Well before Resolve had become a competitor to Premiere Pro for its editing capabilities, it was (and still is) a world-class color grading software. Likewise, its tracking features have always been outstanding, if not one of the best. However, with the introduction of the Resolve 17 beta, they’ve now included a new tool that improves the capability of the tracking, making it incredibly easy. It’s called Magic Mask.
With the neural engine, we’ve seen several new features added to Resolve over the past year. The latest such feature is the Magic Mask. This new tool allows you to isolate one or more people within your composition by applying nothing more than paint strokes to the person. With the Magic Mask, you can either generate a mask for the entire person or switch the operation to focus on a specific feature-from the arms to the person’s shoes. And, yes, this does suggest that this Magic Mask is to be used on humans only.
The Magic Mask is being applied to the man in the image. So, let’s have a look at how you use this tool. On the color page, you’re going to find a new icon titled Magic Mask. When you click that, you’ll see this new panel. Ultimately, there’s nothing wholly new about this area as it’s remarkably similar to other elements within Resolve. The Mask Finesse panel, for example, has near enough all the same settings you’ll have for HSL qualifications and power windows.
To apply a Magic Mask to a person, you simply add a stroke to the person you want to mask. Now, you might think that it’d be beneficial to apply a really long stroke, so the software is registering more of the person, right? Well, as noted in the reference manual, very long paint strokes aren’t usually that useful and can be counterproductive later on when you’re trying to track strokes to follow motion in the clip. This is particularly true if a stroke needs to follow something changing shape as it moves, like an arm. While you can make as many strokes as you like, fewer strokes actually work better.
With the stroke added, I recommend turning on the mask overlay to see where you stand with the mask. In general, I think it’s going to do a solid job from the base stroke. However, if needed, we have the finesse tools to refine your mask. As I previously stated, you can ind many of the finesse tools elsewhere in Resolve, so I won’t repeat basic information on these settings. But, if you’re entirely new to Resolve and find yourself watching this video, I will say (for the most part), you’re going to want to be dealing with the denoise, the clean black and white, blur radius, and of course, the radius of the mask itself, which can be controlled by the radius slider.
Once we’ve applied the tracking, we can make one final pass over the mask to see if we need to refine the selection. Suppose you find that there’s a section that’s being masked and you don’t need it masked. In that case, you can also paint a subtractive stroke (colored red) over parts of the image that isn’t the person, or feature you’re isolating, to correct any problems you see in the generated mask. Additionally, if you feel like it’s not correctly picking up (for example) an arm when the character moves, you can add a stroke. But, again, I suggest not using too many strokes. Not only is it going to slow your system down, it’ll likely confuse the software. We can also add feature strokes for more refined mask choices.
To do this, we simply swap over to the Features tab, then select the appropriate feature. In our case, we’re going to select a face, then add another feature for exposed arms. Every time you add a new feature, it adds a layer in the Magic Mask panel. This follows the same general principles as the person mask. First use the finesse tools to refine the mask selection. In this particular shot, we have two people with similar skin tone values. Typically we’d have to pull a skin tone qualification, then mask out the woman to isolate her. Of course, the qualification isn’t just one step. So maybe that’s a few minutes of work, then the mask is an additional step. The Magic Mask quashes that process into a simple tool.
Due to the neural engine, the Magic Mask is perfect to analyze and correctly isolate human features against backgrounds that have similar elements, whereas this would be difficult to separate using the qualifier. However, it doesn’t mean that this is the tool to replace the qualifier and power windows. The Magic Mask doesn’t have soft translucent mask edges and, depending on the complexity of the movement and detail of the shot, it may not be precise enough to replicate that of intensive rotoscoping. However, for what it is, the Magic Mask is about to make a number of isolation grades incredibly easy to perform.
As a side note, I noticed that my computer’s performance became sluggish after applying the Magic Mask. Usually I can play graded 4K files with no issues, but with the Magic Mask active on a node, I could only obtain 10-15fps. Whether this is because the tool relies on the processing from the neural engine or because R17 is still in beta and this feature is not yet fully developed is a mystery to me (at the moment). However, as always, we’ll keep you updated with any new advancements.
In 2016, Blackmagic invited me to attend a DaVinci Resolve retreat in Manchester, England. The idea of the retreat was to showcase DaVinci Resolve’s new editing capabilities, because in 2016, it wasn’t necessarily known as a capable NLE. And it did just that. However, one thing I didn’t really see myself using was using the masking tools in the Color Page. As an avid user of Adobe After Effects, if I ever needed to mask anything I felt like I would be doing it in a compositor, not in color grading software. Little did I know just how much of a rookie mistake that was. Masking in DaVinci Resolve is not only essential for precise and intricate color grading, but the tools are also incredibly powerful.
In 2020, with the release of DaVinci Resolve 17, Blackmagic added a new tool powered by its AI Neural Engine: The Magic Mask. Recently, it received a significant update with AI Magic Mask 2 in DaVinci Resolve 20, and many of the original parameters from Magic Mask V1 have become somewhat obsolete due to how well Magic Mask V2 works. I say “somewhat” because there’s still an option to use the legacy tools. So, let’s have a look at how to use the legacy version first.
There you have it - we’ve covered the core ways to mask in DaVinci Resolve. In DaVinci Resolve, we typically isolate, as opposed to mask, an area or element of the image from the rest of the image to apply color correction. If you’re looking to incorporate more motion graphic elements into your DaVinci Resolve workflow, check out the Storyblocks library, which offers hundreds of DaVinci Resolve templates to speed up your editing process.
- Legend: Magic Mask icon on the color page
- Stroke-based masking method
- Mask overlay and finesse tools for refinement
How To Easily Use Magic Mask In DaVinci Resolve
Key Takeaways
- Magic Mask leverages neural engine to isolate humans or features with paint strokes
- Finesse tools and feature-based masking enable refined isolation without extensive rotoscoping
- Performance may vary; hardware and Resolve version influence framerates
- Legacy and AI Magic Mask 2 coexist, offering progressive improvements
| Aspect | Magic Mask Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Initial release | Magic Mask (Resolve 17) | Neural Engine-powered masking |
| Major update | AI Magic Mask 2 (Resolve 20) | Smarter, faster; fewer refinements |
| Traditional method | Legacy tools | Still available for reference |
The Magic Mask is being applied to the man in the image. This new tool allows you to isolate one or more people within your composition by applying nothing more than paint strokes to the person. With the Magic Mask, you can either generate a mask for the entire person or switch the operation to focus on a specific feature-from the arms to the person’s shoes. And, yes, this does suggest that this Magic Mask is to be used on humans only.