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Participant
July 21, 2023
Question

Shadow moves with camera tracking

  • July 21, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 176 views

Hi, have a little issue here, hope someone could help. I have a camera tracking around a 3D object, I created a light for it to cast a shadow, the problem is that the shadow moves with the movement of the camera, the shadow should be still since it is supposed to be a shadow produced by the sun.  The question is, how do I make the shadow stay still and not be affected by the movement of the camera tracking.  I hope make myself clear. Thanks in advance

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1 reply

Community Expert
July 21, 2023

If the camera track is accurate and you set the origin and ground plane, then add the camera and a solid using the same target, then you establish and verify the position of the surface where you put the 3D layer that you want to cast a shadow, everything should work out. 

 

The proper workflow for setting a light would be to Shift + Parent the light to the shadow-casting 3D layer, then back the light away from the layer casting the shadow and tie the Point Of Interest for the light to the position of the layer casting the shadow. This is very easy to do with a simple pickwhip expression. The next step would be to position the light to cast the shadow you want. If the footage was snot in sunlight, then you will be better off using a Parallel light than a Spotlight. Everything should line up as long as the layer casting the shadow does not change position and the Light does not change position. The only thing that could foul that up is if the Shadow Catcher layer is not properly attached to the shadow casting layer. If the geometry is off there, the shadow will move when the camera moves because the layer catching the shadow does not share the same plane as the layer casting the shadow. 

 

To be sure I would need to see a screenshot with the position properties of the Shadow Casting and the Shadow Catching layer revealed. The rotation properties should share the same intersecting coordinates. To make this easier to diagnose, I always align the anchor point with the bottom center of the shadow-casting layer and make sure that the rotation and orientation properties match up on both layers. 

 

If you can, copy and paste a screenshot showing all of the transform properties of both layers to the Reply field instead of using the Drag and Drop here button so we can see it in your post. The toolbar also has a button to add photos. 

 

 

 

 

VeltuxAuthor
Participant
August 7, 2023

Hi Rick, thank you so much for your answer! it did work at the end! sometimes one don´t know where to link the attributes, but with you guide I can fix the issue, have a great day and thanks again!