What is S-curve easing in DaVinci Resolve and how does it make motion look natural?

S-curve easing in DaVinci Resolve is a keyframe interpolation curve shaped like an S: motion accelerates gradually out of the first keyframe and decelerates gradually into the last, instead of moving at constant speed. Select your spline keyframes and press S to apply it — the ease-in/ease-out curve is what makes animated motion feel natural rather than mechanical.

Apply it first, then understand it: in DaVinci Resolve's spline editor, select the keyframes on your animated parameter and press S — Resolve converts the linear interpolation into an ease-in/ease-out S-curve. You'll see the straight line between keyframes bend into an S shape: flat at both ends, steep in the middle.

Why the S shape reads as natural. The curve's slope is the object's velocity. A linear keyframe path means constant velocity — the object is at full speed on frame one and stops dead on the last frame, which nothing in the physical world does. The S-curve starts with near-zero slope (slow start), steepens through the middle (full speed), and flattens again at the end (slow stop). That gradual acceleration and deceleration mirrors how real objects — and real camera operators — move, so the eye accepts the motion as organic instead of computer-generated.

Where you'll use it in Resolve. On the Edit page, the curve editor under a clip lets you ease zoom, position, and rotation keyframes. In the Fusion tab, the spline editor gives the same control over any animated node parameter — text, widgets, cursors, overlays. The S shortcut on selected spline keyframes is the fastest route in both contexts.

Layering it for organic UI animation. S-curve easing compounds with keyframe offsetting: in one documented Fusion workflow for bouncy pop-in widget animations, the width and height keyframe sequences were offset by 1–2 frames from each other, then S-curve easing was applied — the offset plus the ease is what turns a mechanical pop into a genuinely bouncy, organic entry. The same logic applies to motion paths: a curved B-spline path with eased keyframes makes a mouse-cursor animation feel human rather than robotic. These animations are fast to build — the full cinematic screen animation using them took 5–10 minutes.

Why it matters in an AI-video workflow. Custom Resolve animations with proper easing are one of the strongest ways to lift AI-generated footage above generic output — replacing select shots with hand-built Fusion animations is what creates a high-budget feel. If you generate your clips with the invideo agent and finish in Resolve, eased motion graphics over the footage are a cheap, high-impact polish pass.

The short version: linear keyframes describe machines, S-curves describe physics — and one keypress gets you there.

Watch some of these to see what works for you:

that took us like 5 or 10 minutes. It was not complicated at all, and it looks better than 99% of the stuff on YouTube.

— creator documenting the DaVinci Resolve Fusion animation workflow