Big Idea

The argument in one line.

DaVinci Resolve's Camera 3D tool turns a stack of flat PNGs into a moving parallax scene in about ten minutes, using just four connected nodes and two camera keyframes.

Who This Is For

Read if. Skip if.

READ IF YOU ARE…

A video editor who already knows the DaVinci Resolve timeline and wants to learn Fusion's 3D compositing tools.
Someone who wants fake cinematic depth and parallax movement from flat PNGs and JPEGs without touching 3D modeling software.
A content creator who needs a fast, repeatable intro or timeline-recap animation style for true-crime, listicle, or hook sequences.

SKIP IF…

You've never opened DaVinci Resolve before — this assumes you already know how to drop a clip on the timeline and open the Fusion page.
You need real 3D modeling or camera-matched VFX — this is flat-image compositing with a virtual camera, not true 3D geometry.

TL;DR

The full version, fast.

Joris Hermans breaks down DaVinci Resolve Fusion's Camera 3D tool, the technique behind fast parallax animations where foreground elements move faster than the background. The base setup is four nodes: a Camera 3D node acts as the virtual camera, a Renderer 3D node renders the space, and every image gets its own Image Plane 3D node feeding into one shared Merge 3D node. Distance between elements controls how strong the parallax looks, and blurring background and foreground layers keeps focus on the hero object. Animation comes from two keyframes: drag the camera or an element into position, hit the keyframe diamond, move the playhead, then drag again. The spline editor smooths the motion afterward. Total build time for the example scene: about ten minutes.

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Chapters

Where the time goes.

00:00 – 00:32

01 · The warning

Hermans frames the whole video as a warning: the technique is so easy and so fun that it will eat your evening.

00:32 – 00:56

02 · The parallax effect, shown upfront

He shows the finished DeLorean parallax animation before explaining it, naming the effect and clocking the build at 10 minutes.

00:56 – 01:18

03 · Other uses for the same trick

Beyond parallax, the same Camera 3D setup works for crime-series-style timelines and video intros.

01:18 – 02:36

04 · How to start: the base node setup

Drop a Fusion composition on the timeline, then build the base rig: Camera 3D, Renderer 3D, and Merge 3D nodes, with the Merge node feeding the left viewer and Media Out feeding the right.

02:36 – 03:20

05 · Sponsor: Audiio

Music is framed as one of the scene's elements, leading into a sponsored plug for Audiio's new DaVinci Resolve/Premiere Pro music plugin and a 70% discount code.

03:20 – 04:23

06 · Adding and moving elements

Images need an Image Plane 3D node before they'll appear when connected to Merge 3D. Camera and element movement share the same click-and-drag controls.

04:23 – 05:34

07 · Distance controls the parallax strength

Pulling the background further from the camera strengthens the parallax effect, at the cost of needing to rescale (or widen) the background image.

05:34 – 06:38

08 · Building the full scene

Layering palm trees and foreground trees around the DeLorean, scaling foreground elements bigger since they sit closer to the camera.

06:38 – 07:00

09 · Depth blur sells the illusion

Blurring background and foreground elements while keeping the car sharp fakes a depth-of-field look the flat images don't actually have.

07:00 – 08:23

10 · Animating the camera and the car

Keyframing the camera's X position from left to right creates the parallax move; the car gets its own, faster keyframed path.

08:23 – 09:18

11 · Fine-tuning motion in the Splines tab

The Splines tab smooths raw keyframes into eased motion, and different elements can carry different easing curves in the same shot.

Atomic Insights

Lines worth screenshotting.

