Skip to main content
P
PastaRhymes
Inspiring
October 13, 2017
Answered

How can I track an animated callout?

  • October 13, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 388 views

Hi there,

I have a 360 degree panning drone shot in which I want to include animated call-outs.

How do I use camera tracking (or any other viable method) so they stay in place while the shot keeps moving?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Rick Gerard

    I don't think camera tracker is going to work for you on that shot. There is no parallax change because the camera is so high and it's a tripod pan so you are not going to get any real depth information. About in the middle of the picture, you'll probably get a fairly decent set of points you can use to place a solid but on the edges, things are going to get really wonky quickly.

    You should be able to use Mocha or AE's motion tracker to lock 2D elements to points in the shot.

    1 reply

    R
    Community Expert
    Rick GerardCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 13, 2017

    The tracking method depends on the shot and the amount of lens distortion. A lot of drone cameras have a fair amount of barrel distortion so if your call will be moving to the edges of the frame you may need to remove the lens distortion before you start.

    Camera tracking may work just fine, but you also may be able to use point tracking.

    If you have a fairly long shot it is usually better to cut the shot up so each shot you are tracking only includes the frames where the callouts will appear. It is highly unlikely that you will be able to successfully camera track a five minute shot because there's just too much math to do to calculate the camera and AE will run out of memory and the camera solution will fail.

    The trick in all composites is to figure out exactly which frames you are going to need in your final edit and only spend time working on those frames.

    It sounds like you are very new to AE or at least motion tracking. If so I would strongly suggest you spend some time learning the basics and do some studying of the help files and community resources available here: Basic AE, and through the Search Help field at the top right corner of AE.

    Show us the shot, provide a detailed description of your animated callouts, and we can give you some specific recommendations.

    P
    PastaRhymesAuthor
    Inspiring
    October 13, 2017

    Thank you for your reply. And you're right, I'm fairly new to AE.

    Here's the shot I'm trying to get callouts in as the camera moves: 360 test - YouTube

    There's going to be a total of about 20 callouts.

    R
    Community Expert
    Rick GerardCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    October 13, 2017

    I don't think camera tracker is going to work for you on that shot. There is no parallax change because the camera is so high and it's a tripod pan so you are not going to get any real depth information. About in the middle of the picture, you'll probably get a fairly decent set of points you can use to place a solid but on the edges, things are going to get really wonky quickly.

    You should be able to use Mocha or AE's motion tracker to lock 2D elements to points in the shot.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices