7d • General discussion
3 AI Features in DaVinci Resolve 19 That Turn You Into a One-Person Studio
Meta Description: Discover 3 game-changing AI features in DaVinci Resolve 19 that replace expensive VFX teams. Learn professional techniques from colorist Qazi.
AI Isn't Taking Your Job—It's Making You a Full Studio
There's a lot of fear around AI in the creative industry. Colorists worry it's coming for their jobs. Editors panic about automation. But professional colorist Qazi, who's worked with Adidas, Amazon Prime, and Universal Studios, has a different perspective: AI isn't replacing you—it's turning you into a complete production studio.
In this guide, you'll discover three killer AI features in DaVinci Resolve 19 (updated to version 19.2.3) that used to require shipping footage to VFX teams in different time zones, spending tens of thousands of dollars, and missing deadlines due to communication gaps. Now? You can do it all yourself in minutes.
Welcome to the future of cinematic color grading workflow—where one person with the right tools can compete with entire post-production houses.
AI Feature #1: Magic Mask 2.0 for Object Replacement
The Old Way: Expensive and Slow
Imagine a client says: "We shot this commercial with red shoes, but we need a version with green shoes for a different market. Can you change the color?"
Traditional workflow:
- Ship footage to a VFX team (often overseas)
- Wait for them to rotoscope the shoe frame by frame
- Deal with time zone differences and communication gaps
- Pay thousands of dollars
- Wait days or weeks for delivery
- Hope the quality is good
Cost: $5,000-$15,000 and 1-2 weeks
The New Way: Magic Mask 2.0
With the updated Magic Mask 2.0 in Resolve 19, here's the workflow:
- Select the object - Click on the shoe with Magic Mask 2.0
- Refine the selection - Use subtract mode to remove unwanted areas (like the sole)
- Let AI track it - Hit play and watch it track perfectly through the entire shot
- Color correct - Match the new color using hue, saturation, and luminance adjustments
- Refine edges - Use grow/shrink and blur to blend naturally
Time: 5-10 minutes
Cost: $0 (included in Resolve)
Quality: Professional-grade results
Pro Tips from Qazi's Workflow
- Turn off "Legacy Object Mask" - Make sure you're using the new AI engine
- Use the add/subtract workflow - Click to add areas, subtract to remove unwanted selections
- Grow your mask slightly - A small expansion (1-2 pixels) helps with edge blending
- Match texture, not just color - Use denoise sparingly to maintain natural texture
The result? A shot that looks like it was filmed with green shoes, ready to apply your creative look from RapidGrade or Qazi's Toolkit.
AI Feature #2: AI Depth Map for Selective Background Grading
The Problem: Controlling Depth Without Complex Masks
You've created a beautiful grade, but the background highlights are too hot. You want to pull them down without affecting your subjects. Traditionally, this meant:
- Drawing power windows around people
- Tracking those windows through the shot
- Dealing with edge artifacts
- Spending 20-30 minutes per shot
The AI Solution: Depth Map Magic
DaVinci Resolve's AI Depth Map analyzes your footage and creates an automatic separation between foreground and background based on depth information.
The workflow:
- Enable Depth Map - Turn on the depth map in your qualifier
- Invert the selection - Select background instead of foreground
- Adjust near/far limits - Push the near limit to exclude your subjects
- Add blur for natural feathering - Smooth the transition between foreground and background
- Grade the background - Use lift/gamma/gain to adjust only the background
Real-World Example: Moody Background Treatment
Before: Bright, distracting background competes with subjects
After: Subjects pop with rich color while background recedes with cooler, darker tones
Time saved: 15-20 minutes per shotQuality: Smooth, natural-looking separation with no visible masking
Pro Technique: The Magenta-Blue Background Shift
One of Qazi's signature moves:
- Use depth map to isolate background
- Pull down gain (highlights) by about 0.25 stops
- Add magenta and blue in the gamma to create separation
- Adjust red and warmth to taste
This creates a beautiful split-tone effect where subjects feel warm and present while backgrounds recede with cooler tones—a hallmark of cinematic look development.
