Out of Focus Video Fix - Repair blurry camera footage | Fixing focus in post tutorial (free soft)

Fix Your Blurry Videos: bit.ly/3xLvDaw
In this video we'll be fixing a missed focus using free and powerful video editing software.
Davinci Resolve free download - www.blackmagicdesign.com/prod...
You're Sharpening Video Wrong by Nathan Carter - • You're Sharpening Vide...
Davinci Resolve Reference Manual -documents.blackmagicdesign.co...
CHAPTERS
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00:00 - Intro
01:18 - Step 1 Initial sharpening
01:48 - Enlarge preview
02:22 - Step 2 Switch color space
03:49 - Step 3 Add mask
04:36 - Step 4 Blur originally in-focus objects
05:28 - Before and After (final result)
06:13 - Conclusion
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Text version:
Once You've installed Davinci open new project and drop Your video onto the timeline. Now head to Color page.
Here switch to Blur tab. We have three controls here: Radius, H/V Ratio and Scaling.
We need to play around with Radius and Scaling. Lower the Radius until out-of-focus object looks sharp enough, but not too oversharpened. And then adjust the effect sliding the scaling.
By the way, You can disable gallery and clip windows, so You have more space for Your video. And use ctrl + or command + for macs to scale viewer. It can also be done by using percentage controls at the top on the left.
Great. Now we have turned our video into old style VHS. A lot of noise and color noise and the parts of image that were in focus are now oversharpened. Let's solve this.
Remember that blur controls had three channels each? Red, green and blue? Thing is, when using sharpening, we're applying it to all three color channels, that brings in the color noise.
What we can do, is to switch the node we're working with to LAB color space and turn off AB channels, so now our manipulations only affect L channel - lightness.
There's still some noise and sharpening artifacts, that make our video look way too artificial. Let's move to Color wheels tab and lower Midtone detail parameter.
What it does - is softening those parts of image with low details, staying away from high detailed parts. Unlike using traditional blur, we're keeping our edges in tact, while dealing with noise and adding more natural look.
Don't set midtone detail too low, as it would make an object look flat and plastic.
Let's deal with oversharpened objects. Solution is simple - adding mask in window tab. In Davinci You can easily create masks for moving objects, using tracker feature, but to keep this tutorial short I'll use a simple circle static mask. The only thing I'll do is adjusting it's shape and feather to make it look a bit more like a real focus.
Now the only thing left is blurring the objects that were originally in focus, thus adding more depth of field. Of course, it's nowhere near as optical depth straight from a camera, but to my mind, looks better than a completely flat picture.
To do this add new node by pressing alt+S (option+S for mac). Select previous node, return to window tab, select mask and copy it by using copy window in three dots menu. Get back to new node and use the paste option in the same menu. Now invert the mask by pressing this button. And finally add some blur by increasing radius in the blur tab.
And that's it.
This method will make Your footage usable in most cases.
If there's an extreme bokeh, for example, when Your main object is really close to the camera or when Your camera has a shallow depth of field - then Your only option may be filming a new video. But I hope it's not Your case :)
If this tutorial was helpful - please, give this video thumb's up.
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Music used in video:
Sleepy Fish - I Main Samus Now chll.to/2b9882dd
Sleepy Fish - Fireworks Festival chll.to/1e0386d4
WEI, Luke Otwell, jacuzzi jefferson - Backseat chll.to/c133c0b7

[@dylanevans5644]

This methodology ended up looking excellent. Quick tip in case you don't know it: rather than copy/pasting the mask, you can right click any layer with a mask and select 'Add>Outside' and this will add a node with the opposite mask. Iirc it also tracks the first node and adjusts accordingly.

[@NickBorodenko]

Happy to know this tutorial was useful. Thanks for the tip. I've completely forgotten about this method. And it really saves time. Pinned your comment, so more people can see that.

[@dylanevans5644]

@@NickBorodenko So easy to forget the odd thing here and there. I note I should have written "node" instead of "layer".

[@LewganAirsoft]

Saved an interview I shot for a documentary. Never trust the 3 inch LCD even with expanded focus, get a monitor. Thank you so much.

