Fusion Reference Manual 18.6

‌December 2023

Reference Manual

Fusion 18.6

Welcome

Welcome to Fusion for Mac, Linux and Windows!

Fusion is the world’s most advanced compositing software for visual effects artists, broadcast and motion graphic designers and 3D animators. With over 30 years of development, Fusion has been used on over 1000 major Hollywood blockbuster feature films! Fusion features an easy and powerful node based interface so you can construct complex effects simply by connecting various types of processing together. That’s super easy and extremely fast! You get a massive range of features and effects included, so you can create exciting broadcast graphics, television commercials, dramatic title sequences and even major feature film visual effects!

Fusion Studio customers can also use DaVinci Resolve Studio to get a complete set of editing, advanced color correction and professional Fairlight audio post production tools. Clips in the DaVinci Resolve timeline can be shared with Fusion so you can collaborate on your complex compositions within your VFX team and then render the result back directly into the DaVinci Resolve timeline. We hope you enjoy reading this manual and we can’t wait to see the work you produce with Fusion.

The Fusion Engineering Team

Grant Petty

CEO Blackmagic Design

Contents Fusion Fundamentals Introduction to Compositing in Fusion What Is Fusion?Exploring the Fusion Interface The Fusion User Interface Interface Toolbar Viewers Time Ruler and Transport Controls Toolbar Node Editor Status Bar Effects Library The Inspector Keyframes Editor Spline Editor Thumbnail Timeline in the Fusion Page The Media Pool in the Fusion Page Bins in Fusion Studio The Console Customizing Fusion Fusion Keyboard Remapping Fusion Studio Keyboard Remapping Undo and Redo Getting Clips into Fusion Preparing Compositions in the Fusion Page Using MediaIn Nodes Using Loader and Saver Nodes in the Fusion Page Importing Universal Scene Descriptor (USD) Files Preparing Compositions in Fusion Studio Using Proxies for Better Performance File Format Options Rendering Using Saver Nodes Rendering Overview Rendering with the Saver Node Using the Render Settings Dialog Setting Up Network Rendering in Fusion Studio Submitting Comps to Network Render Preparing Compositions for Network Rendering Other Uses of Network Rendering When Renders Fail Managing Memory Use Limitations of Render Nodes Troubleshooting Working in the Node Editor Learning to Use the Node Editor Navigating within the Node Editor Adding Nodes to a Composition Selecting and Deselecting Nodes Loading Nodes into Viewers Connecting and Disconnecting Nodes Connecting Merge Nodes Connection Options and Routers Swapping Node Inputs Extracting and Inserting Nodes Cut, Copy, and Paste Nodes Instancing Nodes Keeping Node Trees Organized Node Thumbnails Finding Nodes Custom Node Settings Node Modes Including Disable and Lock Node Editor Options Node Tooltips and the Status Bar Node Groups, Macros, and Fusion Templates Groups Macros Creating Fusion Templates Using Viewers Viewer Overview Loading Nodes into Viewers Position and Layout Zooming and Panning into Viewers Flipbook Previews Onscreen Controls Toolbars A/B Buffers Subviews Viewing Selective Channels The 3D Viewer Quad View Guides Domain of Definition and Region of Interest Managing Viewer Lookup Tables (LUTs)Viewer Preferences