When you’re putting the finishing touches on an edit or colour grade, it’s tempting to just grab the sharpen slider and push it up. Quick, easy, done. But that approach can leave your footage looking a little… crunchy. Not in a good way.
Here’s a method I’ve been using inside DaVinci Resolve that gives you far more control and results that actually hold up.
Head to the Blur - Sharpen tab. From there, click Highlight, then Highlight Difference. What you’re looking at now is a view that lets you build a precise outline of the in-focus elements within your shot. Think of it as mapping out exactly where the sharpening should live before you apply it.
From here, adjust the Radius and Scaling levels. You’re not going for a dramatic effect at this stage, just a clean, defined edge around the subjects in your frame.
Once you’re happy with that, bring up the Level to sharpen those desirable edges; eyes, hair, clothing texture. The detail that makes a shot feel sharp rather than just processed.
Then comes the part that makes all the difference: raise the Coring Softness. This blends the transition of the sharpening so it feels organic. It’s the step that separates a polished finish from something that looks like it’s been over-edited.
My starting point settings on a recent test clip:
- Radius — 0.38
- Scaling — 0.12
- Coring Softness — 12.00
- Level — 20.00
These are worth using as a baseline, but treat them as exactly that, a starting point. Every piece of footage is different, so take the time to play around and trust what you’re seeing on screen.
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