Denoise

In plain words

Reduce grain, shimmer, and texture that changes from frame to frame to clean up the picture. Too much makes skin and grass look smeared like plastic.

When to use it

Dark scenes, clips with visible compression artifacts, and before upscaling.

Example videos

Perfect NR In DaVinci Resolve - BBC TV Colourist Insight (Noise Reduction) — Explainer: See how to apply temporal noise reduction and how to set the strength to keep texture.

Remove Noise From Video WITHOUT Losing Sharpness | DaVinci Resolve, Topaz VIdeo AI — Explainer: Compare before and after of removing noise without losing sharpness.

In AI video, like this

In AI clips the texture changes slightly from frame to frame and can even flicker. Start with a light temporal filter, hqdn3d=1.5:1.5:6:6 or atadenoise, and lower the strength if faces or the areas around text get smeared. If you will add film grain, go in the order denoise → grain (see Film Grain / Halation).

One-click prompt

Calm flickering grain and texture that changes frame to frame with a gentle temporal denoise: ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf hqdn3d=1.5:1.5:6:6 -c:a copy out.mp4. Lower the values if skin or text gets waxy, and apply denoise before adding film grain.

See it in real films and ads

Wikipedia — Noise reduction

AI-made examples

Not verified

Recommended for scenes like these

City & Nature Time-Lapse Horror: Approaching Dread

Techniques that pair well

Extreme Wide Shot (EWS)Debanding / Dithering Negative Space for Text Static / Locked-Off Shot Hyperlapse

← Sharpening Debanding / Dithering →