DaVinci Resolve Fusion Tutorial: Custom Particles

[@TuhinBhai]

Please upload more fusion tutorials regarding motion graphics, thanks.

[@wonderfullymade9903]

Thanks so much. Will come back again and again till I get a hang of this.

[@jacquelinelmiller]

This is so awesome, absolutely jam packed with information. Truly amazing. The final results are so impressive, and so many cool things can be built using these options. Thank you very much for taking the time to put this together.

[@chanruzzi]

Astonishing work with particles and expressions! It's a very nice change of pace from the trend-tutorial-waves that are all the same these days, It would be awesome to learn more, thanks for taking the time to explain and share it with us ! :)

[@johnrobert201]

Simon, just what I was looking for, Thank you

[@César.Tejada]

Excellent Tutorial !! Thanks to you today a learned something new about particles. In the Id example how you control the spacing of the particles?

[@jamaljamalwaziat1002]

Thanks alot simon. High quality content

[@michaelgarske662]

This is great! Thanks for sharing.

[@antonim84]

Excellent tutorial ! Thanks you .

[@strange_composites]

amazing tutorial, soooooo useful info

[@AbrEvig]

Excellent stuff!!!

[@krystofkalina3882]

Hi Simon! Thank you for this! This is my day 1 in Fusion and I've already stumbled upon such gold. This is exactly what I want to learn and do in the long run.. so thank you so much for this. However as I am real noob, I struggle on how to incorporate this in to my shot? May I ask you if you could direct me towards some tutorial on how to add this into a scene? Like set camera, lighting, finalize it and add it? Sorry for such a question, I dont want to waste your time, but my search attempts failed so far. I really just got into it today and it`s 2am here in prague and I am like after 11hours Fusion marathon... So mb thats why I can't find it, actually. :-D All the best. Thanks again and Good night.

[@3DCOR]

great tutorial, thank you

[@andrewray7102]

Thanks, this looks great! If only Fusion had a better zdepth blur, I would completely switch. But a lot of the stuff I do heavily relies on cinematic depth of field which is why I'm stuck with AE and Frischluft. I heard there is frischluft for Fusion as well, but it seems it's slow and I don't think it will work with the free version. Anyway, great work! Thanks for Sharing!!!

[@Rebelismo]

If Fusion supported deep then I'm sure that Peregrine Labs would release it's Bokeh plugin for it. Honestly, even if they didn't release it with deep support, I'd still buy it. It's actually really strange to me that there are so few choices for good z-depth blur plugins for non-Nuke users. Frischluft is really the only thing that's out there, and the last mention of Lenscare 2.0 was in 2015.

[@andrewray7102]

I hoped for a better zdepth blur standard solution. Nuke's zdepth blur is great but I don't like TheFoundry. I really hope BMD will add a better plugin, it seems it's something users have been asking for, for a while now. Other than that, Fusion looks great.

[@SimonUbsdell]

Have you tried remapping the Z depth to 0-1 and using it as the Effect Mask for the Defocus tool? It's a much better solution than the Depth Blur tool with much more photorealistic results ...

[@andrewray7102]

Thank you for chiming in, Simon! I haven't tried remapping the Z depth, actually I'm not sure how to do it :) I'll look for some tutorial, but I haven't seen one specifically so far. The thing I'm missing the most when it comes to control the focus, is the ability to fine tune the iris, like I can do in Frischluft or in Nuke's Zblur. Changing the look of the iris by tweaking its ratio, border thickness/brightness, adding noise, is what makes the DOF similar to the real in-camera solution. I'd love to see this option in Fusion. Hope that someday it will become available! :)

[@SimonUbsdell]

I'll try to do a tutorial on this some time soon. It's not as good a solution as Frischluft in terms of fine tuning the effect but it's worth knowing how to do this anyway, since the remapping trick is useful for a lot of different purposes.

[@MakeWeirdMusic]

Yes, please more tutorials!

[@nssdesigns]

This is excellent! Please tell where to go for more tutorial on Fusion 9 and especially expressions...

[@SimonUbsdell]

I've got load more Fusion tutorials on this same channel - you can find them here: kzbin.info/aero/PLeZvvhzFi_ZxQaF4u5D_YqqM6_nf974rP

[@nssdesigns]

@@SimonUbsdell I'm plodding through them one by one... really hooked on your keyer 4.5 and what platforms it works on? FCPX? Motion?

[@zyzo99]

Thank you for this tut, more would be welcome ;))

[@zainalkaf3353]

hi amazing tutorial! can i make every individual particle be triangle or square or hexagon?

[@SimonUbsdell]

Yes, you need to set the particle source to Bitmap and then you can choose anything you like.

[@zainalkaf3353]

@@SimonUbsdell thank you so much :)

[@fornepal1394]

Please make more videos qbout fusion

[@Hunselmann]

Hi Simon, thanks a lot for this tutorial. Is there any chance to replace every single particle by an individual bitmap or even jpeg? Im just thinking about using the particle emitter to generate kind of a flying gallary.

