Doctor Strange Portal | Davinci Resolve Tutorial

Tech concepts / what the tutorial teaches (Fusion + particle-based “Doctor Strange” portal)

Using Fusion particles to build the portal effect

• The tutorial shows how to create a portal look in DaVinci Resolve / Fusion using Fusion particles.

Particle setup

• Add P Emitter and P Renderer into the Viewer.
• Start by emitting particles from a small sphere, then change the emission shape:
  • Use Shape 3D set to a Torus (donut/ring).
  • Adjust Section (smaller = thinner ring).
  • Use rotations so the ring faces the correct direction.

Ground cutoff / placement

• To get the cinematic effect where the portal is partially “cut” by the ground:
  • Adjust Angle Start and rotations to create a visible gap where the ground intersects.
  • Position the ring on the ground plane by setting the appropriate Y value.
• In the emitter, change Region to mesh so particles emit using the torus/shape mesh.

Particle motion controls

• Use P Tangent Force to create the signature portal motion around the ring.
• Tune motion speed/behavior (example: Z strength).
• Prevent infinite drifting by adjusting:
  • Particle lifespan
  • Add lifespan variance to reduce uniformity.
• Add P Turbulence for a less uniform, more chaotic look:
  • Control X/Y/Z strengths and density.

Ground interaction

• Add P Bounce so particles interact with the floor:
  • Use a rectangle region (example: 8×8).
  • Tweak elasticity/roughness so particles bounce naturally instead of passing through.

Making particles look like sparks / energy streaks

• Add a texture/background:
  • Use a white background (example 100×100) and apply it as a particle texture.
• Build the sprite appearance using rectangles:
  • One thin/long rectangle to resemble streaks.
  • Another rectangle with a soft edge, using paint mode: minimum for blurred, motion-like softness.
• In the renderer, switch the style to bitmap and use the background/texture.

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Rendering / appearance tweaks (reduce artifacts + improve realism)

Transparency sorting

• Set transparency mode to Quick Sort to avoid texture/glitching.

Billboarding / orientation

• Disable Always Face Camera.
• Set orientation to Rotation Relative to Motion so streaks align more naturally.

Timing / scale shaping

• Fix particles “popping” on frame 1:
  • Use size over life (start small, grow, then later shrink/die).
  • Optionally add fade controls to fade out near the end.

Size tied to velocity

• Link particle size behavior to velocity so length scales with speed.
• This makes streaks longer when particles move faster, improving realism for portal energy.

Quality vs performance

• Increase particle count to strengthen the effect (example: 400).
• Typical guidance: ~300–500 often looks best.
• Tradeoff: more particles usually render more slowly.

Camera + viewport workflow

• Add camera and renderer, render to the viewport.
• If compositing with footage, match the camera position.
• Improve visibility by disabling the checker underlay (background becomes black with a “backpack-like underlay”).

Post effects

• Add subtle blur (around 0.5).
• Add glow using the free plugin “x-glo” (also mentions an alternative glow approach via another tutorial).
• Glow tuning example:
  • Gain (e.g., 0.2)
  • Glow color set to a nice orange/firey hue.

“Secret sauce” color / glow shaping

• Use the Intensity plugin (or an alternative Color Corrector workflow).
• Adjust:
  • Saturation
  • Hue
  • Gain
  • Especially Gamma to make the glow “pop.”

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Guides / tutorial structure / notes included

Step-by-step build (node/component checklist)

• Emitter/Renderer + Shape3D (Torus) + Forces (Tangent/Turbulence) + Bounce + Sprite/Texture + Sorting + Size/Fade + Render + Glow/Color correction

Practical tuning tips

• The portal look varies by movie, so there’s no single “correct” setting.
• Watch performance impacts with particle count.
• Match camera settings when compositing with real footage.

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Main speakers / sources

Speaker / author

• The video creator/author (tutorial voice), referencing “my” settings/tutorials and another glow tutorial.

Tools referenced

• Blackmagic Fusion / DaVinci Resolve (nodes like P Emitter/Renderer, P Tangent Force, P Turbulence, P Bounce).
• Glow plugin: x-glo.
• Glow/color step using an Intensity-type workflow (or Color Corrector alternative).