DAVINCI RESOLVE
Software specialist Natalie Barnard returns to teach you how to correct lighting errors in your Resolve projects
This exercise will be a continuation from our previous tutorial in the last issue on isolating backgrounds using the Depth Map. In this part we’ll use the Relight effect, introduced in DaVinci Resolve Studio 18.5, to analyse a scene so that three-dimensionally accurate virtual lights can be added. If you’re not sure what we mean yet, then keep on reading.
Thanks to the Relight effect we’re able to correct lighting mistakes that were made during the production process, or in this instance enhance an existing look with additional virtual lights. Even though Relight is computationally intensive, render caching means you’re still able to enjoy smooth playback in your timeline.
In the shoot our interviewee has been lit with a high contrast ratio, so the key is bright and the fill dark. The goal is to reduce the lighting ratio by adding a virtual fill light. Additionally, we’ll use the background colour as motivation to add a hue to the fill light.
WATCH THE VIDEO To see a video version of this tutorial visit youtu.be/h9U3rrvGa40, or follow the QR code.
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01 ADD RELIGHT EFFECT
From the Effects tab, you can add the Relight Open FX effect to your node tree. You can apply it to an existing node by dragging it onto the node, or alternatively if you drop the effect onto an existing connection in your node tree, Resolve will automatically create a new node that already has the appropriate connections readymade for you to work on.
02 RELIGHTING MAP PREVIEW
By default the Relighting Map Preview is shown. The Open FX Overlay in the viewer shows the location of your virtual light. Areas of the image that will be affected by the virtual light are shown in white, and areas of the image where your virtual light casts a shadow, the parts of the image that it will not affect, are shown in black.
03 EXPERIMENT WITH LIGHT POSITION
Take a moment to move the light around your scene and see how the Relighting Map is affected. The circle affects the light’s distance from the camera, while the star controls the light’s location. For us, it’s obvious that the Relight effect has correctly understood the 3D layout of the scene.
04 LIGHT TYPES
There are three types of virtual light that can be applied to your scene. Firstly, the Directional light is positioned outside of the frame, and as a result can be set up with less falloff than the P
