Advanced Dirt Removal is a specialized tool designed to recover image detail from dirty, dusty, and damaged film scans within DaVinci Resolve. It enhances the platform's capabilities with advanced Fusion macros tailored for film restoration.
Key Features:
Dual Workflow Versions: Linear version for standard footage (Rec.709, sRGB) and Cineon version optimized for film scans.
Motion Masking: Automatically restricts repairs to low/no-motion areas, improving accuracy.
Recovery Brush: Manual painting tools for precise restoration of specific details.
Dust Polarity Selection: Choose to remove white dust (negatives), black dust (positives), or both.
Diagnostic Views: Includes difference view and intensity adjustments for iterative refinement.
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for professionals in film restoration, archivists, educators, and enthusiasts. It provides a cost-effective solution for restoring damaged films without the need for expensive specialized software. The tool is particularly valuable for educational institutions and archives aiming to make film preservation more accessible.
Install via winget using winget install FabioColor.AdvancedDirtRemoval for quick setup on Windows.
README
Advanced Dirt Removal for DaVinci Resolve
Preferred on Windows (avoids SmartScreen prompts from manually running downloaded .exe files):
winget install FabioColor.AdvancedDirtRemoval
Fallback: download from Latest Release:
installer ZIP for your platform (*-win64.zip or *-macos.zip).
Manual .setting install is also available.
Advanced Dirt Removal provides professional dirt removal capabilities with two specialized versions for different workflows:
Linear Version: Optimized for standard footage (Rec.709, sRGB, etc.)
Cineon Version: Optimized for film scans with built-in Cineon→Linear→Cineon conversion
Both versions are professional Fusion macros for DaVinci Resolve that improve film restoration capabilities, making it a viable low-cost platform for archival and educational restoration projects. Designed primarily for use in Fusion page workflows, they extend the built-in Automatic Dirt Removal with motion-masking, manual recovery tools, and diagnostic views to handle challenging restoration work without expensive specialized software.
Manual recovery brush workflow for precise restoration control
> 🎯 Perfect for: Educational institutions, archives, non-commercial restoration projects, and making film preservation more accessible
✨ Key Features
🔄 Accessible Recovery Options
Motion Mask: Automatically restricts repairs to low/no-motion areas
Recovery Brush: Manual painting to restore original details when automatic fails
Dust Polarity Selection: Choose to remove white dust (negatives), black dust (positives), or both - matches professional restoration software like DVO Dry Clean
> 💡 Tip: On macOS, press Cmd+Shift+G in Finder and paste the path. On Windows, paste the path in Explorer's address bar.
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> ⚡ Best Practice: Install to the Macros folder for full Fusion page functionality including manual recovery workflows
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> 🎯 Version Choice: Use the Linear version for standard footage, Cineon version for film scans. Both macros will appear in your Effects panel after restart.
Recovery Polarity (Default): Paint to protect original details
Spanish Polarity: Paint to target specific repairs
Toggle the "Spanish Dirt Removal" checkbox to switch modes
🔍 Difference View
Toggle to see exactly what's being changed
Perfect for iterative refinement
🎨 Recovery Brush Workflow
> ⚡ Required Setup: To use Recovery Brush or Spanish Dirt Removal, you must connect a Mask Paint tool to the labeled corrector input on the Advanced Dirt Removal macro.
Connection Steps:
Add a Mask Paint tool to your Fusion composition
Connect the Mask Paint output to the "Mask Paint/Magic Mask" input on Advanced Dirt Removal
Set Recovery type to "Recovery Brush"
Paint your mask and see results in real-time
Usage:
Paint to recover specific details
Toggle Spanish Dirt Removal for different brush behavior
Combine with automatic motion detection
Real-time feedback with difference view
🎨 Cineon Log Workflow
> 📝 Note: For archival film scans with Cineon log encoding
Use the Advanced Dirt Removal Cineon macro which includes built-in Cineon→Linear→Cineon conversion, making film restoration workflows seamless.
