[Sean Jahnig]

@grahamquince2

thanks for this suggestion, this is definitely sounds like the right path. I will experiment and let you know how it goes!

[Sean Jahnig]

@michaelszalapski

Thanks, and sorry for the late reply.

This would work if there was nothing else in the pre-comp with the mask. If there were other objects in that pre-comp then they would form part of the matte. If there was a way (from the main comp) to target a specific layer inside the pre-comp as matte, then that could hold part of the solution.

[Sean Jahnig]

Hey Paddy,

This piece of advice really helped me!!

Much appreciated, thanks.

[Sean Jahnig]

Ok, i have got it working the way i want – thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

I did a regular track camera and then i created a 3D null in the location i wanted. After that i used the 3D null to 2D null method and then i parented my 2D graphic to the 2D null and it is working perfectly.

The way to link from the 3D null to the 2D null is by applying the below code to the position property of the 2D null where xxx is the name of the 3D null in the comp.

thisComp.layer("xxx").toComp([0, 0, 0]);

[Sean Jahnig]

Thanks for the reply.

I’m finding it tricky to get ‘track motion’ working for a 2D track. I can’t find a good point to track from, it always results in a tiny bit of jitter. And even when the 2D object is parented to the track it doesn’t look as realistic as it does in 3D. I think the drone shot is quite complex, it’s rotating and getting moving closer throughout the scene which doesn’t help.

Also, 1 of the points that i need to track disappears behind an object half way through the scene so the track fails. Using the camera tracker fixes this problem because once the camera is solved, a null in 3D space is maintaining its position even when the object goes out of view.

Here’s a sample of everything in 3D. My only complaint with this is the circles deforming as they move to the edge of the scene.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9xsoe4m4j668klt/creative_cow_02.gif?dl=0

Now, if i could keep the camera tracker as it is and link a correctly positioned 3D null to a 2D object then i think i would get the behavior i need. I’m gonna get busy with that now. Please let me know if you know exactly how i can parents a 2D object to a 3D null.

[Sean Jahnig]

Thanks for the reply. I’ll look into this solution.

To clarify on the second part – what i ultimately want is the circular graphics to be part of the 3D scene and move around with it BUT remain perfectly 2D and round at all times no matter where it is in the scene. Currently, tracking and placing it in 3D gives me exactly the movement i need but as the circles move around the scene they stretch/distort slightly (ie. no longer perfectly 2D and round) due to the camera distortion on the edges.

You can see a sample of what i’m talking about here – https://www.dropbox.com/s/tcq01fzoljm5voq/creative_cow_01.jpg?dl=0

I think the solution would be to do a regular track and parent to a null – but i am yet to test this.

[Sean Jahnig]

Thanks for the reply. Now that i think about it – you are right! I will give it a try.

[Sean Jahnig]

Thanks for the reply.

I tried that but it didn’t make much difference so i guess the solver was fairly close.

The problem seems to be Z space. A point in the scene that has a Z position of 2,000 has got a lot more deforming as it moves away from the center than the same object that is closer with a position of 0.

Ideally i need to link a 2D shape to a 3D point so that it exists in the correct depth but it’s scale and orientation should remain the same as a 2D object does…

[Sean Jahnig]

Signed in just to thank you for this piece of wisdom!!

[Sean Jahnig]

Thanks. Powerpoint and keynote do allow you to put a video on each slide, but you don’t have much control over looping and auto progressing to next slides upon completion of video etc. and worst of all, the transition from slide to slide is not flawless.

After a bit of experimenting, ProPresenter seems to do what i need to do. It’ll just take some learning to use it properly. I find it hard to believe that there is such limited options for doing what i need to do. At the moment, ProPresenter appears to be the only software to do this