[@rain_raii]

You are god sent, Nick. My film mentors saw my footage and were like "ur cooked" and that we'd have to cover up the whole interviewee with b-roll and i was upset because i really wanted her face. i came in this morning and applied the method and it workedddd!!

[@DanielGomes-ru3df]

the fact that you have time stamps and a text version of your tutorial, you are a really great teacher! thank you!!!

[@NickBorodenko]

Thanks for watching and Your comment! P.S. Sry for not answering in time. As I am situated in Kharkiv - we are caught in the middle of war actions.

[@DanielGomes-ru3df]

@@NickBorodenko omg... no worries in replying, hoping you are safe!!

[@ColtonBeckwith]

Wow, that's magic... I can't believe how underrated this guy is!

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thank you so much for this video! A clip I was hesitant to use in a video of mine I now feel confident enough to put in because of this technique! Very great!

[@musicandscience6807]

Amazing tutorial, thanks Nick!

[@NickBorodenko]

Thanks for watching!

[@Niarfor]

AWESOME! Thank you so much for making this video!

[@tomadventure3370]

Great tutorial. Thanks Nick! I've had these issues far too many times on my Sports Card Unboxing channel, and these tips are a lifesaver. SUBBSCRIBED!

[@NickBorodenko]

Glad I could help, Your support means a lot, thanks!

[@Epirus_Music_Lab]

love your humor. Thanks for the tips!

[@AmandaPittman]

This helped a lot. Thank you so much.

[@kokerbeatbox]

Very Helpful. Thank You SO MUCH! I would also add that you can set specific point of video when you want to sharpen moving object using tracker function.

[@MayankPhotography]

u r the best tutor on youtube

[@user-yl3sj1vr8w]

Thank you ! you save my project!

[@eric-seastrand]

Great tutorial and creative use of resolve! Subscribed!

[@NickBorodenko]

Thank You!

[@UNPRECEDENTEDPICTURES]

Wow! So helpful. Thanks so much. What great results!

[@brandonh3375]

Well done tutorial Nick!

[@NickBorodenko]

Thank you for support!

[@magitekguitarfacility]

You're a life (and time) saver bro 🙏

[@gonggamfilm]

Thank you ~ 감사합니다~!! 큰 도움이 되었습니다~

[@princeamu]

good job. Thanks

[@mioscwobiektywie-fotografi8257]

OMG I LOVE YOU! Thanks for saving our footage boss 💪💪💪

[@NickBorodenko]

Thank you for your comment 🙂

[@AlexTylerMeyers]

THANK YOU!!

[@sergioguerrero7613]

So useful, thanks a lot

[@NickBorodenko]

Thanks for stopping by

[@Ranger7Studios]

NICE! Thanks!

[@MobbJusticeTV]

Very useful. Thank you

[@NickBorodenko]

Thank you for stopping by!

[@RKAlapana]

explained nicely it was helpful to me

[@NickBorodenko]

Glad it helped 👍

[@punkyproductions5153]

You made my day ... thanks a lot

[@NickBorodenko]

Happy to be of help 👍

[@Marck948]

Obrigado

[@DavideSans]

thank you for save my life

[@golg892]

Champion... thank you

[@NickBorodenko]

Thank you for your support!

[@LucaDePazzi]

Thanks a lot! Saved me a lot of time =)

[@NickBorodenko]

Glad the video was helpful!

[@diegocb08]

Thank you!!

[@NickBorodenko]

Thank you for watching and leaving a comment!

[@ibrahimyusuf2018]

Awesome

[@ianbrittainphotography4351]

Wow! Thank you so much, this has helped me to salvage a wedding vows video for a client, as the video I recorded was not great. At least now, I have been able to grab a fair few decent stills and managed to restore focus to the happy couple during the service. My only question is, how do you save the video once you have applied all the changes please? Great tutorial, very thorough and easy to follow. Bless you

[@NickBorodenko]

Thank you for the feedback! Happy I could help. To save the video navigate to deliver tab (the one on the right at the bottom), configure export settings in the left side panel, click Add to render queue in that panel. And after that - ckick Start render on the right.

[@SuperJamesus]

This was great right to point tutorial, you saved my bacon on a job I messed up. Thanks 🙏

[@NickBorodenko]

Glad the video helped!