DaVinci Resolve's Camera 3D tool fakes a 3D space out of flat 2D images without any actual 3D modeling.
Parallax happens because elements closer to the virtual camera move faster than elements further back — the greater the distance, the stronger the effect.
The full setup needs only four node types: Camera 3D, Renderer 3D, Merge 3D, and one Image Plane 3D node per image.
Music counts as one of the 'elements' in an animation, not an afterthought bolted on at the end.
A background image dragged straight into a Merge 3D node does nothing — it has to pass through an Image Plane 3D node first.
Camera and element movement both use the same trick: drag into position, click a keyframe diamond, move the playhead, drag again.
Trees that never move can still look like they're moving, because it's the camera drifting past them that sells the motion.
Adding blur to background and foreground layers, while leaving only the hero object in focus, fakes depth of field in a flat scene.
A background built for a long, sweeping camera move needs to be wider than the frame, or duplicated and placed side by side.
The Splines tab is where raw keyframes get smoothed into ease-in and ease-out motion instead of a linear, robotic slide.
This entire technique took about ten minutes to build and works for parallax intros, true-crime-style timelines, or any explainer that needs cheap fake depth.

Takeaway

Faking Depth From Flat Images

Fusion Parallax Basics

A four-node setup in DaVinci Resolve Fusion (Camera 3D, Renderer 3D, Merge 3D, and one Image Plane 3D node per image) turns flat PNGs into a parallax scene, and two keyframes are all it takes to animate it.

04How to start: the base node setup

Build the base rig by connecting a Camera 3D node, a Renderer 3D node, and a Merge 3D node before adding any images — every element plugs into that single Merge 3D node.
Click the left-viewer dot on the Merge 3D node so it turns white, and make sure Media Out feeds the right viewer — that's the whole base setup checked and working.

06Adding and moving elements

An image dropped straight into the Merge 3D node won't show up — it needs an Image Plane 3D node first, which is what actually places it in 3D space.
Camera and element movement both use the same click-and-drag controls (third mouse button, or scroll plus Alt/Command), so learning one teaches you the other.

07Distance controls the parallax strength

The parallax effect gets stronger the further apart the camera and background sit — pull the background back, then rescale it so it fills the frame again.
A background meant for a long left-to-right camera move needs to be wider than the frame, either designed that way or duplicated and placed side by side.

08Building the full scene

Build depth by layering elements: background furthest back, midground objects like trees scaled down, and foreground elements made much bigger and placed close to the camera.
Manually nudge the camera at any point to preview how the whole scene reads before committing to any animation.

09Depth blur sells the illusion

Adding blur to the background and foreground layers, while keeping only the hero object sharp, fakes a depth-of-field look the flat images don't actually have.
Blur effects attach to the actual image node, not the Image Plane 3D node — select the wrong one and the effect won't show up.

10Animating the camera and the car

Animating anything follows one pattern: select the actual node (not the on-screen handle), position it at the start, set a keyframe, move the playhead to the end, and reposition it — the second keyframe is automatic.
Elements that never move can still read as moving, because a drifting camera creates the illusion of motion on static background layers.

11Fine-tuning motion in the Splines tab

The Splines tab is where raw linear keyframes get turned into eased, natural-feeling motion — toggle which nodes' keyframes you want visible there.
Different elements can animate on different curves in the same shot — in the example, the car accelerates in and then slows, while staying faster than the camera throughout.

Glossary

Terms worth knowing.

Camera 3D node: The virtual camera in Fusion's 3D space. Moving or keyframing this node is what creates the sense of the whole scene moving.
Renderer 3D node: The node that renders everything placed in the 3D space into a flat 2D image for output.
Merge 3D node: The single node every element in the scene connects into, combining them all into one shared 3D space.
Image Plane 3D node: Places a flat image (PNG or JPEG) onto a plane inside 3D space. Without it, an image connected to Merge 3D won't appear.
Parallax effect: The illusion of depth created when foreground elements appear to move faster across the frame than background elements.
Keyframe: A saved position at a specific point in time. Setting one at the start and end of a clip lets Fusion automatically animate the motion between them.
Splines tab: Fusion's curve editor for keyframes, used to smooth motion into ease-in/ease-out curves instead of a straight linear move.

Resources

Things they pointed at.

02:36toolAudiio ↗

Quotables

Lines you could clip.