AI Feature #3: Ultra NR (Noise Reduction) for Clean, Cinematic Images
The Noise Problem Every Colorist Faces
You're grading underexposed footage.
You lift the shadows to proper exposure and suddenly—grain, noise, and "gunk" everywhere. Your beautiful grade looks amateurish because of ugly digital noise.
Old solutions:
- Spend hours learning complex noise reduction settings
- Use third-party plugins ($200-$500)
- Send footage to a noise reduction specialist
- Accept mediocre results
The AI Solution: Ultra NR
AI Ultra NR in Resolve 19 is almost too easy:
- Find it - Go to Motion Effects > Noise Reduction > Mode > AI Ultra NR
- Click Analyze - Let AI find a noisy area and a clean reference patch
- Done - That's it. Seriously.
The results are stunning:
- Cleans up shadow noise without destroying detail
- Maintains natural texture in skin tones
- Works in real-time (on M2 Ultra and similar hardware)
- Gives you a clean canvas for your creative grade
The Professional Workflow
Here's how Qazi integrates Ultra NR into his DaVinci Resolve color grading workflow:
- Balance the shot - Convert from log, lift exposure, remove color casts
- Apply Ultra NR - Clean up the noise AI introduces when lifting shadows
- Create your look - Apply your grade knowing you have a clean base
- Add film grain - Use real 35mm grain from Qazi's Toolkit for organic texture
The philosophy: Let AI remove ugly digital noise, then add back beautiful film grain. You control the aesthetic, not the camera's sensor limitations.
Why This Changes Everything
From Specialist to Generalist
These three AI features mean you no longer need to be just a colorist. You can:
- Handle VFX tasks (object replacement)
- Create complex compositing effects (depth-based grading)
- Deliver clean, professional images (noise reduction)
You're not just a colorist anymore—you're a one-person post-production studio.
Speed = Competitive Advantage
In commercial work, speed is money. When you can deliver in hours what used to take days or weeks, you:
- Win more clients
- Charge premium rates
- Take on more projects
- Build a reputation for reliability
Quality Without Compromise
The best part? These AI tools don't sacrifice quality for speed. The results are professional-grade, often better than what traditional methods produced because:
- AI doesn't get tired or make mistakes
- Tracking is frame-accurate
- Results are consistent and repeatable
The Future Is Already Here
As Qazi emphasizes, we can't cry about what AI is taking away. We need to embrace what it's bringing to us. These tools democratize high-end post-production, making techniques that were once reserved for big-budget productions available to anyone with DaVinci Resolve.
The colorists who thrive in this new era won't be the ones fighting AI—they'll be the ones mastering it and using it to deliver results that were impossible just a few years ago.
Master AI-Powered Color Grading
These three AI features are just the beginning. Inside QazVerse, you'll learn how to integrate AI tools into a complete professional workflow, combining them with techniques like gamma-first color correction, one-click looks from RapidGrade, and the business strategies taught in the Freelance Colorist Masterclass.
You'll also get access to exclusive production footage to practice these techniques, weekly custom looks, and monthly live Q&A sessions where you can ask Qazi directly about implementing AI tools in your workflow.
Tags: DaVinci Resolve AI features, Magic Mask 2.0, AI depth map, Ultra NR noise reduction, QazVerse, Qazi colorist, DaVinci Resolve 19, AI color grading, cinematic color grading workflow, Freelance Colorist Masterclass, RapidGrade, Qazi's Toolkit, professional color grading, VFX replacement, one-person studio, AI post-production
1
0 comments
3 AI Features in DaVinci Resolve 19 That Turn You Into a One-Person Studio
powered by
skool.com/the-color-grading-vault-3449
Your Complete Color Grading Knowledge Base. QazVerse
Suggested communities
Powered by