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Circlex28457278evs1
Participant
March 18, 2023
Answered

motion tracking

  • March 18, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 1469 views

how can I do that like a drone coming to deliver a product but its not just a simple footage its like camera scene is changing from building to sky and then to my balcony

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Correct answer Rick Gerard

Look at the project file. I just picked where the drone was on the ground, tracked the part of the shot that I cut, then went backward using just he left and active camera view to move the drone up and away in a path that kind of makes sense. 

 

That whole shot will never camera track. About the only part of the shot that would track was the last few seconds. When I got the Track Solid attached to the landing pad, I just Shift + Parented the shape layer drone to the Track Solid and rotated it so ti stood up.  Then I just worked backward. The path was random and all I wanted to do was to kind of keep the drone in the shot and move it farther away from the camera. Once it is in the air, the path would have to be created by hand anyway. 

 

2 replies

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Community Expert
Rick GerardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 19, 2023

If I was asked to do a shot like this, I would carefully storyboard the shot first, find a suitable location, then carefully execute the camera move so there was some significant parallax changes (perspective) and plenty of detail in the shot. I would also create or buy a 3D model of a drone carrying a package and then use Element 3D (from Video Copilot) to insert your 3D model in the scene. 

 

Another option would be to take the shot into Blender (a free and open-source amazing 3D app - HTTP://blender.org) and do the camera tracking and model building there. 

 

My rough estimate for a job like the one you describe would be 10 to 40 hours. The more realistic you want the shot to be, the longer it's going to take. You'll also want to make sure that you have the ability to create an environment map to help with the lighting of your model. If you are not an expert in Blender, Cinema 4FD, After Effects, or as a cinematographer, multiply those hours by a factor of about 10. 

 

If you want to try something with that shot, I suggest that you decide where and when you want the drone to land, split the original footage layer there, and camera track just the last part of the shot. Set an origin and ground plane on the landing pad, then add a Track Solid there. Make sure that the solid sticks to the landing pad. That is now the landing spot for the drone. There will be no camera movement before the in-point of the camera-tracked section, but the camera will be there. 

 

If the landing looks good, set a keyframe for the drone's position and rotation properties, then just animate the position in the frame back to where you want the shot to start. 

 

I did basically that and got this with just a shape layer simulating the drone. It would be a fool's errand to try and camera track the entire shot.  All this needs is an actual 3D model, some lighting, come clean up on the simple motion path and a little rotation animation, and a track matte to allow the drone to come from behind the building. It took me about 10 minutes. 

You should be able to get started from that explanation. Let us know if you have any trouble. I've included an AEP file for you to fiddle with. You'll have to use your footage.

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    Circlex28457278evs1Author
    Participant
    March 19, 2023

    Hi Rick thanks so much for ur reply and its not a job for me I just want to do it for myself as I am learning AE I know camera tracking also mocha I can do it simple way but I am confused in this shot coz its in mid air so how can I create a path from building to my balcony  

    R
    Community Expert
    Rick GerardCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    March 19, 2023

    Look at the project file. I just picked where the drone was on the ground, tracked the part of the shot that I cut, then went backward using just he left and active camera view to move the drone up and away in a path that kind of makes sense. 

     

    That whole shot will never camera track. About the only part of the shot that would track was the last few seconds. When I got the Track Solid attached to the landing pad, I just Shift + Parented the shape layer drone to the Track Solid and rotated it so ti stood up.  Then I just worked backward. The path was random and all I wanted to do was to kind of keep the drone in the shot and move it farther away from the camera. Once it is in the air, the path would have to be created by hand anyway. 

     

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      Circlex28457278evs1Author
      Participant
      March 18, 2023

      and drone is coming from behind the building you are watching in the video I uploaded

       

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