[@enriquegomez6135]

It's easier than it looks. I found learning soft design (like setups - I use SERUM) much more scary but it's doable, you just gotta be

[@daniloco]

you saved me bro!

[@NickBorodenko]

My pleasure 👍

[@cooptownmedia]

Great Job! Really! I got one for ya - image stabilization was on but should have been off. The subwoofer/low frequencies cause the device to react and cause a breathing effect?

[@NickBorodenko]

Hey there! Thanks for the kind words and for sharing your issue. Fixing this might be quite challenging, but you could give DaVinci Resolve's stabilize feature a try to help with the focus breathing. Just keep in mind that it could cause some weird distortions in the video.

[@oliviarussell6835]

Hey! Thanks for the helpful video. Quick question- What if shot only quickly goes out of focus a few times throughout the clip? Is there a way to fix just that segment without it effecting the entire clip?

[@NickBorodenko]

Hi! Just cut that parts of videos both at the beginning and end in Davinci on the Edit page to make it appear as a clip on the Color page. After that go to Color page (make sure Clips panel on top is active) - select the blurry clip You have previously cut and follow the steps in this tutorial. If You have multiple segments out of focus - cut all of them. And after You've finished with fixing one segment on Color page simply select all nodes with mouse - copy (ctrl+c / cmd+c) them - choose next blurry clip and paste nodes (ctrl+v / cmd+v).

[@AbhishekSingh-bx4cn]

Can we do it for iphone out of focus videos

[@Hazardteam]

This guide is good! But let me remind you that: You _have_ 2 more tools to fine-tune the sharpening.

[@NickBorodenko]

CHAPTERS --------------------------------------------------- 00:00 - Intro 01:18 - Step 1 Initial sharpening 01:48 - Enlarge preview 02:22 - Step 2 Switch color space 03:49 - Step 3 Add mask 04:36 - Step 4 Blur originally in-focus objects 05:28 - Before and After (final result) 06:13 - Conclusion

[@vanyapetrova234]

Hi, thanks for the tips. The only problem that i have is color space. I dont have this falling menu.

[@NickBorodenko]

Hi, thank you for watching! This issue seems strange. You could either skip this (if there's not much color noise) or alternatively you can add two color space transform nodes (from Library on the right side inside the Color tab) - one before the nodes from the tutorial and one after. In the inspector of the first color space transform choose Lab as output color space. In the inspector of the second color space transform choose Lab as an input color space. That will have the same effect as changing individual node's color space, but for all the nodes in-between two color space transforms.

[@annonymat]

You just saved my clip!

[@NickBorodenko]

Glad to help!

[@annonymat]

@@NickBorodenko I had a multi camera shoot and my interview partner kept creeping forward really slowly, so I didn’t see it until I viewed back the footage 😅 melt time I will bring a hot glue gun to stick someone’s shoes on the ground 😂 (not actual advice)

[@NickBorodenko]

👍 🤣🤣🤣

[@IceveinsProductions]

2:45 - I'm confused - when I first lower the radius the blur is reduced but then when I remove the channels, it completely reverts the blur reduction.

[@NickBorodenko]

Please make sure, you've switched the node to LAB color space. And after that remove channels 2 and 3 only. Channel 1 should remain turned on. This way blur/sharpening affects only the luminance channel. Sorry if that moment in the tutorial was confusing.

[@IceveinsProductions]

@@NickBorodenko Ok thank you!!

[@IceveinsProductions]

Nick, do you do video enhancements for people? I'm tired of trying to sharpen clips and fix the lighting on my face in 2 of my videos and want to just pay someone to fix it for me.

[@NickBorodenko]

Hi! Yes, I do. Please, send me a link to the video to [e-mail] - I'll see what I can do.

[@IceveinsProductions]

@@NickBorodenko Great!! What will the cost be?

[@NickBorodenko]

I generally charge a per hour rate. But as both of us don't know if I can enhance the footage up to the point it looks ok until I start working on it - I suggest the following. You send me the footage, I tinker with it to see what I can do. Afterwards I'll send you the result and if you like what you see - you can pay whatever you deem appropriate. If you don't like the result - well, no problem and no expenses.

