Guide
Find B-roll faster in DaVinci Resolve.
Resolve can search media you’ve imported. For everything else, there’s a panel.
In short: In DaVinci Resolve, use IntelliSearch for media imported into the open project. For B-roll on other drives, open the Sift panel from Workspace › Scripts, search your whole library by description, and import to a bin, append to the timeline or place at the playhead.
No editor needed. Sift works on its own as a desktop app on Mac and Windows: search, preview, build Selects and share footage by link without opening an editor. The editor panels are optional.
Step 0: use what Resolve gives you
Resolve 21 added IntelliSearch, which searches dialogue, faces and visual content in imported media after downloading models and analyzing the clips (per Blackmagic Design and Larry Jordan; see our comparison). If your footage is in the project, try it.
When to add Sift
- B-roll lives on drives you haven’t imported yet.
- You want to search past projects’ footage without opening them.
- You want to name a person once and find them everywhere.
- You also cut in Premiere and want one library.
How placing works in Resolve
From the panel you can import clips and folders into bins, append selections to a timeline, or place clips at the playhead on available tracks. Placement is not Premiere’s ripple-insert. Imported clips are filed under Sift › Footage, matching your folders; Selects groups from the app arrive as bins.
Compatibility, stated plainly
Sift’s Resolve panel has been tested with DaVinci Resolve Studio 18.6. We haven’t verified the free edition or newer versions, so try it on your own setup during the free trial before you buy.
Step by step.
- Add your drives in Sift
Index the folders that hold your B-roll.
- Install the panel
In Sift, Settings › Editing apps installs it. Open it in Resolve from Workspace › Scripts › Sift.
- Search and pick
Type the shot. Check the moment on its card.
- Import or place
Import to a bin, append to the timeline, or place at the playhead.
Questions
Does Sift work with the free version of Resolve?
It hasn’t been verified. Only Resolve Studio 18.6 is tested. Use the free trial to check on your setup.
Does it work with Resolve 21?
Not verified yet. Only Studio 18.6 has been tested.
Is it a Resolve plugin?
It’s a panel opened from the Workspace › Scripts menu, with the search itself running in the Sift app.
Does it cost extra?
No. Both editor panels are included in the license. Free for 3 days or 25 searches. No card.
Updated 2026-10-22
Keep reading.
Try it on your own footage.
Free for 3 days or 25 searches. No card. Then $99 a year for one computer, Mac or Windows. Everything in Sift, including the optional editor panels and one free link to share footage.