00:08

“The warning is because what I'm going to show you is so easy and you can get the most amazing results, even if it's your first time trying this.”

hyperbolic hook that frames the whole video as a warning→ TikTok hook↗ Tweet quote

00:56

“This literally took me 10 minutes to create.”

short, specific, stat-driven claim→ IG reel cold open↗ Tweet quote

04:40

“The more distance between the elements, the stronger the parallax effect will be.”

the core mechanic stated as a clean, standalone rule→ newsletter pull-quote↗ Tweet quote

07:09

“Trees in the background don't move, but it looks like they're moving, of course, because the camera moves.”

names the illusion at the heart of the whole technique→ TikTok hook↗ Tweet quote

The Script

Word for word.

Read-along

Don't just watch it. Burn it in.

See every word as it's spoken — crank it to 2× and still catch all of it. The same dual-channel trick behind Amazon's Kindle + Audible.

metaphorstory

This video comes with a warning because I'm going to show you a tool, a technique in DaVinci Resolve Fusion. But that's not what the warning is for. No, the warning is because what I'm going to show you is so easy and you can get the most amazing results, even if it's your first time trying this, that...

It's Friday night now, right? Well, if you try this after watching this video, someone's going to call you for breakfast before you know it. That's how much fun it is.

So what I'm going to show you is how to use the camera 3D tool and how you can use it to create cinematic animations in a 3D space. For example, the parallax effect. So I took all these elements and turned it into this.

foreground is moving at a different speed than the background that's called the parallax effect and this literally took me 10 minutes to create but you can also use this tool for a lot of other things one of these crime series timelines or intros for example But enough talking about it, let me show you how it works. So, the first thing you have to do in the edit page is drop a fusion composition clip on your timeline.

And then make it as long as you want the animation to last. So, let's say 20 seconds. Okay, and then go to the fusion page.

And here, first you have to add a few nodes. Of course, the camera 3D node, which is the virtual camera we're going to use to create our 3D space effect. Then a renderer 3D node, which will render everything, I guess.

And then a merge 3D node. And we need this one because we want to put more than one element in our 3D space. So every element will be connected to that 3D merge node.

And then connect them all like this. And then make sure that the merge node is visible in the left viewer by clicking on the left dot here. in the node see so that it turns white which means that it's visible in the left viewer and then the media out node should be visible in the right viewer okay and that's the base setup and now let's add all the elements and guys when i say elements i don't just mean the images the pngs and jpegs i also mean music because it's the music that will make or break your animation music creates atmosphere and i got the music for my animations from audio the sponsor of this video And a few weeks ago, they dropped something that I was waiting for for so long.

A plugin for DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro. So that means that you don't have to leave DaVinci Resolve anymore when it's time to add music to your project. No more losing focus or losing creative flow.

No, you can now search for music, use filters, access playlists, and throw the music straight onto your timeline. And they've even included Hans AI. which will help you to find the perfect song even faster.

Just describe what you need and Hans will find it. So definitely go check it out. Go listen to some music on their website.

The link is in the description. And if you like it, use my discount code for 70 % off the Audio Pro plan. Okay, and now let's animate some things.

And let's start with the background. So I have all images here in my media pool. The background is just a JPEG and then the other elements are PNGs.

without a background so just drag the background image onto the node area but if you connect it now to the merge node nothing will happen that's because you need an image plane 3d node first so add it and then connect it like this so the image plane will place our image in the 3d space and now you can move it around with these arrows see how it appears in the right viewer now but also left and right up and down and in the same way you can also move the camera and you can move around in this space by clicking and dragging with the third mouse wheel or use your scroll wheels on your mouse in combination with the alt or command keys how the controls work probably depends on the operating system So just try out a few things.

And then here, if you hit this icon, the movement switches to rotate. So now I can rotate the camera and the elements all in a 3D space. Okay, and then now we can start building our little scene.

Now, if you want that nice parallax effect, for example, that I was talking about in the intro, where the elements closer to the camera move faster than the elements further away, further to the back. Well, then you need more distance between the camera and the background. The more distance between the elements, the stronger the parallax effect will be.

So let's move the background further to the back. Now you can see that the image is too small, right? It's not filling up the frame anymore, but that's no problem.

Just go to transform here and there you can scale the background. Oh, and by the way, so for the background, if you're going to make a long animation that travels very far from left to right, you might need a wider background. Now, you can obviously make your image wider in Photoshop.

