Dent

Resolve 21 places Dent in Warp Nodes. Blackmagic describes it as a circular deformation similar to a Fish Eye Lens effect with six different Dent filters. The current Fusion 21 comparison lists dents in DaVinci Resolve, DaVinci Resolve Studio and Fusion Studio, so this is not a Studio-only Resolve FX boundary.

Do not confuse the Fusion Warp Dent [Dnt] node with the separate Resolve FX Warp Dent effect. Resolve FX has a different Type menu including Black Hole and an Edge Behavior control. Those settings are not present in the captured Fusion Dent Inspector and must not be attributed to this node.

Dent has two physical inputs. The primary Input receives the 2D image and the blue Effect Mask optionally limits the result. The manual makes an important sequencing point: an effect mask is applied after the tool is processed. It therefore does not become a displacement map or alter the circular Dent function itself; it only decides where the processed contribution is visible.

Type selects one of six documented functions. Dent 1 creates a bulge dent; Kaleidoscope creates a dent, mirrors and inverts it; Dent 2 is described as a displacement dent; Dent 3 as a deform dent; Cosine Dent creates a fracture to a center point; and Sine Dent creates a smooth rounded dent. Treat these as distinct supplied filter functions rather than inventing one unverified physical formula for all six.

The captured Resolve 21 Inspector spells the menu item `Kaleidascope`, while the Reference Manual uses `Kaleidoscope`. They refer to the same Type, not two separate modes; the article preserves the manual meaning while flagging the captured UI spelling.

Center X/Y positions the deformation center. Blackmagic explicitly gives 0.5 / 0.5 as the centered baseline. If the effect must follow a subject, animate Center or connect it to an appropriate tracking/modifier workflow; changing Size does not substitute for placing the center correctly.

Size changes the size of the area affected by the dent. It is separate from Strength and from scaling the whole layer. The manual explicitly notes that animating Size can make the Dent grow.

Strength changes the overall strength of the selected Dent filter. The manual does not promise a perceptually identical scale across all six Type functions, so compare Type modes with Center, Size and Strength held constant and judge the actual image rather than assuming the same number must look equally strong.

Dent does not accept a second image as a displacement map, Z/depth, vectors or scene3d. Use Displace or another map-driven tool when a separate texture must drive the warp; use a 3D deformation tool when actual geometry must bend.

A reliable adjustment order is Type at a centered baseline, then Center, then Size, then Strength. Add Effect Mask only after the core deformation is understood so geometry errors remain distinguishable from masking/feather errors.

The shared Settings tab belongs to common Fusion node controls rather than adding another Dent-specific Type. The captured Dent-specific Controls remain compact: Type, Center X/Y, Size and Strength.

Dent operates entirely in the 2D pixel domain and has no concept of geometry meshes, cameras, Z, or vector fields. Even a visually volumetric bulge is still a coordinate remap of an image.

Treat Type as a switch between different warp functions. Identical Center/Size/Strength values are not guaranteed to produce equal amplitude or footprint across modes because these are distinct algorithms rather than presets of one formula.

Dent 1 is the clearest baseline bulge/dent mode and is useful for learning Center, Size and Strength before moving to more exotic types.

Kaleidoscope/Kaleidascope combines denting with mirrored/inverted behavior. The spelling difference between the manual and the captured UI does not imply two separate algorithms.

Dent 2 is described as a displacement dent, but that wording does not imply a separate displacement-map input. Its displacement behavior is built into the Type.

Dent 3 is described as a deform dent and likewise remains an internal Dent algorithm that needs no external texture/map.

Cosine Dent produces a more fracture-like convergence toward the center point. Its character reads more clearly on grids and straight lines than on soft footage.

Sine Dent gives a smoother rounded response and works well for gentle ripple/bulge-style graphic warps without a separate map.

Center X/Y are normalized coordinates for the warp origin. The 0.5/0.5 baseline means image center; the values are relative rather than pixel positions.

Center moves the origin of the effect and should not be abused as an indirect strength control. If the target only falls inside the warp after making Size huge, Center is probably wrong.

Size controls spatial coverage around Center. It is not intensity; a large Size with low Strength and a small Size with high Strength solve different visual problems.

Strength controls the overall intensity of the selected Type function. Tune it after Type/Center/Size so it is not used to compensate for geometry errors.

The same numeric Strength can feel very different between Types. Do not transfer one number across modes as though it represented an equal look.

Effect Mask is applied to the already processed Dent result and acts as a post-effect spatial gate. It does not participate in Type/Center/Size/Strength math.

Because the mask is post-effect, a hard edge can look like a pasted-on patch: the warp exists inside the mask and disappears outside. That is a gating/feather problem, not necessarily a Dent problem.

A gradient Effect Mask smoothly mixes processed and unprocessed output, but it still does not become a displacement-amount map. The underlying Dent warp remains unchanged.

If an external grayscale/RGBA texture must drive deformation, use Displace/VectorWarp/GridWarp as appropriate instead of trying to force Dent's Effect Mask into another role.

If real 3D geometry needs to bend, Dent is also the wrong tool: it outputs no scene3d data, normals or vertices. It remains a normal 2D image stream.

Dent before Merge deforms one branch; Dent after Merge deforms the assembled composite. For text, logos and backgrounds this architectural choice can matter more than fine Strength tuning.

Small Strength changes are especially visible on UI, titles, faces and straight architectural lines compared with organic texture. Production QC should include those sensitive structures.

Animating Center moves the origin, Size expands/contracts the affected region, and Strength changes intensity. These controls create different motion signatures and should not substitute for one another.

For shockwave-style effects, it is usually clearer to animate Size/Strength around a stable Center than to move Center at the same time without a tracking reason.

If Center must follow a moving object, use a tracker/modifier/link workflow and separately verify normalized-coordinate mapping after crop/resize.

Upstream Resize/Crop can change how saved Center coordinates relate to the subject. A Dent preset should not be copied blindly between different framing/resolution.

Strong Dent near frame boundaries can pull/squeeze pixels toward the edge. Edge sampling/clipping behavior should be tested on real material and the target build rather than inferred from the Type name.

Premultiplied graphics and transparent edges need separate checks because warping can move contaminated RGB from behind alpha into view.

Common Settings Blend is a final node mix rather than a replacement for Strength. Strength changes core warp math while Blend mixes the finished processed result with the original.

For a clean Type A/B, keep Blend, Effect Mask, Center, Size and Strength fixed. Otherwise the comparison no longer isolates the algorithm.

For automation, the visible `Kaleidascope` spelling does not prove the serialized enum/value. Confirm actual serialization from a target-build .setting/.comp.

Static documentation captures documented behavior and current naming, but live Resolve/Fusion certification is still needed for exact edge cases, performance and serialization.