• Adobe After Effects Expressions

  Tracking a mask

  Posted by Alex on October 6, 2005 at 12:45 pm

  You know, tracking data and applying it to a mask is easy in SHAKE or C*. How the HELL do you do it in After Effects? It seems one can only apply the data to a layer? I am trying a 4 pin perspective track and there’s soooooo much video that needs to be done, but it would be so easy with a tracker.

  Any suggestions? Please? Thanks! 😉

  Thehardmenpath replied 20 years, 7 months ago 6 Members · 8 Replies
• 8 Replies

• 

  Steve Roberts

  October 6, 2005 at 1:26 pm

  You can’t. Sorry. There were some plugins (brezhnev shu’s?) but they appear to be unavailable. For more info, you can try searching the COW on “tracking” and “masks”.

  Yep, other apps handle masks better than AE does. 🙂

  Steve
• 

  Jerry Witt

  October 6, 2005 at 6:24 pm

  You can do that.

  As outlined above, track the four point and then turn on expressions for that layer. Use the pick whip next to the tracked footage expression and drag it to the corresponding corner pinned property for the other layer. Viola!
• 

  Steve Roberts

  October 6, 2005 at 6:51 pm

  Ah.

  I interpreted the post as a request for a way to apply tracking data to individual mask points.

  Steve
• 

  Peter O’connell

  October 7, 2005 at 12:28 am

  Useful assistants by profound effects has an assistant called track mask vertex or something which assigns vertex points to tracking data. I haven’t used it but it might help.
  Good Luck
  Pete
• 

  Alex

  October 7, 2005 at 1:15 pm

  Thank you all for your reply.

  I’ll just mix up my files and use the different tools at my disposal. I just wanted to do it all in one package…hopefully Adobe can update their 7.0 release to include this essential tool.

  Thanks again.
• 

  Michael Goldberg

  October 7, 2005 at 3:00 pm

  Hi,
  Everyting mentioned above is correct. Just to add a further point, to track a mask, just apply the tracking data to a solid layer with the mask on it, and the mask should track right along. I’ve done that many times…unless I’m misinterpreting something.

  Mike
• 

  Thehardmenpath

  October 7, 2005 at 3:04 pm

  I am working with a great programmer on a script for doing just that. I hope I will publish the resulting scripts here. They look amazing so far, better than what I expected.
• 

  Thehardmenpath

  October 7, 2005 at 3:07 pm

  Oh, and I forgot to say that the whole thing is based on a fast script demo by Dan Ebberts posted here:

  https://www.creativecow.net/forum/read_post.php?postid=109655180366586&forumid=2&archive=_2004|3|2

  It was a great begining for our little project. Perhaps you can work on it on your own based on it, too.

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