Using puppet tool on video/film (moving object)?

[Gabriel Bergeron]

This is a film stunt and I want to accentuate the effect using something like the puppet tool. I have green screen footage of the subject getting pulled by stunt wires and I want to make subtle changes to the dynamic of the impact.

When you said that the pins can be animated, you meant they could follow the moving subject in its movement? I see no way of doing that right now.

I can animate the pins all I want but when the subject moves it snaps off from the pins because they are fixed in place.

The pins act like the skeleton. You can then animate these pins as joints but the skeleton is fixed in place.

Am I missing something?

[Andy Galloway]

Hi mate,

I definitely do not recommend the puppet tool for this but if I was to then I would do the track using the in built tracker or mocha then with an expression apply that data to the pin so you can then also animate it.

I think using the puppet tool on keyed video is an interesting theory and something I may try as an experiment when I get some down time. However, I think you would need to get such an accurate track for your pins and maybe use the duik IK rig as well. Also could be very glitchy and any change in perspective and your about snookered.

I’d recommend using the bezier warp for this job or on impact export a still or create a freeze frame and puppet tool that.

Good luck

[Gabriel Bergeron]

Hi Andy!

I thought about using the bezier warp but I liked the dynamic of the puppet tool and the way it affects the subject.

I’d like to try tracking the “starting” pins on the subject but I don’t see how that’s possible right now since there seems to be no way to move those original points.

After you create some puppet pins and move them, if you go to Puppet overlay tool or starch tool, you’ll see that it shows the original pins (before movement). This is what we want to move but there doesn’t seem to be a way to do it.

Ideas, input?

[Andy Galloway]

The puppet pin will create the mesh using the alpha channel on the frame you apply it on. There is no way for these pins to automatically move with the position of your video. If you applied tracking created using the in built tracker for these points then the mesh would warp with the video. You would have to apply the tracking data to the position parameter of the pin in the deform drop down. However, this will undoubtedly behave strangely.

If you want to use puppet tool then you really need to create a still at the point of impact and puppet that.

[Gabriel Bergeron]

This confirms what I thought then…

I ended up creating a new layer for each moving frame and then working with the puppet tool frame by frame that way, resulting in a moving object adjusted with the puppet tool.
It worked quite well.

Thanks Dave and Andy for your answers!

[Andy Galloway]

Old thread I know so I’m sure you have finished your project now. However, by chance I came across this earlier which may help someone in the future.

https://joshuamosley.com/tutorials/AEmotionTrack/mapPuppet.html