So design it yourself. But you can also just copy the background or use different backgrounds. Just copy the node, see?

And you can put them next to each other. So there's a solution for everything. It all depends on what you're trying to achieve exactly.

But okay, now let's add a few more elements. So a few palm trees. Same thing again.

Just drag them onto the node area and connect them with a plain 3D node. to the merge node and now we just have to build our little scene so palm trees in the background just move them to the back scale them if you want with the transform settings in the inspector and always make sure that the image plane 3d node of the element is selected if you want to scale it you can also do this by just clicking on the element in the 3d space Also add a few trees in the foreground.

Make them a lot bigger, of course, because they're in the foreground, especially the ones super close to the camera. And these, of course, will move faster than the ones in the background. And you can always check what's happening just by selecting the camera and then move it manually.

See? And then you just build a nice little scene. Add the car, the ever -beautiful DeLorean.

You can also add text, of course, but also text animations. just look for an animated text in the effects drop it connect it with an image plane 3d node and done or you can draw a line for example or any other shape and also you can add effects to your elements for example what i did is add some blur to the elements in the background and the foreground to create more depth and then the only thing that's in focus is the car so just select an element here but now it has to be the actual element node not the image plane 3d node hit shift plus spacebar look for the blur effect or any other effect add it and that's all there is to it and once you have your little scene and you checked manually that everything's okay and everything moves okay well then it's time to animate and you can animate both the elements your images and the camera now in this little example here i animated both the car and the camera trees in the background don't move but it looks like they're moving of course because the camera moves so the camera moves from left to right and the camera follows the car but the car moves a bit faster

So how do you do that? Simple. Select the camera and make sure that the actual camera node here is selected.

And you cannot do this by clicking on the camera in the 3D space. It has to be here in the node area. Then move the playhead here to the start of your clip.

Drag the camera to where you want it to start moving. So all the way to the left here. To the left of my background.

Then go to transform here and make a keyframe for the X position. Hit the little diamond here so that it turns red. Then move the playhead to the end and drag the camera to where you want it to stop moving.

And automatically a keyframe will be made. See? The diamond turned red.

And now, when you play the clip, the camera moves from left to right. And you get that parallax effect. But of course, you can also move the camera forward and backward, up and down, whatever you want.

You can even let it rotate and circle around an object or something. Anything is possible. and then the car is animated a bit differently so it comes in fast and then it goes slower again but still faster than the camera so i did that just by adding a few more keyframes and remember if you want to animate one of the elements always select the image plane 3d node of the element and then if you go to the splines tab here well there you can make fine adjustments to the motion to the keyframes make sure that you enable here which keyframes you want to see of which element, which node.

See, you can see all your keyframes here and you can smoothen the movement, make it ease in or ease out, anything you want. And that's basically it, nothing more to it. And like I said, the possibilities are endless.

So I'd love to know what you're gonna create. Tell me, let me know in the comments, show me, just don't show up at my door. Thank you so much for watching and see you in the next one.

The Hook

The bait, then the rug-pull.

Joris Hermans opens with a warning: not about the tool, but about how easy it is to lose an evening once you try it. The payoff is a synthwave DeLorean scene built entirely from flat PNGs and one virtual camera.

Frameworks

Named ideas worth stealing.

01:34model

The four-node parallax rig

Camera 3D node — the virtual camera that moves through the scene
Renderer 3D node — renders the composited 3D space to 2D output
Merge 3D node — combines every element into one shared 3D space
Image Plane 3D node — places each flat image into 3D space, one per element

The minimum node graph needed before any image, camera move, or animation can happen: everything funnels through one Merge 3D node, and every image needs its own Image Plane 3D node first.

Steal forany explainer intro, recap timeline, or motion graphic that needs fake depth from flat assets

CTA Breakdown

How they asked for the click.

VERBAL ASK

03:01product

“Use my discount code for 70% off the Audio Pro plan.”

Sponsor read is woven into the tutorial itself (music is framed as one of the scene's 'elements') rather than bolted on as a separate segment, then closed with a direct discount-code ask.

MENTIONED ON CAMERA

02:36toolAudiio ↗