FilmCraft, EffectCraft or DaVinci Resolve: Where Should You Start?

For a cut-and-export video task, start with a video editor: FilmCraft or DaVinci Resolve. For an animated title or layered effect, start with EffectCraft or Resolve's Fusion page. If your team must keep editing and motion work in one Resolve project, that project requirement may decide the choice before a feature list does.

Choose by task

Work to finish	Good starting point	Trial task	Handoff question
Cut and export a short video	FilmCraft or DaVinci Resolve	Trim one 30-second clip and export it.	Does the recipient need only a playable video or an editable timeline?
Animate a title or composite footage	EffectCraft or Resolve's Fusion page	Animate five seconds and render the result.	Does the recipient need the source composition?
Edit and animate in one project for a team	DaVinci Resolve is a one-app trial; FilmCraft plus EffectCraft is a two-app trial.	Make one cut and one simple motion element.	Which exact application must open the editable project?

FilmCraft is ArtCraft's video editor and EffectCraft is its motion/compositing app. Resolve combines editing and Fusion on its own platform. The table suggests a first test, not feature parity or transfer of native projects between these apps.

Run three small trials

Use a clip you may edit and keep the original. You do not need to try all three unless your task calls for it.

FilmCraft: make one cut in a short clip, save the project, export a copy and play the exported file elsewhere.
EffectCraft: create a five-second animated title or simple composite, save it, render a copy and inspect the result.
DaVinci Resolve: make one short edit, add one motion element in Fusion, save the project and inspect the export.

For each trial, record the app version, source file, exported file, playback result and whether the next person can open the editable project they require. These are steps for *your* test; this page is not a claim that this site ran a three-product benchmark.

Existing project files

A Premiere .prproj, an After Effects .aep and a rendered MP4 solve different handoff problems. Do not rename an extension or assume an editor will open another product's native project.

The FilmCraft guide explains the exchange formats its published comparison lists and why a native .prproj is not the same as imported media. For an .aep, check the latest EffectCraft releases ↗ and test a copy in the installed version; an issue or roadmap item is not proof that stable import has shipped. A rendered video can be reviewed by a recipient without carrying the editable timeline, layers or effects.

If editable handoff is required, ask the recipient for the exact application and project format. Keep the original editor and project until a representative transfer passes their check.

Your next step

Only cutting? Try a short edit with the FilmCraft guide or DaVinci Resolve's official page ↗. Mainly animation or compositing? Start with the EffectCraft guide or Resolve's Fusion tools. Unsure which Craft App matches the task and file you already have? Use the Creative App Finder.

Sources checked 24 October 2026: ArtCraft app directory ↗, FilmCraft official page ↗, EffectCraft official page ↗, DaVinci Resolve official page ↗, EffectCraft official releases ↗.