Applying tracking to lightning FX

[Mike Clasby]

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]

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

Bumdog

[Mike Clasby]

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.