unambiguous name. This is a preparation strategy derived from the documented channel-selection controls.

If the needed recording belongs to another angle or is absent from the accessible channel list, return to its original source. Resolve 21 documents Clip > Match Frame to Source Clip as automatically finding the underlying source of a multicam or compound clip. Use it to identify the selected source, then reconstruct missing audio against the edit’s timing and verify synchronization. It is a source-location tool, not a documented command to expand all unused recordings. Resolve 21 New Features Guide, page 72.

Once the channel checklist is satisfied, duplicate the timeline. Select the multicam clips in the delivery copy and choose Clip > Flatten Multicam Clip. Blackmagic explains that flattening replaces multicams with their active angles and removes the ability to switch to alternate angles in those flattened clips. This is why flattening alone cannot serve as an instruction to recover every microphone. The Editor’s Guide to DaVinci Resolve 20, page 213.

Export the prepared timeline with the Pro Tools preset

Blackmagic’s Resolve 20 training guide documents this export path:

  1. Open the delivery timeline and switch to the Deliver page.
  2. Select the Pro Tools preset in Render Settings.
  3. Set the output destination with Browse beside Location.
  4. In the Audio tab, select Linear PCM for uncompressed WAV audio.
  5. Set the required frame handles and choose Add to Render Queue.
  6. Render the queued job.

The preset generates an AAF and associated media. Deliver the package together. The Editor’s Guide to DaVinci Resolve 20, pages 548–553.

Use a dedicated output folder so the generated files are easy to identify. Agree on the sample rate, bit depth, handle duration and reference-video format with the recipient before rendering. These are delivery choices; the training guide’s example settings are not universal requirements.

If the recipient requests a reference movie with visible timeline timecode, the documented controls are Workspace > Data Burn-In and Record Timecode. Check that the movie and AAF cover the same edit. The Editor’s Guide to DaVinci Resolve 20.

Calculate handles from the actual frame rate

Handles provide additional material around an edit. When the export control asks for frames, calculate the value from the requested duration rather than copying a number from another project.

For an illustrative five-second handle at exactly 24 fps, enter 120 frames: five multiplied by 24. At exactly 25 fps, five seconds requires 125 frames. These are arithmetic examples, not recommended minimums. For fractional frame rates, agree on a suitable whole-frame value with the recipient, and check the available source material at recording boundaries.

Keep editable channels distinct from bounced audio

Fairlight’s bounce and audio-file export tools serve a different delivery task. Blackmagic documents that bouncing creates a new audio file, and its Export Audio Files workflow can export bounced mixes as multichannel files. Those operations are useful when the recipient requests rendered tracks or mixes. The Fairlight Audio Guide to DaVinci Resolve 20.

For this AAF handoff, use the channel checklist to decide whether a bounce is appropriate. If the recipient needs to adjust Microphone A and Microphone B independently, replacing them with one combined recording would defeat that requirement. If a processed reference is useful, label it separately and explain what it contains.

Verify the AAF by importing it and listening

In a fresh Resolve project, choose File > Import > Timeline and select the exported AAF. Blackmagic’s training guide uses this reimport procedure to inspect the exported timeline. A successful Resolve reimport is a useful local check; also arrange a test in the receiving application. The Editor’s Guide to DaVinci Resolve 20, pages 608–613.

Compare the import against your checklist:

  • Solo each required microphone and confirm that it plays the intended recording.
  • Check the opening, a middle passage and the ending against the reference movie.
  • Inspect audio-angle changes and reconstructed sections closely.
  • Extend a test clip boundary to check the available handle material.
  • Confirm that every required media file accompanies the AAF.
  • Note any deliberately rendered processing or omitted guide tracks.

If a channel is missing, return to the prepared delivery timeline and inspect its source assignment. If the correct channel is present but plays at the wrong moment, inspect the reconstruction and synchronization. Changing export settings cannot substitute for correcting the audio represented in the timeline.

If the edit is in Adobe Premiere instead

Premiere has its own AAF controls; do not search for those labels in Resolve. Adobe’s current instructions use File > Export > AAF and recommend enabling Breakout to Mono for Pro Tools. This renders new mono audio and splits stereo clips into left and right tracks. Export AAF files.

Adobe also documents Separate Audio, Broadcast Wave, Trim Audio Files and Handle Frames. Separate audio preserves more metadata than embedding, and Broadcast Wave can include iXML metadata. Merged clips are unsupported and must be unmerged before export. Adobe identifies compatibility with Avid Media Composer and Pro Tools while stating that other AAF importers have not been tested. Preserve those boundaries when planning a handoff. Adobe’s AAF export documentation.

Finish the handoff when the imported package contains the requested recordings at the correct positions, with usable media and clearly identified channels. Keep the editable multicam timeline alongside your delivery copy so later picture changes can be prepared without rebuilding the original edit.

Sources