[@IceveinsProductions]

@@NickBorodenko Ok brother I just emailed you both vids with instructions in the email

[@panagiotismauropoulis8368]

gjjjj nice video it helped me a lot

[@audinakurniawan6895]

Whats link ?? Can you share with me??

[@craftingwithpaula]

thanks, I downloaded it and it says it doesn't support mp4 files. Isn't it supposed to work on Mac? strange.

[@NickBorodenko]

Hm, that's really strange. Do that mp4 files play normally in preview or any video player? Davinci should be working fine with all the kinds of mp4 unless those are corrupt. Davinci Resolve is compatible with both MacOS, Windows and Linux. There's bow even a version for iPadOS. In the tutorial I use .mp4 files from a Sony camera and Davinci Resolve for Mac.

[@craftingwithpaula]

@@NickBorodenko I always use this kind of files and I know it’s not corrupted because I have edited them. They also from my Sony camera, so I just don’t get it. Anyway, I erased it and I’m using something else. Thanks again

[@NickBorodenko]

Thank you for sharing. Sorry I couldn't help you solve the issue. Hope that another software won't let you down.

[@toddkorolphoto]

Great video, but you never finished the final steps, how do I flatten the mask so it's not there anymore after I am done?

[@NickBorodenko]

If you want to make the edges of the mask less noticeable, you can adjust the mask's feather by dragging the corresponding line outside of the mask edge. If you are referring to what needs to be done after following the steps in the video, you should switch to the 'deliver' tab, select the output format, and render the video.

[@toddkorolphoto]

@@NickBorodenko Thank you.

[@IceveinsProductions]

Question - I spent 30 minutes shooting video narration for a KZbin project only to find out my shirt is drenched in sweat and it looks really distracting. Is there anything I can do about that in Resolve?

[@NickBorodenko]

Well, that depends on the color of the shirt. If shirt has a different color than the rest of the image I would suggest trying to tinker with curves: hue vs saturation and hue vs luminance to make sweaty and normal parts of the shirt more even. And maybe add just a tiny bit of blur to the shirt. If not - you can select shirt using a color picker (or smart mask) and make adjustments with color wheels or curves to even the shirt - but this will be harder to do than the first option.

[@NickBorodenko]

Another option I can think of is dramatically changing the overall image style (except for your face and skin). A bit of blur/lowering midtone details and a creative LUT (matte or something like that), for example.

[@IceveinsProductions]

@@NickBorodenko Interesting, thank you let me play around with that! It is a gray, really thin cotton shirt and it was soaked with sweat which is really aggravating after all the time I spent on it.

[@anabelvazquez4263]

Do you know how to do this without distorting the video and audio? When I try this and play it back the video and audio are choppy.

[@NickBorodenko]

Choppy playback after following the steps in the tutorial in Davinci Resolve is normal, because this fix is resource intensive and puts a lot of stress on your computer. A smoother playback may be achieved by lowering the playback resolution, using render cache and/or proxies. Anyway, when you export the video by going to the Deliver tab - it should play without issues.

[@ruthfurman6953]

Hey! Would love to email you to fix a shot. It is pretty crucial to my plot, and it’s just soft focus on the edge of the bills - a lot of online resources tell me there’s no way to salvage out of focus footage .. I could pay ya

[@NickBorodenko]

Hey! Could you please send me a link to the footage? [e-mail]

[@user-ob5bs6fv5h]

What is the name of the software application for the repair of the poor camera footage...

[@NickBorodenko]

To increase video quality you can use something like Video2X (free) or Topaz video AI (paid). After that depending on the clip issues you can make additional fixes in Davinci Resolve.

[@jasingyang4944]

I'm already struggling on the first step which is uploading my mp4 video

[@NickBorodenko]

Might be a codec issue. There is a limitation in a free version - no support for 10 bit mp4 (h.264 or h.265). You can either transcode to 8 bit mp4 of 10 bit ProRes/DNxHR using software like Handbrake or ffmpeg.

