LEARN TO ISOLATE BACKGROUNDS WITH THE DEPTH MAP IN DAVINCI RESOLVE

Natalie Barnard introduces her workflow for creating powerful colour corrections

- Natalie Barnard

Depth Map is a powerful tool used for isolating parts of your image based on their distance from the camera. It's a great alternative to hand-drawn windows or Magic Masks, and is all thanks to DaVinci Resolve's neural engine.

In this first tutorial of our two-part exercise, we'll use Depth Map to apply colour corrections to the background of an interview shot. Make sure you check back next issue for our second workshop, when we'll build on the work we've done here by using Resolve 18.5's brand new Relight effect to add three-dimensionally accurate virtual lighting on the interviewee, which matches the new colour of the background we're creating here.

If you would like to follow along with this exercise as we go, the media that we're using is freely available for download at filmeditingpro.com/freefootage.

01 CHOOSE THE RIGHT TOOL

Before starting off, consider whether the shot will work well with the Depth Map effect. If the scene is cluttered or the subject is moving, then other Neural Engine tools such as the Magic Mask might be more suitable.

02 FIND THE DEPTH MAP EFFECT 

Add the Depth Map Open FX effect to your node tree, which you'll find in the Effects tab. You can apply it to an existing node by double-clicking, or create a new node by dragging it into your node tree. If you drop the effect on an existing connection in your node tree, Resolve will automatically connect it.

03 DEPTH MAP PREVIEW