Track Motion in AE CS3?

[Burlesque]

Well, i can't get anything right with the tracker controls in AE cs3. When i watch videocopilots tutorials on tracker controls everything always looks good and stick together. But when i do it nothing looks like it actually sticks to the footage,

lets say i do skyreplacement, even if i take the whole frame as search are for the tracker controls it dosn't stick, iv'e tried all the options aswell. When i've choosen the objects that i want to track, i analyze forward, and it looks pretty good. But when i look at the result when i parent the sky to the null object it still doesn't stick to the footage.

Very frustrating.

 

[tmnt]

When you apply the track (edit target), make sure you select a null layer (create one). Then you just parent whatever footage layer you need have the tracking data to the null.

 

[Burlesque]

Yes i know, but the problem is that the null doesn't stick to the footage 100%. Even if i change the settings so that the "analyze forward" stops if ut's confidence is under 95%. When i see andrew kramer do it, he just do it real quick and it still looks fantastic.

 

[fleaguit]

You have to set the tracker to a point in which the computer can eaasily track the motion. The easiest is a spot with a lot of contrast (a dark park, and a light part) Such as the edge between say a building and the sky behind it.

 

[Burlesque]

Thnk you very much! When i tried an contrasted edge instead of just a dark/light spot it worked out just fine

 

[mcvideo]

if you want to track 100% effortlessly, better than after effects, look into http://www.imagineersystems.com/products/monet/ scroll down and view the examples of what it can do, (MONET). Also CreativeCow has a decent tutorial @ http://library.creativecow.net/articles/rabinowitz_aharon/Mocha_Tut_1.php

After effects has a good tracker but you can’t beat an application made specifically for this tracking. Just because AE has tracking abilities which work, why not use an application designed for this task, plus others like roto. Its like using a shoe to hammer a nail into the wall. Its get the job done but a hammer will get the job done effortlessly and quicker.

Imaginer Systems is getting good exposure quickly.

 

[milksac]

Just because AE has tracking abilities which work, why not use an application designed for this task, plus others like roto.

Why not? Simple answer, it's not in the budget.
If you do tracking all the time, then of course you should consider a dedicated tracker.
Mocha is priced over 2 grand (USD) you better do a heck of a lot of tracking to justify the expense.

Here are some low cost alternatives that are better than AE's tracker but they won't break your bank account.

http://www.pfhoe.com/hoepro.htm
http://www.ssontech.com/

 

[CaptainMench]

When i see andrew kramer do it, he just do it real quick and it still looks fantastic.

What you don't see is the hour of footage where Andrew is hunting for that perfect spot... notice in his videos he says:

"Well, let's just put a tracker... um... HERE" - like it was spur of the moment or something... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Glad it's working for you.

Also... if you have a particularly troublesome jiggle you can step thru it frame by frame over the trouble spot moving the tracker by hand then analyze forward after that.

CaptM

 

[dougspice]

Learning what a good track point is takes skill and experience that has nothing to do with software.

That said, AE's tracker is crap, and I'd only use it if I absolutely had to. I've talked to the AE reps and pressed the point that it needs to be a focus of the CS4 release... on the other hand that may be irrelevant now for me since I am now a very, very happy Mocha user. Yeah, it may be out of the budget for a lot of people, but if you spend any appreciable amount of time doing this work, it'll pay back by a huge amount in the long run. Plus, they seem to do a lot of 50% off sales, through Toolfarm, etc.

 

[mcvideo]

i agree with dougspice.. I'm just about to get my hands on MONET. i have been testing it out for 30days and its sweet. I will check out your links provided though, milksac.