[@shawnLisi]

Ok not sure what's going on with my camera. So was filming a wedding their first dance. Everything behind them meaning guest is in good focus but the couple is out. I was using auto focus I'm trying this solution but only helping a little unfortunately my second shooter missed this as well so this is my only camera

[@NickBorodenko]

Sorry to hear that. I am afraid, it's not that much more you can do if the focus is way too off. Maybe try using some free AI video upscalers/enhancers - that might bring out a bit more information for Davinci to work with. But I don't think, that it will dramatically influence the result. Sadly, autofocus can be a real lottery sometimes. P.S. As an example, I have just found out, that some Sony cameras disable wonderful eye-tracking autofocus if you are shooting 4K and have camera Bluetooth control turned on - and do so without any notifications.

[@shawnLisi]

@@NickBorodenko Thanks for the information where can I get upscale/enhancers?

[@NickBorodenko]

Free ones are usually on GitHub. Video2X and Real-ESRGAN are two, that I am aware of. You can also check AI tools library for creators at library.phygital.plus There's a built-in basic upscaler in Davinci as well. P.S. I hope this helps, but, frankly speaking, the chances are low.

[@ncafamilyvlogs6398]

Hi sir can you help me to solve my case. My road bike was stolen and then the thief capture the town CCTV, but the problem is the copy was blurry coz he is fast approaching and when we stop or pause the video its the same its blur. Sir plss help us i will send the videos in your email and to your Facebook thanks in advance.

[@NickBorodenko]

Please send the link to footage to [e-mail] - I'll see what I can do.

[@vmkoz]

camera blurry while focusing. how to turn this off?

[@NickBorodenko]

If I got your question right: it is completely normal for blurry image during the autofocus process. If you mean, that camera keeps loosing focus - than it's probably not enough contrast/light for autofocus to work, or camera can't decide which object it should focus on. If that's the case - try switching to manual focus or specifying focus point for the autofocus.

[@feeltheblank7357]

everybody could find the curve tool, I could not. Please help me

[@NickBorodenko]

Curve tool for masking or the curve tool for color control?

[@feeltheblank7357]

@@NickBorodenko Thanks for replying! I want to find the curve tool for adjusting the focus. I have a de-focussed video.

[@NickBorodenko]

As far as I know, there is no curve tool to adjust focus in Davinci Resolve. You can use blur/sharpen tool sliders located inside Color page (which I show how to use in the video). Alternatively if you have a studio version of Resolve, you can add Sharpen effect from the Effects tab both on the Edit and Color pages - I recommend adding those on the Color page, so you have more control over the effect area by using masks.

[@feeltheblank7357]

@@NickBorodenko Thanks!

[@brandonhowarth2402]

Its the blurred videos, out of focus videos pictures that are out of focus, blurred out, audio you cannot hear or its silent? Like text, picture quality, zoom, auto focus and new function features you used? How long they last on products, but most of all is storage, a websites to copy videos to unblur unfocus videos photos and silent hard to hear audio in videos? Url copy videos to unblur, out of focus videos pictures? That's all, maybe comments later if i get to around september to December-2023-or-2024-+😮

[@NickBorodenko]

🤯

[@dmvideoproduction8459]

I think you need Adobe audio enhancer for your audio

[@NickBorodenko]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately Adobe audio enhancer wasn’t released yet back when I edited this video. Room acoustics wasn’t great and I’ve made the sound worse by placing mic too far. I’ve improved my audio quality since, but anyway I am sincerely grateful for pointing out the issue.

[@ClassicCyclingCC]

Well done but that’s a lot of work in post. I think I would just reshoot the entire clip.

[@NickBorodenko]

Agree, and with all that work you're still getting not an ideal result. If you can reshoot the entire clip (and it won't take too long) - that's 100% a better option.

[@pystol7778]

Damn, it looked so good at 5.55 and then you messed it up. But thanks, I think I might be able to make use of your tutorial.

[@NickBorodenko]

Fair enough. I've used a simple mask to keep tutorial short and usable in the free version. By using magic mask and/or depth map in DR Studio version you can achieve a less artificial look.

[@gloriabeacon1813]

Color page no longer allowed in the new DaVinci Resolve 18 so screw it, not interested. They lost a customer.

[@NickBorodenko]

The color page is definitely available in Davinci Resolve 18 - both in free and paid studio versions. Sure, some features are missing in the free version, but it doesn't matter for this tutorial.

[@abertoparaconferencia]

I didn't understand half of this video, i'm just reshooting this shit