[@alexx191]

Hi - I love this. Are the project files available somewhere else, now? Cheers

[@SimonUbsdell]

Thanks. You need to copy and paste the link into your browser now because KZbin has changed the way that links are handled.

[@paulmeesters]

I can't get this tutorial to work. It seems the id property of a particle is no longer a sequence number. So the column and later the grid of particles can no longer be constructed like this any more. I have no clue how to fix it :(

[@bramswaneveld3143]

Hi, Im new in Fusion. I work wit Fusion Studio 17/ At 1.48 i don't see the particles (vertical) in the grid. What am I missing in this? With regards, Bram

[@ELPLAK]

Great tutorial. On fusion 16 particles still moving even with no velocity. I have tried a lot but I can't make them freeze. Any idea?

[@shemnamo772]

Great Tutorial Simon!! Do you know how to add fluid dynamics to Fusion's 3D particle system using the pCustom tool? Thanks, Shem Namo

[@conradtheeditor]

Fascinating! Would it be possible to achieve a similar effect in Motion using either a particle emitter or replicator, I wonder?

[@SimonUbsdell]

I think the difference is that Fusion lets you precisely target the positions of individual particles whereas the best you can do in Motion is to push them around in a much less specific, more general kind of way. One could use a replicator and a sequence replicator behavior to begin to emulate the particle grid effect but you'd never really get close to what you can do in Fusion.

[@edwardnixon1782]

I'm coming here from a short time with TouchDesigner and Max/Jitter. I'm wondering if there's a way of connecting these custom node parameters to the audio side of Resolve? I don't suppose the software is purpose built for audio-reactive experimental video, but I thought I'd ask just the same. Very helpful for someone surveying the possibilities and planning workflow. Thank you.

[@SimonUbsdell]

Try this: www.steakunderwater.com/wesuckless/viewtopic.php?t=496

[@jpsunchase7165]

Hi Simon, how to remove banding (onion rings) from hotspot node, take the one in your project file for example? Adding a blur node doesn't seem to help.

[@SimonUbsdell]

Add grain. Always add grain. It's the only way. It defeats the compression.

[@syinyjuan93]

I really wish you left the picture in the description.

[@Fuzzycuffsqt]

very nice!

[@djjohnnybravo]

Thank You Simon, im just amezed :) this is really great tutorial for me, i'm going to fusion a little from aftereffects but mostly im working on blender and davinci and some work with motion graphics need faster render than on blender and i sterted lerning fusion. so all custom changes in motion of particles You made by putting exclussive expressions and to be honest i dont know the language to even imagine any of those expressions so... in blender for example there a lot of similar ways to do it but for certain effects i can use different nodes(from animation nodes addon). is there any other way around in fusion to do those kind of motion graphics effects without "pcustom" node? in some more intuitive use of nodes? i know that pCustom gives endless pasibility but for my level of knowlage is almost usless :( without certain programing language and gigantic math knowlage) can You Advice me a little how to approach that ? thank You in advance! cheers!

[@SimonUbsdell]

You'd be surprised at how easy expressions actually can be. Maybe have a look at my introductory tutorial to Fusion expressions and see if that helps: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6nImoKqjpychtE Once you understand a few basic concepts the rest is all about experimenting - and that's the fun part!

[@ironmikeharrington]

Johnny Bravo no programming or math needed really....it is extremely simple. If you put in 1 it will go up 1. If you put in r1 then it will take the value of red in the input1. If you wanted to double that it would be r1*2. If you wanted to use the alpha value use a1. It is very basic math and expression. If you want to make a simple 1 click node...set it up once, assign inputs and make a macro.

[@djjohnnybravo]

+Simon Ubsdell yeah i have seen that. is there any commands list ? to lern from ?

[@SimonUbsdell]

Have a look at pages 498-503 of the Fusion 9 Tools Manual which has a list of expressions and operators and some tips on how to use them.

[@theLoRenZo2221]

What I understood is that the position/ color is cascade calculated upon time ( right Simon ? ) . Am new to Fusion ( and to 3D things in general ) and am just fascinated by the power of those tools . With just a basic level in Math you can understand how to interact with particules in animation . ... ;-)

[@opheosmedia7809]

Lovely

[@antstock13]

Cool Dude, I can't get the download to play, but I'm simple, am I missing summat? Cheerz

[@Troebal]

Is there such a thing as a Fusion expression reference document?

[@SimonUbsdell]

Try around page 500 of the Fusion 9 Tools Manual PDF: documents.blackmagicdesign.com/Fusion/20170801-677839/Fusion_9_User_Manual.pdf

[@RussDnB]

Is it possible to create a particle grid that looks like this, in Motion? My next question would be, and can those particles move up and down with sound/music?

[@SimonUbsdell]

I'm afraid this sort of thing is just not possible in Motion - you can't do a 3D displacement of anything.

