twist and shout

[Andrew Kramer]

Track backwards from the last frame with the number 1 tracker.

[Norman Frizzle]

I must be missing something, Andrew. I’ve been tracking backwards. I don’t know jow you select tracker one or two since both are required at the same time for the correction I need. No matter what I do, I end up with BOTH the new fixed position AND the new fixed rotation according to my first frame, not the last as I want it to be.

[Andrew Kramer]

Well you can always select all the keyframe and then adjust the position on the last frame to be where you want it and then the rest of the layer will move relitive.

Or creat a null object and parent the layer and move the null over to line up the last frame…

[Norman Frizzle]

I’m with you on the first option, although I’m agast that AE does not do the sensible, intuitive thing and allow me to simply keyframe my position as being the final frame for this process.

And unfortunately, even this would do nothing to address the rotation issue. Once again, it is so frustrating that AE is so often unintuitive or COUNTER intuitive! AE’s HELP is NO help, so in total desparation I guess I’l have to resort to the manual!

What I’m doing, namely stabilizing handheld footage is one of the things I use AE for most. But I have never gotten a proper handle on correcting rotation because of the issue of seamlessly matching my start frame of the footage to be procesweed with the last frame before it in my PREMIERE project AS WELLAS the last frame of processed footage with the frame where I must resume in PREMEIERE. I’m wobbly about using ‘null objects’ and other techniques I expect might well come into play, like ‘pre-composing’. As it is, I routinely have to take at least ten STOOPID keystrokes that AE should long since have eliminated. Why does it all have to be so tortured?

I wish someone would do a video tutorial on stabilizing in a real-world situation where shot start and shot end must coordinate with where it leasves off and where it picks up again in a larger timeline. It’s such a routine process with limited variables that I’m sure it would make a lot of lives happier.

[Andrew Kramer]

Okay I hear what your saying…

Here is the solution… (dang maybe a tutorial would be easier…)

Basically you need the front and tail of your shot to be exactly what you started with to match up with the rest of your edit.

First off, it doesn’t matter which way you track but however you do start at one end and track forward, rotation and all.

Now the last from of your shot is going to be off-center with some black around it and is going to be rotated slightly correct?

No Problem.

Here is what you do,

1. Make a new Null object and make it the length of your shot.
2. Go to the first frame of the shot and parent the footage to the null with the little whip.
3. Then set a keyframe for the “Anchor Point” and “Rotation” of the null object.
4. Next Go to the last frame of your shot and then with the shot layer selected hit “R”, hold shift and hit “P”. (basically bring up your rotation and position parameters)
5. Now here is the tricky part, Set another keyframe for the “Anchor Point” and “rotation” of the null object at that point in time(last frame).
6. Now copy the value of the rotaion to the end rotation keyframe of the null object, then reverse it by adding or taking away the negative (-)
7. Now Select the last position keyframe of the Tracked shot layer and copy it (CTRL+C) Then select the “acchor point” name parameter and paste the position value of the tracked shot with the last anchor point keyframe of the null object.
8. Add easy ease keyframes to the anchor point and rotation of the null object so that the realignment is smooth.

Basically this reversed, by pasting the tracked position to the anchor point you are reversing the shot back to it’s orginal location.
And by keyframing the first frame of the null it’s position stays constant.

I hope this helps,
Andrew

[Norman Frizzle]

You’re a good egg, Andew! That’s by far as clearly as I’ve had put a solution to date.

I have another intresting challenge that necessity is the mother of as well, but I’ll leave it for a seperate posting since it is an issue in itself and unrelated.