Tracking an object in a letterboxed, panning video
by Jack Pitzer
on
Oct 3, 2008 at 3:37:20 pm
Greetings,
I'm trying to substitute a graphic in a pre-existing, letterboxed video, in which the object, a box, starts in the middle of the shot, then the camera pans (I actually have 4 videos - 2 pan, 2 tilt) until that object is out of frame. The pans and tilts aren't 100% linear, starting out slow and slightly speeding up.
Also, the optics distort the perspective a bit as the pan/tilt happens.
I'm wondering if there is a plugin or technique to best do a substitution.
I've tried using motion tracking, but the results are too shaky to look believable. Manual keyframing looks even worse.
Thanks much!
Re: Tracking an object in a letterboxed, panning video by Roland R. Kahlenberg on Oct 6, 2008 at 4:36:51 pm
Apologies for the late reply. You're going to need 4-pin tracking in AE. But it's best to track one corner at a time and apply the results to a Null. Then apply a corner-pin to your replacement footage and link, via Expression to the appropriate tracked points to the Null layers.
If this doesn't make sense, then catch up on some reading on tracking and corner-pinning.
For a more rock-solid tool, look for Imagineer Systems Mocha. But take note that Mocha AE will be bundled with AE CS4. I've recently used Mocha (the stand alone version) and it is quite amazing. I had problems with AE's tracking and decided to jump into Mocha and it worked great!!!
Let us know if you need more assistance.
Cheers
RoRK
broadcastGEMs.com - the leader in customizable royalty-free animated backdrops