[@RussDnB]

Simon Ubsdell Dang! Seen loads of 2D projects (and watched yours earlier), shame a 3D solution can’t wangled somehow. Thanks for replying btw. Loving your toots

[@SimonUbsdell]

Here's a test that does something similar - if you don't look too closely you might imagine it's 3D: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWqsfWqFqqmZgc0

[@ABlackbirdCalledSue]

Hi Simon - are you certain id starts at 1? In my findings it actually starts at 2. I also touch upon this in one of my tutorials (unleash the power of particles). Would be interesting to see if it's a local/config issue or something else. If you set an emitter to emit 5 particles for frame 0, and then have the px as id, and py as 0 and pz as 0, does your first particle start at 1 or at 2? Mine (both in Fusion 8 and 9) starts at 2.

[@SimonUbsdell]

Ah, yes, you are absolutely right. My mistake. I watched your tutorials on this some time ago and thought I remembered that you'd said it was an offset of 1 ... put it down to too much festive indulgence, sorry :(

[@ABlackbirdCalledSue]

Not to worry :-) I just wanted to verify.... I've always been mystified by the numbering scheme of the particle system!

[@SimonUbsdell]

Yes, it doesn't quite make sense, does it? I assumed that it was numbering from 1 upwards rather than zero upwards ... but neither of those seems to be right.

[@ABlackbirdCalledSue]

Indeed! You know what's even more weird? Try changing the sub-frame accuracy and see what happens!

[@SimonUbsdell]

I just wanted to add a big thank you for your really useful and informative tutorials - I've learned a lot from them.

[@SansP3ur]

Is there a way to apply an image to a particle (as a sprite)?

[@SimonUbsdell]

Yes, in the Style tab of the pEmitter node (that's the one with the paintbrush icon) choose Bitmap for the Style and then you can pipe your image (or video) into resulting input. The input doesn't appear until you select Bitmap for the Style.

[@SansP3ur]

@@SimonUbsdell :: TY!

[@antstock13]

I downloaded the project file but I can only play back around a 100 frames, if I set the frames to anything else, the project plays back at 1.7 secs a frame, it's driving me mad coz my task manager shows that the ram being used is around 20 %, I can't find anyway around this, any ideas? Thanx

[@SimonUbsdell]

Try increasing the RAM allocation in your Fusion Preferences/Memory. (Or simply render out a movie file that you can watch in a movie player.)

[@antstock13]

@@SimonUbsdell I've tried increasing the ram to 90% to no avail. It still won't play back at the set frame rate, after I watched the tutorial, you explaining the concept, I saw the potential of using black and white images for my own music vids, but as soon as I get busy with the program it slows to a stop, I've been on forums and some people have double the ram I have, plus more powerful GPUz, and they have grief, I'm at a loss to get around this, it's so damn frustrating:-(

[@SimonUbsdell]

@@antstock13 I can appreciate that you want to see a RAM preview, but really you're getting hung up on something that you can easily work around. Simply render out a movie and watch that instead if you need to see the whole thing. Keep rendering till you're happy. This is a complex particle project that will tax most machines - you can't expect extended RAM previews to work, I'm afraid.

[@antstock13]

@@SimonUbsdell Thanks, I was thinking that I may need to plan my scenes and maybe create shorter files then edit them together, the particles in Fusion are pretty cool considering their free, Rome wasn't built in a day, thanks again.

[@ringkunmori]

What is the difference between Intermediate and set up?

[@ABlackbirdCalledSue]

Hi - I think you asked this on the BMD forum too? Not sure if you saw my answer, if not: main difference is that the setup expressions are calculated once per frame, and the intermediate expressions once per frame per pixel.

[@ringkunmori]

Thank you. I actually didn't notice your answers there. I apologize, I had difficulties with navigating the website

[@thestackermarkus8469]

Which pc do you use ?

[@SimonUbsdell]

Early 2009 Mac Pro

[@thestackermarkus8469]

thanks

[@obilodotcom]

Hello Simon, thanks for the tutorial. The final result looks beautiful but. As someone like me who followed the tutorial, you really did a dis-service. Listen to yourself at 4:44 ...."little bit of lights, cameras, some extra particles...very very simple". Is that simple? You might be a pro at fusion, but honestly, how can you think that lights, cameras, and extra particles should not be demonstrated? I know you provided the project file...but if you're going to make a tutorial, please, its important to take it step by step, and dont assume your viewers know how to set up "cameras, lights, and extra particles". If we did...we would not even be watching this video. Sorry to sound this way...but its frustrating when a tutorial leaves you halfway and assumes you know how to do it.

[@SimonUbsdell]

I'm sorry you feel that way. This is one of a series of tutorials looking at the potential uses of specific Fusion tools, in this case custom particles. It is aimed at users who know the basics of Fusion and it was not meant to show you how to build a complete scene. If you need to know more about the basics of setting up lights and camera, can I suggest you begin with my introductory tutorial: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpiqqomMq7WWm6c and kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqPEYZ2IqLqJqKs

[@obilodotcom]

haha. okay. Well, now I'm following through the videos you suggested...and i'm on the part 2 of the intro (Fusion Reactor). I've definitely learned a lot from you...thank you.

[@jay4kk]

Who should watch this video? Anyone that's has any interest in manipulating digital images...