User Manual

Fusion Page Transform Operations Are Resolution Independent
Within the Fusion page, multiple Transform nodes operate in a resolution independent manner
relative to the resolution of the source clip. This means that if you shrink an image to 20% with
one Transform node, and then enlarge it back up to 100% using a second Transform node, you
end up with an image that has all the resolution and sharpness of the input image.
Fusion Page Resize Operations Are Not
Within Fusion there are two kinds of transform effects, the Transform node and the Resize node.
Which of these nodes you use has a dramatic impact on resolution independence.
 The Transform node always refers back to the input resolution of the clip (as defined
by the Clip Attributes) to enable resolution-independent sizing, such that multiple
Transform nodes can scale the image down and up repeatedly within the Fusion page
with no unnecessary loss of image resolution.
 The Resize node actually decreases image resolution when you shrink an image or
increases image resolution (with filtering) when enlarging. This means that the Resize
node will break resolution independence, and the resolution of the image will be fixed
at whatever you specify from that point in your composite’s node tree forward.
In most situations, you probably want to use the Transform node to maintain resolution
independence relative to the source media, unless you specifically want to alter and perhaps
reduce image resolution to create a specific special effect which purposefully degrades the
image. For example, if you want a clip to be forced to a standard definition resolution in order to
make it look like a low-resolution archival clip, the Resize node will accomplish this. Enlarging
the result with a Transform node will then perform a filtered enlargement that will look like a real
SD clip being enlarged.
Transforms from the Fusion Page to the Edit Page
All transform operations you apply on the Cut, Edit, and Color pages are resolution
independent, referring to the original resolution of the source media, so long as you don’t use
the Fusion page. For example, if you shrink an image to 20% in the Edit page (using Edit sizing
controls) and then enlarge it in the Color page back to 100% (using Input sizing controls), you
end up with an image that has all the resolution and sharpness of the original media, because
the final resolution is drawn from the original source media.
However, once you use the Fusion page to do anything to a clip, from adding a small effect to
creating a complex composition, the resolution-independent relationship of the Edit and Color
pages to the source media is broken, and whatever resolution is output from your Fusion
composition is the new effective resolution of the clip that appears in the Timeline. This means
if you shrink an image to 20% in the Fusion page (using a Transform node) and then enlarge it in
the Color page by 150%, you end up with an image that isn’t as sharp as the original because
the downconverted image in the Fusion page is effectively the new source resolution of
that clip.
Image Scaling
DaVinci Resolve has a dedicated mechanism for automatically managing the size of clips with
resolutions that don’t match the timeline resolution, and it’s separate from the Zoom transform
controls that are available for making creative adjustments to clips. This is called Image Scaling,
and it’s customizable in a few different areas.
Chapter – 9 Image Sizing and Resolution Independence 267