DaVinci Resolve Old Film Effect (How to Do Under 2 mins!)

This is part of the DaVinci Resolve Effects series.

Achieving an old film effect is simple in DaVinci Resolve.

Instead of creating an old movie effect from scratch (which can be time-consuming)…

… we will quickly leverage the in-built effects in DaVinci Resolve!

Which is free as well.

Without wasting time…

Let’s dive right in!

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Here’s the normal video, followed by the old film effect version, which is again followed by the black and white version. You’ll also notice skipped frames in the old film effect version. Keep reading to know more.

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How to Make a Video Look Old and Vintage in DaVinci Resolve?

To make a video look like an old film, add the DaVinci Resolve’s in-built effect called “Film Damage” from the “Effects Library” to your video. To further give it a vintage look, remove the color of the video and make it black & white. To take it to the next level, skip a few frames. Read on to know more!

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How to Add Old Film Effect to Your Video in DaVinci Resolve?

1. Create a new project or open your existing project.
2. Under the “Edit” page, import your footage into the “Media Pool” (shortcut is “Ctrl + i” or “Cmd + i”).
3. Drop your video footage on the timeline (the one that requires old film vintage look).
4. Click on the “Effects Library” panel from the top left.
5. In the search box, type “Film Damage“.
6. Alternatively, you can also access “Film Damage” by clicking on the “Open FX” > “Filters” > “Resolve FX” > “Resolve FX Texture”.
7. Drag and drop the effect onto the video in the timeline.

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After you have dropped the effect on top of your video, the default look should be a good place for you to start the tweaking process.

How to Achieve the Old Film Vintage Effect

1. After dropping the “Film Damage” effect, click on the video from the timeline (making sure it is selected before proceeding with the next step).
2. Go to the “Inspector” (upper right hand corner), and click on the “Effects” tab.
3. Make sure “Film Damage” is enabled. (If not keep clicking on it till it’s enabled and reveals the controls underneath it.)
4. Adjust the “Film Blur” settings to make your video a bit blurry – to achieve the old film effect.
5. Play with the “Temp. Shift” and “Tint Shift” to shift your video’s overall color to a particular tint.
6. “Add Vignetting” – adjust the value to create a vignette effect (which adds dark corners to your video)
7. You can increase/decrease the dirt density, blur and seeds under “Add Dirt” settings. These are the major contributors to the old film effect.
8. By default, only one “Scratch” (a vertical line) is enabled. You can enable more if you want to achieve the look .

By clicking on “Add Scratch 2″ and checking the “Enable” box, you can add one more scratch and adjust its settings.

Playing with these settings should give you an old film vintage effect in a few mins!

You can even make the video black and white – in the next section.

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How to Create Black and White Vintage Old Film Effect in DaVinci Resolve?

After dropping the “Film Damage” effect on the video and tweaking the settings to your taste, you should head over to the “Color” page. Click on the “RGB Mixer” tab and check the “Monochrome” checkbox.

Enabling the “Monochrome” checkbox will make your video black and white. You can further tweak the black and white areas by sliding the “Red“, “Green” and “Blue” output sliders.

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You can take your old vintage movie look to the next level by removing a few frames in the middle so that it mimics the look of skipping frames – the classic old movie look.

How to skip frames for old film effect in DaVinci Resolve?

1. Under the “Edit” page, click on the video which needs the old film effect in the timeline.
2. Add “Film Damage” from “Effects Library” and tweak the settings to get the vintage movie look. (Refer previous sections for more details).
3. Now select the “Blade” tool – shortcut for “Blade” tool is “B“.
4. Choose a point on the clip and click on it. The clip will be cut – this is the starting point.
5. Press your right key a few times (to move forward one frame at a time), let’s say 5 to 6 frames forward, click on the clip again to cut – this is your ending point.
6. Now click on the “Selection” mode – shortcut for “Selection” is “A”. Select the clip which was just cut.
7. Press “Delete“. The clip will be deleted and the gap will be automatically closed.
8. Do this operation a few more times throughout the clip – based on your taste.
9. When you play the clip, it will skip few frames, thereby giving the look of a classical old movie effect.

The “Effects Library” in DaVinci Resolve has a lot of built-in cool effects – which can save you a ton of time.

Go and make your hands dirty. You’ll love what Resolve has to offer!

Related Post:

VHS Effect in DaVinci Resolve Free Version (Quick Tutorial)