DaVinci Resolve is a professional software that comes with a range of effects and features. To further expand its functionality, I use third-party DaVinci Resolve plugins to speed up task completion and improve the quality of my projects.
Plugins allow me to automate a variety of tasks and spend less time on making some basic correction or work with batches. Using dedicated tools, creative effects, and transitions, I can optimize my editing workflow and perform color grading more quickly.
Using color LUTs and presets, I give a cinematic feel to my footage. Other presets allow me to remove noise, perform video stabilization, and remove flickering. There are plenty of third-party plugins that improve video editing software’s functionality, including false color and gridlines plugins.
Price: $299/year or $449 lifetime, free trial
Features:
Dehancer is the OFX plugin suite for DaVinci Resolve that allows me to perform color grading and give my footage a film effect. It comes with a collection of effects that can be configured according to a user’s needs.
I use free DaVinci Resolve plugins to enhance my footage by applying a variety of effects, including film grain, film damage, halation, bloom, film breath, gate weave, overscan, defringe, and vignette. They allow me to transform the atmosphere of my footage and add some depth to my scenes.
The Bloom effect is the most useful for my needs, as it enables me to transform my scenes in a few clicks. I can customize it to add some glow to my footage and give it a retro feel. The Halation effect adds a slightly perceivable red glow around light sources. Besides, it enables me to add highlights and recreate the halo effect that can be seen in footage taken with film cameras.
Using the set of tools available in with Dehancer Pro, I add digital elements to my footage while maintaining its natural look. Users can also purchase standalone effects for a budget price.
Price: $99.90 (for 1920x1080) or $179.90 with no size limit, free trial
Features:
Neat Video is an advanced plugin that will come in handy to those who need to minimize visible pixel noise, flicker, and grain to ensure that footage has an immaculate feel. It allows for removing imperfections when editing footage taken with video cameras, phones, drones, and other devices.
Thanks to the noise profiling method and advanced algorithms, this plugin is extremely effective when it comes to noise removal. It allows users to leverage the power of their CPU and GPU to achieve and solve resource-consuming tasks more quickly.
For instance, when I needed to add drone footage to a short film, I used this DaVinci Resolve plugin to clean aerial shots and ensure that they were free of noise and flicker. Neat Video enabled me to enhance my footage and seamlessly blend it with other segments. I did not need to use any third-party noise reduction software.
Price: $149, free trial
Features:
FilmConvert Nitrate is an excellent plugin for those who need to make their footage look as if it was shot on a film camera. One of the things that I like the most about this solution is that it supports a variety of camera brands. Regardless of the camera model I use, it allows me to maintain the consistency of style and quality.
Using this plugin, I give my footage a vintage feel. Nitrate utilizes a LOG image processing pipeline, which enables me to preserve the full dynamic range of my video when performing color grading. FilmConvert Nitrate is equally useful when I need to enhance high-contrast scenes and add subtle color transitions, as it enables me to highlight details without quality loss.
The Halation feature allows tracing the light coming through to create a realistic halation effect.
Price: $495/year, free trial
Features:
Sapphire stands out for its collection of over 270 visual effects, 3000+ presets, and many other overlays and effects. With it, I can add a lens flare, insert transitions, fix distortions, and fix lighting. The Sapphire plugin DaVinci Resolve also supports intuitive tracking and masking. The Academy Award-winning Mocha feature enables me to track various elements and enhance them with the help of excellent effects.
By applying the presets to my footage, I make it more engaging for my target audience. Regardless of the video genre I work with, Sapphire has everything I might need to make my projects look like professional movies.
Sapphire has time-saving tools for adjusting video quality and render speed, which enables me to allocate more time to creative tasks and make my videos more visually appealing.
Price: Free
Features:
Reactor for DaVinci Resolve is an innovative open-source solution that helped me use third-party effects and plugins more efficiently. Created by the We Suck Less developers, this DaVinci Resolve Reactor plugin enables me to access a variety of free templates, scripts, fuses, and macros. Due to this, I can apply a range of effects, create custom scripts, and streamline my workflow using professional templates.
For instance, when I needed to create a music video, I discovered a collection of transitions in the in-built library that helped me improve the quality of my edits. I quickly installed them into DaVinci Resolve and was able to start using them right away, which helped me optimize my workflow.
What makes Reactor different from the rest is that it has the Optional Donation feature that enables me to donate to the authors when I use their plugins and content.
Price: $295.00/year, free trial
Features:
Mocha Pro by BorisFX is an excellent power for DaVinci Resolve that stands out for its advanced functionality and enables me to apply a range of visual effects to my projects. Thanks to it, I have changed the way I perform compositing. Mocha can be used as a standalone solution or as a plugin for DaVinci Resolve and other similar software.
What makes Mocha Pro different from other similar solutions is the fact that it supports advanced planar tracking. When I was producing a sci-fi short film, this plugin enabled me to track the moving spaceship and add a variety of effects that improved the quality of my footage.
