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Help to stabilize / center my subject

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
August 1, 2019
2 replies
3985 views

Hi,

I'm learning to use After Effects, and i need help cause i can't find the way to stabilize / center / lock my subject at the video's center.

Here's the link to my test video : Need to stabilize / center subject - YouTube

As u can see, the burger is moving horizontally, from left to right, but i want he stay static in the middle. When i tried to use the "tracking movement" tool, he didnt worked (I click "Analyze forward" and nothing happens).

Thanks for help in advance.

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Correct answer Rick Gerard

Open the Motion Tracking Workspace
Select the layer then click Stabilize Motion
Pick out a fairly substantial part of the image that does not change shape like the bottom left corner of the bun
Analyze Forward then apply.
Back in the main comp add a null and a rectangle shape layer to help you visualize the center of the comp
Set the shape layer as a Guide Layer
Parent the footage to the null
With the null selected press Alt/Option + p to set a Position keyframe for the null at the first frame of the comp
Scrub through the timeline and adjust the position of the null to keep the burger centered, it took me 4 keyframes to do it:
If you need to then center the whole thing add a second null, parent Null 1 to Null 2 and move Null 2 to put the burger exactly where you want it
Turn off the Shape Layer (guide layer)
Use Keylight to remove the background

There you go.

Warren Heaton

Community Expert

Another approach is to apply Warp Stabilizer and then set the Objective to Reversible Stabilization (under Advanced) after it finishes.

The main advantage of this is speed and that with footage like this (the hamburger) you'll still have friction. That is, the point at which the object makes contact with the surface plane will be maintained.

-Warren

R

Rick Gerard

Correct answer

Community Expert

Open the Motion Tracking Workspace
Select the layer then click Stabilize Motion
Pick out a fairly substantial part of the image that does not change shape like the bottom left corner of the bun
Analyze Forward then apply.
Back in the main comp add a null and a rectangle shape layer to help you visualize the center of the comp
Set the shape layer as a Guide Layer
Parent the footage to the null
With the null selected press Alt/Option + p to set a Position keyframe for the null at the first frame of the comp
Scrub through the timeline and adjust the position of the null to keep the burger centered, it took me 4 keyframes to do it:
If you need to then center the whole thing add a second null, parent Null 1 to Null 2 and move Null 2 to put the burger exactly where you want it
Turn off the Shape Layer (guide layer)
Use Keylight to remove the background

There you go.

BigDaddyFrAuthor

Participating Frequently

Thanks a lot for the answer.

I tried to follow your instructions many times (i experimented some things), but the final result i have is always little bit shaky, I dont know if i did great.

The tracking step working great, it's centered all the time, but shaking a little.

If i correctly understood, the "null" is for modifiying manually the position, it is ? But i cant understand what i can correct manually.

Here's my result : Need to stabilize / center subject - Test Result 1 - YouTube

Is there a way to remove the shaking effect ?

Thanks again for your help.

R

Rick Gerard

Community Expert

Make sure your tracking is accurate by making sure that the Composition Panel is set to Full resolution and the Layer window where you do the tracking is at least 100% magnification factor. If you include enough data the corner of the bun should not move at all.

When you parent Null 1 to the Motion Stabilized footage layer and set keyframes for Position, check the bottom left corner of the bun and concentrate there. I didn't have to make any Y adjustments. This is easiest to do in the timeline by clicking and dragging the X position. Holding down the Ctrl/Cmnd key while you drag will give you finer adjustments. Set your first keyframe when the bottom left corner of the bun just starts to move. Then move down the timeline until the direction of movement changes and make another adjustment. I only had to set 4 keyframes to get a very smooth result.

When everything is stable add Null 2 and make it the parent of Null 1, then drag Null 2 to position the burger on the screen. Even with your highly compressed YouTube download at 720P, I got a perfectly acceptable result the first time in about 5 minutes.

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