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Compositing an image into a handheld picture frame
Hello all, sorry for the long post.
I am currently doing some afx (CS5.5) work for a film. The director wants to have an archival picture composited into a picture frame that was shot on 8mm film (1920×1080). The shot is handheld and is a close up of the picture frame being opened to reveal the interior picture pane (Blank) facing the camera.
Thus far, I have been masking out the pane frame by frame and have the replacement image pre-comped on a lower layer. I have been using the motion tracker on the video of the frame which I then apply to a null object, then parent the position of the replacement image’s precomp to the null object.
This technique has given me hit or miss results each time, I am on my third attempt with this comp and have found tracking the motion of the frame to be extremely problematic due to the grain of the 8mm film. The frame remains mostly at the same aspect but does rotate +/- 5 degrees on x/y. I have already tried matching frame by frame (by hand), very tedious….
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a more reliable tracking solution to this problem? I have seen Mocha suggested a few places for motion tracking, are there any other alternatives or methods that I should be aware of?
Also, any suggestions on how to match the look of the 8mm B&W as well as the glass within the frame??
Thanks in advance. Much appreciated 🙂
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8 Replies
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Thanks Dave! is my methodology for implementing the tracked motion (using a precomp and applying the variable data to it) the most common method of applying tracked motion to an object?
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As Dave says, Mocha is your friend here.
My understanding is that you are trying to track an 8mm film that has been transferred at 1920×1080. The graininess of the film, or noise of the transfer is compromising the track.
Assuming that you cannot reshoot, you may want to try tracking a noise-reduced version of the footage, then apply that tracking to the original. Alternatively, you could slightly blur a copy of the original when tracking. Another (rather cumbersome) suggestion is to stabilize the shot using AE’s Warp Stabilizer, composite the image into the frame, then reverse the stabilization.
There are several plug-ins (Digieffects, or Magic Bullet comes to mind) that can be used to simulate the look of different types of film stocks. At least one of the various noise-reduction plug-ins has/used-to-have the ability to match grain patterns to existing footage. If this is a no-budget production, there are numerous tutorials that suggest various ways to simulate an “8mm film look.”
Jim
Colorburst Video -
Thanks for the replies. Honestly the most difficult part of getting the track to stick properly has been the part with the cover of the frame being opened, the track is thrown off since the cover’s perspective changes 180* and Mocha doesn’t seem to understand how to read the footage. I have tried tracking the larger frame then linked it to the track of the spot that needs to have the image inserted.
I’ve attached two jpeg images of the clip I’m trying to track, one before the cover is opened, and one after. any ideas on how to go about tracking in mocha or what my x spline selections should be would be extremely helpful.
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Upper right corner would seem to be a good track point. Also, try tracking backwards from the end of the scene, or forwards and backwards directions from somewhere in the middle.
Sometimes I’ve had better luck tracking something else in the image. In your case, this might be the knuckle of the right thumb.
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Well, I have just finished a project where I have had to do a lot of mocha tracking. It can be a real pain in the ass… Anyway, try adjusting every keyframe in both the track and adjust track panels, they both seem to work united towards the same end.
If this doesn’t work, once you import on AE you will be able to readjust the corners. Also, remember to put corner pin on a composition with the same aspect ratio as the space you want to put the photo into.
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One note, if you are always “adjusting every keyframe” in AdjustTrack, then your track was not done correctly. AdjustTrack should be used to correct drift or to fix extremely difficult tracks.
Ross Shain
Imagineer Systems
http://www.imagineersystems.com -
Well, I didn’t always have to use adjust track, only in a few, and always when I either didn’t have the four corners on the frame, or when it was out of focus.
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