and Settings The Viewer Options Menu Locking the Viewer (Command-L)Additional Viewer Options Status Bar Information Editing Parameters in the Inspector Overview of the Inspector Customizing the Inspector Opening Nodes in the Inspector Pinning Multiple Nodes in the Inspector Hiding Inspector Controls Using the Inspector Header Versioning Nodes Parameter Tabs Inspector Controls Explained Animating Parameters in the Inspector Connecting Parameters Contextual Menus Customizing Node Parameters with User Controls Animating in Fusion’s Keyframes Editor Keyframing in the Inspector Keyframes Editor Overview Scaling and Panning the Timeline Working with Segments in the Timeline Working with Keyframes in the Timeline Timeline Filters Sorting in the Timeline Markers Autosnap The Spreadsheet Editor Customizing the Keyframes Editor Animating in Fusion’s Spline Editor Spline Editor Overview Spline Editor Interface Creating Animation Splines Working with Keyframes and Splines Filtering the Spline Editor Reshaping Splines Using the Toolbar Importing and Exporting Splines Animating with Motion Paths Animating Using Motion Paths Types of Control Points Tips for Manipulating Motion Paths Importing and Exporting Polylines Using Modifiers, Expressions, and Custom Controls The Contextual Menu for Parameters in the Inspector Using Modifiers Performing Calculations in Parameter Fields Using SimpleExpressions Customizing User Controls FusionScript Bins Bins Overview Bins Interface Organizing Bins Adding and Using Content Using the Studio Player Connecting Bins Over a Network Adding a Remote Bin Entry Fusion Connect Fusion Connect Overview The Effects Palette The Layer Input Dialog Applying Fusion Connect to a Transition Point Versioning Fusion/Avid Project Relationship Directory Structure of Fusion Connect Media Advanced Project Paths Preferences Preferences Overview Categories of Preferences Preferences In Depth Customization 2D Compositing Controlling Image Processing and Resolution Fusion’s Place in the DaVinci Resolve Image-Processing Pipeline What Viewers Show in Different DaVinci Resolve Pages Managing Resolution In Fusion Color Bit Depths Managing Color for Visual Effects Color Management Introducing Color Management in Fusion Using Resolve Color Management Using ACES Color Management in Resolve Using OCIO for ACES Color Management in Fusion Understanding Image Channels Channels in Fusion Using Channels in a Composition Understanding Premultiplication Multi Channel Compositing Compositing Layers in Fusion Applying Effects Compositing Two Clips Together Creating and Using Text Building a Simple Green-Screen Composite Rotoscoping with Masks Introduction to Masks and Polylines How to Use Masks with Other Nodes Creating and Editing Polylines In‑Depth Selecting and Adjusting Polylines Creating Softness Using Double Polylines Animating Polyline Masks Paint Paint Overview Types of Paint Nodes Setting Up the Paint Node Paint Node Workflow Editing Paint Strokes Editing Paint Strokes in the Modifiers Tab Animating and Tracking Paint Strokes Painting a Clean Plate Using the Tracker Node Introduction to Tracking Tracker Node Overview Basic Tracker Node Operation Viewing Tracking Data in the Spline Editor Tracker Inspector Controls Motion Tracking Workflow In Depth Dealing with Obscured Patterns Stabilizing with the Tracker Node Using the Tracker Node for Match Moving