Using The Surface Tracker for Color Grading – Part 1

Part 1: Using the Surface Tracker Resolve FX as a Power Window

Resolve 18’s new surface tracker tool is a great way to place logos, paint out imperfections, and do other VFX tasks on dynamically moving and warping surfaces. But what you may not realize at first – is that it is also a fantastic tool for isolating and tracking things for color grading tasks, where a simple power window isn’t getting the job done.

Key takeaways from this Insight

By the end of this Insight you should understand how to:

• Understand the difference between using an OFX on it’s own node or on a corrector node, and how it pertains to the surface tracker.
• Using the surface tracker to generate a mask based on a dynamically deforming surface
• Adjusting the matte made by the surface tracker and using it to drive other corrections
• Using the surface tracker to dynamically warp a power window you’ve drawn’ to match a moving surface

UPDATE, November 2022: DaVinci Resolve 18.1 changes the behavior of OpenFX inputs on serial nodes, as demonstrated in the video for this Insight. More details on this new behavior can be found in my Insight, New Little Features Packing A Punch in DaVinci Resolve 18.1.

Related Mixing Light Insights

• Digging Into The ResolveFX Surface Tracker (For Retouching) – Resolve 18’s Surface Tracker combines a multiple-point tracker and a warper in one tool. Learn how it works while prepping a retouch job.
• ResolveFX Surface Tracker Part 2 – Executing Beauty Work Within Fusion – In Part 2, Igor Ridanovic leverages the stabilization work of the new Surface Tracker plugin to execute beauty work on the Fusion page.

Questions or Comments? Leave them below!

Is this Insight useful to you? Let us know! Mixing Light is all about community discussions and we’re curious if you found this helpful, if you have something to add, or if you have more questions you need answered?

– Joey