When to Use Cineon Version:
Archival film scans (Cineon, DPX with Cineon log encoding)
Film transfer workflows using standard Cineon log
Any footage requiring Cineon log to linear processing
Professional film preservation projects
Simple Workflow:
MediaIn → Advanced Dirt Removal Cineon → MediaOut
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Add MediaIn and MediaOut nodes to your composition
Add Advanced Dirt Removal Cineon:
Press Shift+Space and type "Advanced Dirt Removal Cineon"
Optimized Processing: All dirt removal happens in linear color space
Preserves Film Characteristics: Output maintains original Cineon log encoding
Professional Workflow: Designed specifically for film restoration work
Better Results: Optical flow and motion analysis work optimally in linear space
Technical Details:
Input: Accepts Cineon log footage
Processing: Converts to linear, performs dirt removal, converts back to Cineon
Output: Maintains original Cineon log for archival compatibility
No Manual Setup: All conversions handled automatically
Standard Footage:
For Rec.709, sRGB, or other standard footage, use the normal "Advanced Dirt Removal" macro:
MediaIn → Advanced Dirt Removal → MediaOut
🎛️ Controls Reference
Core Settings
Control
Purpose
Default
Notes
Recovery type
Choose between automatic or manual recovery
Recovery Brush (0)
0 = Recovery Brush, 1 = Motion Mask
View Mode
Toggle output between final result and diagnostic
RGB (1)
0 = Difference View, 1 = RGB Output
Difference Intensity
Adjust visibility of difference view
0.6 (Linear) / 0.9 (Cineon)
Higher = more visible difference (0.0-1.0)
Motion Analysis
Control
Purpose
Default
Notes
Motion Mask Safety
Optical flow motion detection intensity (renamed from "Aggressiveness")
2
Controls motion mask precision
motionThreshold
Sensitivity for motion-based masking
25 (Linear) / 55 (Cineon)
Lower = more areas treated as motion
Dirt Detection
Control
Purpose
Default
Notes
Dust Polarity
Select which type of dust to remove
Both (0)
0 = Both, 1 = White Only (negatives), 2 = Black Only (positives)
White Threshold
Luminance threshold for white dust detection
0.7
Higher = only very bright defects (0.0-1.0)
Black Threshold
Luminance threshold for black dust detection
0.3
Lower = only very dark defects (0.0-1.0)
temporalThreshold
How aggressive the dirt detection is
0.45 (Linear) / 0.5 (Cineon)
Lower = more sensitive, detects smaller defects
dirtSize
Minimum size of defects to detect
0.01
Smaller = detects tinier dirt particles
motionEstType
Motion estimation algorithm
HS_Better
Different methods for motion calculation
supportLength
Temporal window for analysis
SUPPORT_LENGTH_4
How many frames to analyze together
Advanced Options
Control
Purpose
Default
Notes
Recovery/Spanish Dirt Removal
Toggle brush polarity behavior
Recovery (1)
1 = Paint protects, 0 = Paint targets
edgeAttenuation
Reduce processing near edges
0
Helps avoid edge artifacts
showRepairMask
Display the repair mask
0
For diagnostic purposes
Input Connections
Input
Purpose
Required
Main Input
Source footage to process
✅ Yes
Mask Paint/Magic Mask
External mask for Recovery Brush
Only for paint features
> 💡 Learning Tip: Start with default settings and adjust temporalThreshold and dirtSize first. Use View Mode to switch to Difference view to see exactly what's being detected and changed.
Fusion page access for full feature set (especially Recovery Brush)
> 💡 Note: Recovery Brush and Spanish Dirt Removal features require the Fusion page and a Mask Paint tool connection. Edit/Cut pages support basic automatic dirt removal only.
Automatic motion-based dirt removal restricting repairs to stationary areas
Spanish Dirt Removal mode - paint to target specific repairs