Getting started

Before you start

You need DaVinci Resolve or DaVinci Resolve Studio. FaceTweak works with both. (A Premiere Pro version is coming soon; these guides cover Resolve.) On a Mac you need Apple silicon (M1 or later), 16 GB of memory, macOS 15 or later and Resolve 21 or later. On Windows, an NVIDIA graphics card with at least 8 GB of memory is recommended. FaceTweak runs without one, but much more slowly. The full list is on the compatibility page.

If you haven’t already, download the free trial. The trial is the complete plugin. The only difference is a pattern of diagonal stripes over the rendered picture. Licensing and consent covers the trial, your license and the consent step in detail.

1. Install FaceTweak

1. Quit DaVinci Resolve. Resolve only looks for new plugins when it starts.
2. Run the installer you downloaded and follow the prompts. It asks you to accept two agreements: the license agreement and the Face Alteration Terms, which set out how FaceTweak may be used on real people.
3. Open Resolve again. The first start after installing can take a little longer while Resolve checks the new plugin.

2. Add FaceTweak to a clip

In Resolve, FaceTweak is called Face Tweak. You’ll find it with Resolve’s other OpenFX effects, under the heading Pixerati. The quickest way to find it is to type “face” into the effects search box.

On the Edit page

1. Open the Effects panel and go to OpenFX › Filters.
2. Drag Face Tweak onto the clip in your timeline.
3. Select the clip and open the Inspector. FaceTweak’s controls are on the Effects tab.

On the Color page

1. Add a new node for FaceTweak, so it doesn’t share a node with your grade.
2. Open the Effects panel (called OpenFX in older versions of Resolve) and drag Face Tweak onto that node.
3. The controls appear on the panel’s Settings tab.

The controls are grouped into sections such as Mouth, Eyes and Pose. Click a section’s name to open or close it. Some sections start closed to keep the panel tidy.

3. Approve your footage

FaceTweak changes a real person’s face, so the first time you add it to a clip, a Digital alteration: rights certification notice opens. It asks you to confirm that you have consent to alter the people in the footage and the rights to the footage itself.

If that’s true, tick I have read and certify the statement above and click Yes. Until you do, FaceTweak leaves the clip exactly as it was and the viewer shows RIGHTS APPROVAL REQUIRED. To open the notice again later, use Rights Certification › Open legal notice.

Licensing and consent explains why FaceTweak asks, exactly what you’re confirming, and how to keep a signed release form with your project.

4. Trial and license

Everything works in the trial; renders just carry diagonal stripes. When you buy, paste your license key into the License section near the bottom of the controls and click Activate License. The stripes disappear, with nothing to reinstall. One license covers two computers, in DaVinci Resolve or in Premiere Pro once that version is released. The full walkthrough is in Licensing and consent.

5. Check it’s working

Park the playhead on a frame where the face is clearly visible. Open the Eyes section and drag Blink all the way to the left. The eyes should close. Drag it back to 0 and you’re ready for Adjusting a face.

Nothing happened? The most likely reasons are that the footage hasn’t been approved yet, or FaceTweak can’t find a face in that frame. Troubleshooting covers both.