Mocha Pro also comes with other excellent features and supports rotoscoping, object removal, and PowerMesh tracking. The Remove Module tool enables me to automatically delete unwanted objects and align pixels without spending hours on these tasks. It enables me to quickly get a professionally edited video. Using VFX tools, I configure false color settings, perform lens calibration, work with stereo 360/VR audio, use a 3D camera solver, and perform other tasks.
Price: $48, free trial
Features:
After using False Color, I can conclude that it became an important tool in my workflow, as it allows me to perform color grading at a professional level. Using it, I learned more about the brightness distribution and improved my footage by balancing the exposure levels.
For instance, when I need to enhance a short movie shot in a poorly lit environment, DaVinci Resolve free plugins enable me to fix issues with underexposed areas. Due to this, I improve lighting and achieve a more balanced effect.
Another advantage of False Color plugins is that they enable users to export their preferred settings as a LUT and then apply them to other projects, which streamlines film production. False Color also supports a variety of customization options, which enables users to add transitions, apply grayscale effects, and perform other tasks.
Price: $199
Features:
Beauty Box has fully transformed the way I perform skin retouching tasks and apply digital makeup when working on my projects. Regardless of the type of video I need to create, it’s one of the best DaVinci Resolve plugins for situations when I need to improve the appearance of my actors and models with little to no effort.
For instance, when creating materials for a fashion campaign, I used this skin smoothing app to enhance the complexion of the models. The application enables me to give my footage a professional feel in a few clicks without making my models look unnatural.
One of the things that I like most about Beauty Box is that it enables me to maintain the realistic feel of the skin texture while making it smoother. Due to this, my content does not look overly edited, which allows me to keep my footage authentic.
Price: $169.95, free trial
Features:
I often use De:Noise, as it allows me to give my footage a cleaner look and enhance the quality of my content. Regardless of the style of the video that I need to edit and its intended use, De:Noise is suitable for delivering consistent results of high quality with little to no effort.
For instance, when I needed to create a short clip and use footage shot in low-light conditions, I used these plugins for DaVinci Resolve to remove any sign of grain without affecting the details. It allowed me to ensure that the actors’ faces and costumes were perfectly visible. Thanks to the plugin’s intuitive UI and high rendering speed, I applied and adjusted the noise reduction effect in no time.
One of the main advantages of De:Noise is that it enables me to reduce noise without making my footage blurry. Due to this, my videos have a clean look even if I shot them in difficult light conditions.
Price: $16.58/mo, free trial
Features:
Red Giant Universe includes 89 plugins suitable for those who prefer to utilize video editing software with no watermark like DaVinci Resolve. It’s available through a subscription, which allows users to access a variety of tools and improve the quality of their clips and motion graphics. The plugins included in this collection are GPU-accelerated. They allow users to stylize images, generate text, add transitions, apply sound effects, add glitches and glows, give footage a vintage feel and perform other tasks.
When creating a marketing video for my clients, I used the effects available in Red Giant Universe to make it more dynamic by adding transitions, enhancing specific shots with the help of effects, and adding motion graphics elements to make the video more engaging.
Due to the integration of Red Giant Universe and DaVinci Resolve, I apply a variety of effects and see which of them is more suitable for my project. It allows me to select the best option for the final edit.
What I like about Red Giant Universe is that it has many uses and is quite intuitive. It enables me to select the most suitable style for my projects and apply a variety of effects without mastering new technical skills.
Price: $29.99, free trial
Features:
Magic Animate is an excellent plugin for DaVinci Resolve created by Mr Alex Tech. It facilitates the creating of superb animations without wasting a lot of time and effort. Magic Animate comes with a variety of tools and presets that help me to fully transform my footage and give it a professional feel.
For instance, Magic Animate is invaluable when I need to add seamless zoom transitions, improve the pacing, and fix various issues with my video. The integrated presets enable me to speed up my workflow. By customizing them to my liking, I can adjust them so that they perfectly match the client’s style and branding.
Magic Animate comes with a set of animation tools for controlling every aspect of your projects with high precision. It allows me to decide how my animations will be shown. Besides selecting start and end positions, I can adjust animation curves to achieve the effect I need.
DaVinci Resolve plugins allow video editors and other professionals working with color to improve their content by making it more appealing and achieving a consistent look.
If you take a look at the variety of available plugins, you will see that Dehancer Pro has powerful capabilities, as it enables users to fully transform the mood and atmosphere of their films, adjust settings, optimize their workflows, and produce pro-level content.
When using Dehancer Pro, I was able to access a variety of tools and effects to implement my creative ideas. They are suitable for making subtle edits and fully transforming the style of a video. The plugin opens a range of editing opportunities, due to which I do not need to switch to third-party software or install other plugins.