Connecting to Trackers’ Operations Using the Tracker as a Modifier Match Moving Text Example Planar Tracking Introduction to Tracking Using the Planar Tracker Setting Up to Use the Planar Tracker A Basic Planar Tracker Match Move Workflow Tips for Choosing Good Planes to Track Using Open FX, Resolve FX, and Fuse Plugins What Are Open FX?What Are Resolve FX?Applying Open FX and Resolve FX Plugins Introduction to Fuse Plugins 3D Compositing 3D Compositing Basics An Overview of 3D Compositing 3D Compositing Fundamentals The Elements of a 3D Scene Software vs. GPU Rendering Loading 3D Nodes into the Viewer Transparency Sorting Material Viewer Transformations Parenting Cameras Lighting and Shadows Materials and Textures Projection Mapping Geometry Fog 3D and Soft Clipping Material and Object IDs World Position Pass Point Clouds 3D Camera Tracking Introduction to Tracking What Is 3D Camera Tracking?Outputting from the Camera Tracker Auto-Tracking in the Camera Tracker Matching the Live-Action Camera Running the Solver Exporting a 3D Scene for Efficiency Particle Systems Introduction to Particle Systems Anatomy of a Simple Particle System Particle System Distribution Particle Nodes Explained by Type Example Particle Systems Advanced Compositing Techniques Optical Flow and Stereoscopic Nodes Overview Working with Aux Deep Channels Optical Flow Workflows Stereoscopic Workflows Separate vs. Stack Setting Up Stereo in the Node Editor About the Disparity Channel Viewing of Disparity and Vector Channels Stereo and Optical Flow Best Practices Fusion Page Effects 3D Nodes Alembic Mesh 3D [Abc]Bender 3D [3Bn]Camera 3D [3Cm]Cube 3D [3Cb]Custom Vertex 3D [3CV]Displace 3D [3Di]Duplicate 3D [3Dp]Extrude 3D [3Ex]FBX Exporter 3D [FBX]FBX Mesh 3D [FBX]Fog 3D [3Fo]Image Plane 3D [3Im]Locator 3D [3Lo]Merge 3D [3Mg]Override 3D [3Ov]Point Cloud 3D [3PC]Projector 3D [3Pj]Renderer 3D [3Rn]Replace Material 3D [3Rpl]Replace Normals 3D [3RpN]Replicate 3D [3Rep]Ribbon 3D [3Ri]Shape 3D [3Sh]Soft Clip [3SC]Spherical Camera [3SC]Text 3D [3Txt]Transform 3D [3Xf]Triangulate 3D [3Tri]UV Map 3D [3UV]Weld 3D [3We]Modifier The Common Controls 3D Light Nodes Ambient Light [3AL]Directional Light [3DL]Point Light [3PL]Spot Light [3SL]The Common Controls 3D Material Nodes Blinn [3Bl]Channel Boolean [3Bol]Cook Torrance [3CT]Material Merge 3D [3MM]Phong [3Ph]Reflect [3Rr]Stereo Mix [3SMM]Ward [3Wd]The Common Controls 3D Texture Nodes Bump Map [3Bu]Catcher [3Ca]CubeMap [3Cu]Falloff [3Fa]Fast Noise Texture [3FN]Gradient 3D [3Gd]Sphere Map [3SpM]Texture 2D [3Tx]Texture Transform [3TT]The Common Controls Blur Nodes Blur [Blur]Defocus [Dfo]Directional Blur [DrBl]Glow [Glo]Sharpen [Shrp]Soft Glow [SGlo]Unsharp Mask [UsM]Vari Blur [VBl]Vector Motion Blur [VMB]The Common Controls Color Nodes ColorFX Revival Color Composite Nodes Dissolve [Dx]Merge [Mrg]MultiMerge [MMrg]The Common Controls Deep Pixel Nodes Ambient Occlusion [SSAO]Depth Blur [DBl]Fog [Fog]Shader [Shd]Texture [Txr]The Common Controls Effect Nodes Duplicate [Dup]Highlight [HIL]Hot Spot [Hot]Pseudo Color [PsCl]Rays [CIR]Shadow [Sh]Trails [Trls]TV [TV]The Common Controls Film Nodes Cineon Log [Log]Film Grain [FGr]Grain [Grn]Light Trim [LT]Remove Noise [RN]The Common Controls Filter Nodes Create Bump Map [CBu]Custom Filter Node [CFlt]Erode Dilate Node [ErDl]Filter Node [Fltr]Rank Filter Node [RFlt]The Common Controls Flow Nodes Sticky