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EddieDaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve · Framing, motion and effects

How to blur a face in DaVinci Resolve

Updated 5 stepsFor DaVinci Resolve

The short answer

On the Color page, add a node, draw a circle power window over the face, track it with the Tracker palette, then raise Radius in the Blur palette so only the face inside the window blurs.

Jump to the steps Do it in Eddie
A dense editing timeline with many layered clips in blue and purple.
Photo by Skye Studios on Unsplash

5 steps

In DaVinci Resolve

  1. 01Add a node
  2. 02Draw a window
  3. 03Track the face
  4. 04Blur inside the window
  5. 05Or use an effect

  1. 01

    Add a node

    Open the Color page, select the clip and press Option+S on Mac or Alt+S on Windows to add a serial node.

  2. 02

    Draw a window

    Open the Window palette and click the circle. Move and resize it over the face, and drag the outer edge out to soften it.

  3. 03

    Track the face

    Open the Tracker palette (set to Window) and click Track Forward, then Track Reverse from the first frame. Check the window stays on the face.

  4. 04

    Blur inside the window

    Open the Blur palette and raise Radius until the face is unreadable. The blur only applies inside the window.

  5. 05

    Or use an effect

    For pixelation, drag the Mosaic Blur ResolveFX from the Effects panel onto the node instead of using the Blur palette.

Good to know

Before you start

Note 1
Magic Mask, which selects and follows a person automatically, is in DaVinci Resolve Studio only.
Note 2
If the tracker drifts, track in shorter sections, or use Frame mode in the Tracker palette to move the window by hand on the frames where it slips.

Eddie AI

Do it in Eddie

Eddie blurs a fixed area, but it doesn't track faces, and the blur doesn't carry into Resolve.

Ask "Blur the license plate in the second clip." Blur, pixelate and fill are free, with up to 24 boxes on one clip. The box does not move, so it suits logos, plates and screens more than moving faces. It shows in Eddie's MP4 renders; in a Resolve export the area is not hidden, so redact on the Color page.

Back to Resolve

Open the edit, click Export and choose Resolve. The default is a Resolve project (.drp) that opens with the timeline built; behind the arrow is a Resolve FCPXML you bring into the project you have open with File > Import > Timeline. In the desktop app, Send to DaVinci Resolve builds the timeline in the Resolve you have running, through Eddie's script (Workspace > Scripts > Eddie AI AE).

If you imported the footage through the desktop app, the timeline points at your original camera files. If you uploaded on the web or pulled from cloud storage, it points at Eddie's proxy media: relink to those in the Media Pool with Relink Selected Clips, not to the camera originals.

Try it in Eddie freeNew accounts start with 500 free credits.
Three vertical 9:16 clips cut from one video, with captions on.

From the help center

FAQ

Questions

Can I blur a face in the free version of DaVinci Resolve?
Yes. Power windows, the Tracker and the Blur palette are in the free version. Only Magic Mask needs Studio.
Why does the blur cover the whole picture?
The blur was added on a node with no window, or the window is inverted. Draw the window on the same node as the blur.

Framing, motion and effects

More DaVinci Resolve questions

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