Create a Cinematic 3D Map (Inoxtag/Kaizen Style) in DaVinci Resolve

Were you struck by the immersive 3D maps in Inoxtag's documentary Kaizen? They let you visualize a route and place the action with an impressive cinematic look.

People often think you need to master complex software like Blender or Maya to get this result. Yet you can recreate this effect entirely in DaVinci Resolve (Fusion), without leaving the software and in a few simple steps.

Here is the complete guide to making your own animated 3D map.

What you need to create this effect in Fusion

Before you start, you need two images of your map (which you can download from specialized sites like this one: https://manticorp.github.io/unrealheightmap/index.html):

1. The "Albedo" map: the classic color satellite image.
2. The "Height Map" (or Displacement Map): a black and white image where black represents low points and white represents high points (the peaks).

Step 1: Setting up the 3D

In the Fusion tab of DaVinci Resolve:

1. Import your two maps (Albedo and Height Map).
2. Add an ImagePlane3D node (not a Shape3D). Why? Because ImagePlane adapts its geometry to the resolution of your image, and that's what matters here.
3. Connect your color map (Albedo) to the ImagePlane3D.

4. In the ImagePlane Inspector, go to Transform:

   • Rotation X: 90 (to lay the map flat).
   • Scale: increase the size (e.g. 5.0) to give yourself room for your camera moves.

Step 2: Creating relief (Displacement)

For now, the map is flat. We'll give it volume with the Height Map.

1. Add a Displace3D node after the ImagePlane3D.
2. Connect your Height Map image to the Displace3D input.
3. The problem: the render looks like a pixelated PS1 game.
4. The solution: go back to the ImagePlane3D controls and drastically increase the Subdivisions (e.g. go from 10 to 400 or 600). The higher the number, the more precise the relief (but the more resources it will take from your computer).
5. In the Displace3D node, adjust the Scale to increase or decrease the height of the mountains.

Step 3: Lighting and realistic rendering

To get rid of the "plastic" look, you need to work on the light and the material.

1. Add the essential nodes to view the scene: Merge3D > Camera3D > Render3D.

2. Render3D setup:

   • Set the Renderer Type to Hardware Renderer (better quality and performance).
   • Check Lighting and Shadows.

3. Light: add a PointLight node connected to the Merge3D. Place it above your map to create shadows.

   • Tip: in the light settings, change the Decay Type to Linear for a realistic falloff of the light with distance.
4. Texture: insert a CookTorrance node between your color map and the ImagePlane3D. This gives you better control over how the surface reacts to light.
5. Smoothing the relief: if the terrain is too "sharp", add a small Blur node (value around 2.0) right after your Height Map, before it goes into the Displace3D.

Step 4: Adding detail (Bump Map)

To give the rock some grain without making the geometry heavier:

1. Add a CreateBumpMap node followed by a BumpMap node.
2. Connect your color map (Albedo) to the CreateBumpMap.
3. Connect the output of the BumpMap to the CookTorrance node (use the Alt key to choose the Bumpmap Material input).
4. The relief will immediately look more detailed and realistic.

Step 5: Drawing the route (the optimized method)

There are several methods, but this one is the most efficient for your computer because it separates the path from the complex terrain.

1. Create a transparent Background node (Alpha at 0) with the same resolution as your maps.
2. Add a Polygon node (mask) on this Background and draw your route point by point.

3. Add a second, independent ImagePlane3D.

   • Connect your Background (the path) to it.
   • Use lower subdivisions (e.g. 100).
4. Apply the same Displace3D (with the same Height Map) as for the terrain. That way, the path follows the curves of the mountains exactly.
5. Add a Transform3D after this second Displace and raise the path very slightly on the Y axis so it isn't "inside" the mountain, but just above it.
6. Connect everything to the main Merge3D.

To animate the line, simply play with the Length parameter of the Polygon node (from 0 to 1).

Step 6: Making the path glow (Glow)

To make the path clearly visible, we'll add a glow to it, without making the whole mountain glow.

1. In the second ImagePlane3D (the path's), go to the Controls tab and set the Object ID to 2.
2. In the Render3D node, go to Output Channels and check Object ID.
3. Add a Glow node after the Render3D.

4. To restrict the Glow to the path:

   • Add a Bitmap node (mask).
   • Connect the Bitmap input to the Render3D output.
   • In the Bitmap, choose Channel: Object ID.
   • Set the slider or value to isolate ID 2 (your path will turn white on a black background).
5. Connect this Bitmap to the mask input (blue) of the Glow node.

If the basic Glow looks flat to you, Glow Expo, my free plugin, gives a more realistic halo.

Step 7: Finishing touches (removing black lines)

Sometimes the Height Map creates black lines along the edges (because black = altitude level 0).

1. Add a Paint node right after loading your Height Map.
2. Use the Clone tool (Stroke mode) with a soft brush (Softness).
3. Paint over the black edges by cloning the nearby texture to make these unsightly lines disappear.

Don't need a 3D map? To draw a dotted route on a flat map, I created Traces Lite, a free plugin that does it right on the Edit page, without Fusion.

Conclusion

And there you go! You have a complete 3D scene with realistic terrain, dynamic shadows and an animated glowing line, all without leaving DaVinci Resolve. All that's left is to animate your Camera3D to fly over your creation.

Now it's your turn, for your travel vlogs or your documentaries! If a node in this tutorial gives you trouble, the Fusion nodes guide explains the role of each one, and the Fusion masterclass (in French) helps you go further in 3D.

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