• Adobe After Effects

  Applying tracking to lightning FX

  Posted by Goodtimej on May 10, 2007 at 5:26 pm

  OK, corny alert here.
  I’m just trying to learn.

  I have been messing with the lighnting effects, foam effects, etc, and would like to apply it. Well, I want to basically shoot lightning bolts from my fingertips. The problem is, of course, I don’t stand still so the lightning doesn’t follow my hands. I know that After Effects has good tracking capabilities, but I haven’t been able to fugure it out. Can you point me towards a tutorial here or explain the process to me? thanks a lot!

  Mike Clasby replied 18 years, 11 months ago 3 Members · 3 Replies
• 3 Replies

• 

  Mike Clasby

  May 10, 2007 at 6:11 pm

  You need to track your finger tips then paste the Attach Point data (twirl down the Tracker, it’s down there) into the Start Point/End Point (Lightning) or the Origin/Direction (Advanced Lightning).

  You could link then with an expression. Alt Click the Start Point stopwatch (Effect Palette window or timeline after you twirl down the effect) then drag the pickwhip (looks like an @, middle square that appears in timeline, next to the red numbers, both appear when you apply an expression) over to the Tracker’s Attach Point (you must twirl down that tracker until you get to the Attach Point). The expression sounds like a little work, but if you change your tracking later, there no need to re-paste keyframes, the changes will be automatic.

  For a one point track and a step by step on adjusting a track that goes bad (Tracks gone bad! the movie) see the 3rd part of Aharon’s series on turning video into cartoons, there he tracks an eye onto the character, starts at the 5 minute mark. It’s a 1 point track and he shows you how to adjust frame by frame when the tracker gets cranky. Hope these help.

  Aharon’s tut:

  https://forums.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/new_page_wrapper.cgi?forumid=2&page=https://www.creativecow.net/articles/rabinowitz_aharon/cartoon_look/index.html

  movie here:

  https://forums.creativecow.net/articles/rabinowitz_aharon/cartoon_look/CC_LiveTrace_Pt_3CD.mov

  Here’s all the other Tracking Tuts I know of.

  Track It
  https://studio.adobe.com/us/tips/tip.jsp?p=1&id=100362&xml=ae65tttrack

  Keep motion in perspective
  https://studio.adobe.com/us/tips/tip.jsp?p=1&id=100241&xml=aft65cornerpin

  Using the new Motion Tracker
  https://studio.adobe.com/us/tips/tip.jsp?p=1&id=487&xml=aft6ttmotiontracker

  Tracking obscured objects in video
  https://studio.adobe.com/us/tips/tip.jsp?p=1&id=399&xml=aft6tracking
• 

  Kevin Torres

  May 15, 2007 at 11:02 pm

  By the way where is the “Electrical Lightning” effect in AE? I use to know where it was but I forgot.

  Bumdog
• 

  Mike Clasby

  May 18, 2007 at 4:24 pm

  Ctrl 2, brings up the Effects and Presets Palette, type in “Lightning” and it will tell you where it is, effects move around depending on the AE version, mine in AE 6.5 is under Render.

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