Note [Nte]Underlay [Und]Flow Organizational Nodes Groups Macro Pipe Router Fuses Fuses [Fus]Generator Nodes Background [Bg]Day Sky [DS]Fast Noise [FN]Mandelbrot [Man]Plasma [Plas]Text+ [Txt+]Text+ Modifiers The Common Controls I/O Nodes Loader Node [Ld]MediaIn Node [MI]MediaOut Node [MO]Saver Node [Sv]The Common Controls LUT Nodes File LUT [FLU]LUT Cube Analyzer [LCA]LUT Cube Apply [LCP]LUT Cube Creator [LCC]The Common Controls Mask Nodes Bitmap Mask [Bmp]B-Spline Mask [BSp]Ellipse Mask [Elp]Mask Paint [PnM]Polygon Mask [Ply]Ranges Mask [Rng]Rectangle Mask [Rec]Triangle Mask [Tri]Wand Mask [Wnd]The Common Controls Matte Nodes Alpha Divide [ADv]Alpha Multiply [AMl]Chroma Keyer [CKy]Clean Plate Delta Keyer Depth Map [DMp]Difference Keyer [DfK]Luma Keyer [LKy]Magic Mask [MagM]Matte Control [Mat]Primatte [Pri]Ultra Keyer [UKy]The Common Controls Metadata Nodes Copy Metadata [Meta]Set Metadata [SMeta]Set Timecode [TcMeta]The Common Controls Miscellaneous Nodes Auto Domain [ADoD]Change Depth [CD]Custom Tool [CT]Fields [Flds]Frame Average [Avg]Keyframe Stretcher [KfS]Run Command [Run]Set Domain [DoD]Time Speed [TSpd]Time Stretcher [TSt]Wireless Link [Wire]The Common Controls Optical Flow Optical Flow [OF]Repair Frame [Rep]Smooth Motion [SM]Tween [Tw]The Common Controls Paint Node Paint Paint Node Modifiers Keyboard Shortcuts Particle Nodes Particle Nodes pAvoid [pAv]pBounce [pBn]pChangeStyle [pCS]pCustom [pCu]pCustomForce [pCF]pDirectionalForce [pDF]pEmitter [pEm]pFlock [pFl]pFollow [pFo]pFriction [pFr]pGradientForce [pGF]pImage Emitter [pIE]pKill [pKI]pMerge [pMg]pPoint Force [pPF]pRender [pRn]pSpawn [pSp]pTangent Force [pTF]pTurbulence [pTr]pVortex [pVt]The Common Controls Position Nodes Volume Fog [VlF]Volume Mask [VlM]Z to World Pos [Z2W]The Common Controls Resolve Connect External Matte Saver [EMS]Shape Nodes sBoolean sDuplicate sEllipse sExpand sGrid sJitter sMerge sNGon sOutline sPolygon [sPly]sRectangle sRender sStar sTransform Common Controls Stereo Nodes Anaglyph [Ana]Combiner [Com]Disparity [Dis]Disparity To Z [D2Z]Global Align [GA]New Eye [NE]Splitter [Spl]Stereo Align [SA]Z To Disparity [Z2D]The Common Controls Tracker Nodes Tracker [Tra]Planar Tracker Node [PTra]Planar Transform Node [PXF]Camera Tracker [CTra]The Common Controls Transform Nodes Camera Shake [CSh]Crop [Crp]DVE [DVE]Letterbox [Lbx]Resize [Rsz]Scale [Scl]Transform [XF]The Common Controls USD Nodes uCamera [uCa]uImage Plane [uIm]uLoader [uLd]uMerge [uMg]uRenderer [uRn]uShape [uSh]uTransform [uXf]uVariant [uVa]uVisibility [uVis]USD Lights uCylinder Light [uCL]uDisk Light [uDi]uDistant Light [uDL]uDome Light [uDo]uRectangle Light [uRL]uSphere Light [uSL]The Common Controls VR Nodes VR Nodes Lat Long Patcher [LLP]Pano Map [PaM]Spherical Camera [3SC]Spherical Stabilizer The Common Controls Warp Nodes Coordinate Space [CdS]Corner Positioner [CPn]Dent [Dnt]Displace [Dsp]Drip [DRP]Grid Warp [Grd]Lens Distort [Lens]Perspective Positioner [PPn]Vector Distortion [Dst]Vortex [Vtx]The Common Controls Modifiers Modifiers Anim Curves Bézier Spline B-Spline Calculation CoordTransform Position Cubic Spline Custom Poly Expression From Image Gradient Color Key Stretcher Modifier MIDI Extractor Natural Cubic Spline Offset (Angle, Distance, Position)Path Perturb Probe Publish Resolve Parameter Shake Track Vector Result XY Path Menu Descriptions Regulatory Notices Safety Information Warranty