Tonal adaptation
The grain response changes across shadows, midtones and highlights rather than repeating one identical amplitude everywhere.
Texture tied to exposure
Film grain that belongs to the image
Photochemical grain is part of image formation, not a transparent noise layer placed on top. Its visibility changes with exposure, image scale and the surrounding detail. Adaptive Film Grain uses that relationship to make texture sit inside the frame.
The response
What this tool changes
Image-scale awareness
Texture is designed to remain coherent as the image format and viewing size change, avoiding a fixed screen-space pattern.
Moving texture
Temporal variation keeps the grain alive from frame to frame while a restrained response protects fine image detail.
DaVinci Resolve workflow
A practical way to use it
- Complete the tonal grade before making a final grain decision.
- Judge texture at normal playback speed and at the intended delivery resolution.
- Set an amount that is visible in motion without becoming the first thing the viewer notices.
- Recheck compressed exports because delivery codecs can change the apparent grain structure.
Restraint matters
What to avoid
Do not evaluate grain only at extreme viewer zoom. Pixel-level inspection is useful for artifacts, but the aesthetic decision belongs to the final viewing distance. Very heavy grain can also make low-bitrate delivery inefficient and obscure the original texture.