Introduction to Tracking in After Effects
In this After Effects tutorial we'll learn how to use the tracker built in to After Effects to analyze real life footage and find the movement of objects. Software required: After Effects CS4 for project files.
What you'll learn
In this After Effects tutorial we'll learn how to use the tracker built in to After Effects to analyze real life footage and find the movement of objects. This is an important technique for matching an image or animation's position, rotation, scale and perspective skewing to footage. We'll begin the tutorial by doing a simple one point track using some easy footage and how to apply that movement information to other layers. We'll then learn how to do a two point track on real footage and create a black-bar effect over someone's eyes. Lastly, we'll track the four corners of a television screen to replace the image on the screen. We'll then learn some tips for getting a track from difficult footage using color correct techniques. Software required: After Effects CS4 for project files.
Table of contents
- Getting Started with the Tracker: One Point Tracking 6m
- Connecting Tracker Data to Layers 5m
- Creating a Two Point Track 5m
- Four Point Tracking 5m
- Using a Channel Blur to Clean a Four Point Track 6m
- Compositing the Reflection Onto the Four Point Track 4m
- How to Edit Tracking Data Points 4m
- Creating a Clean Track Using Color Correction Techniques 7m
- Stabilizing Footage Using the Tracker 4m
About the author
Along with creating and recording training, he also used to manage the support team and work closely with the production development team at Digital-Tutors, now a Pluralsight company. He began his career working freelance and quickly realized that he wanted to find a company where he could use his talents to help people succeed in the CG industry. Chris has likely watched more Pluralsight creative training than anyone on the planet, and its evidenced by his Einstein-sized brain and encyclopedic... more