[Bill Morris]

Aha! That’s the source of my confusion. I had the mindset that “stabilize” and “track motion” were functionally the same thing, which apparently they are not.

I get it. Now, anyway.

…and you aren’t under-appreciated, it’s just that a forum is an extremely inefficient means of communication. Thank you for your explanation. Sometimes the re-wording is all it takes, y’know?

So, then, here’s the issue I’m actually trying to solve. I trying to stabilize a piece of footage shot handheld by someone who isn’t terrifically good at it, and with few reference markers. I can use multiple trackers, adding a new one each time the previous tracker goes out of frame, but slowly and surely the image is drifting downward.

Knowing that the stabilization is going to push the image all over the place, I’d like to keep the benefit of the tracking data but keep the bulk of the image more or less in frame. I know I can zoom just a bit to cover the margins. Since the tracking data is positioning the frame, how do I adjust while keeping the stabilization?

And that’s the real issue 🙂

[Bill Morris]

…someone pasted an AE Stabilized track data onto a Null. As far as I know, this is not only impossible but also ridiculous!

No, it’s perfectly possible, and I tried that as a workaround. It worked, but it’s an extra step or three.

Anyways, you should have no issue applying the tracked data onto your layer AND THEN parenting the said layer to a Null.

That’s backward to my intention. Every tutorial I read or watched trying to find an answer to the question said to:

– track the source layer

– select the null as the target and apply the data

– parent the source layer to the null

To restate my original issue: the null object is not selectable as a target. How do I overcome this issue?

[Bill Morris]

Nice idea except for the 404 error.

[Bill Morris]

Well, poop. I was afraid that would be the answer – kinda figured it would be. Thank you for the link to the tips: I was wondering what I’d do with my afternoon! 🙂

[Bill Morris]

Wow, I wasn’t expecting such a fast response, especially on a holiday weekend.

Screenshots, that I can do.

The composition of the shot is extremely simple, and mostly static with very little shake.

The area that I want to fill in is shown here, in pink:

OR I’m not averse to just doing a virtual set. The only part I have to keep is the door, since we have business that involves it.

I’ve done one cut at this using hand rotoscoping, but I have to wonder if there’s a faster way.

I’ve posted about this sequence before, but can’t find it when I search – and, it’s back up and (more or less) rolling again.

[Bill Morris]

It’s more work. If you garbage matte the post-its to match the green background, you then need only one key.

[Bill Morris]

OH! I forgot I had a second question. Ooops.

What about markers in the environment, e.g. a tennis ball used to note movement in the live action environment for reference by an animator adding an element to a scene?

[Bill Morris]

The very info I was looking for, and what I had in the back of my head. Thanks for the confirmation, and for the quick reply!

[Bill Morris]

Yes, you can stabilize motion with multiple trackers as registration points move off screen, but I believe it is also possible to use ONE tracker. If you move the bounding box, but NOT the anchor point, you can stabilize using one tracker. If the two get out of sync, though, it’s very tough to fix.

I used multiple trackers on my last project – LOTS of camera motion, so my reference points in the shot kept changing. Just stop tracking a frame or two before the point leaves the shot and apply that data. Then create the new tracking point on a new reference point, track, apply. Repeat as necessary.

[Bill Morris]

Yup, had the opportunity to “cheat” just this evening.

I’m editing a stage play, with two camera angles to choose from. In angle one, the footage is rock steady, but the actor flubs his line. In angle two, the footage is shaky, and the line delivery is perfect.

There are only three words, “father in law”, and he stutters the “F” on the first angle.

You guessed it: put the good line into the good footage. The actor is far enough from the camera and in motion, so you’d have to look really close to notice that his lips don’t quite match the words.