TrackerViz for After Effects

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hype
Posts: 94
Joined: November 27th, 2006, 11:08 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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But since averaging tracks used also for rotation cannot in my experience make the track worse, only better, it's something I'd like to see implemented.
I'd say go ahead and implement it in your version of TrackerViz, then. TrackerViz was kind of born out of my wanting a way to visually see every track I was going to use before I used it. I very, very much like the ability to average together a ton of tracks, and then lock that new averaged one as the Position. Then I do the same thing for where I want the Rotation to be calculated from. I like being able to totally nail down the position separately from the rotation.

For example, say I have some handheld footage of a computer desk with no computer mouse. I want to put in the computer mouse. I would track the spot where I want the mouse to sit maybe 8 times, then average them all together. That's my position. Then I would track the spot where the mouse cable goes out of view under the monitor stand. I would again track it 8 times and average it together. When I use TrackerViz to calculate the Pos Scl Rot, it locks it down where the position one is and calculates Scl and Rot from the other point. If it calculated that second point into the first, the mouse would NOT be locked down to the spot I wanted it to be. It would be moving in the same path as a point halfway between the 2 points I used, which would be incorrect movement. Hope that makes sense.
if it's not fun, what's the point?
http://www.mackdadd.com
hype
Posts: 94
Joined: November 27th, 2006, 11:08 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

I can make a screencapture to demonstrate why that would be a bad idea, if that would make it more clear. I realize what I wrote above might be a bit confusing.
if it's not fun, what's the point?
http://www.mackdadd.com
Redsandro
Posts: 108
Joined: June 25th, 2008, 4:55 pm

Ah, I can visualize what you mean. You're right, you wouldn't want to shift the pivot point in that case. I forgot to look outside the box that was the shots I worked with. That option definitely needs to stay.

Still, if you have a smooth desktop with a coin left and a cigarette right and you want to place a keyboard in the middle (x 10 shots), it wouldn't hurt to skip the step you'll be doing anyway. I would. So since the tool is out there, probably to be useful for as many users as possible, why not add the option to the dropdown?

Pos Rot (pivot)
Pos Rot (avg)

I will make a tweak for it next time I need to do a lot tracking. But at least we both agree on the tracker/layer autodetection (hint hint ;)) and I prefer tweaking the latest version. ;)
avi + m2t -> Vdub + DGIndex -> AE CS3 -> x264 -> Hell On Earth :mrgreen:
hype
Posts: 94
Joined: November 27th, 2006, 11:08 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

Still, if you have a smooth desktop with a coin left and a cigarette right and you want to place a keyboard in the middle
It honestly would only take, literally, three more clicks. Two CTRL-clicks to select the tracks of the coin and the cigarette, and one more click on the average function, and bam, you'd have it. All you're doing there is averaging those two tracks. Which is what TrackerViz does to begin with, it's the whole reason it was created. I really think adding that option to the drop down menu is being redundant. That exactly what the "average" function already does.

Autodetection, though, I'm still with you on. If that's even possible. :)
if it's not fun, what's the point?
http://www.mackdadd.com
Redsandro
Posts: 108
Joined: June 25th, 2008, 4:55 pm

You are super at what you do, I've seen your work, but I think you're not open to other people's workflows. Let me write out a negative sounding scenario if it helps make my point.

The 3 clicks with Ctrl you mentioned, plus selecting or verifying what solid to use because it resets often in unknown situations (+5 clicks), Switching to or verifying keyframes because I like my final trackers to be expressions (+3 clicks), rematching the inbetween keyed solid when you decide to alter the track (+11 clicks), plus praying for the extra 600 keyframes for a 8 second clip (I hate keyframes they make the scene more crashprone, honestly). All of this would be zero clicks if you could just output one averaged rotated possibly scaled expressioned solid in one go.

What is up with my crazy workflow? It's not crazy if the tool supports it. I like expressions in my last track because they instantly update any changes in prior tracks. I don't like intermediate tracks to be expressioned because chained expressions cause a lot of problems when fiddling with precomps. And I want my own selected solid because if I let TrackerViz handle it, my 10 shot comp with too many keyframes ends up with a bug making it say "1200 footage files missing to render this comp" everytime I render a frame.

It's fine that you don't like it. :) But please don't trivialize a great idea as redundant because you have no use for it.

But now for the good news; auto detection is definitely possible. Let's say if there's no such update to TrackerViz (to which, in case you haven't noticed, I became totally addicted :P) by the next time I need to do major tracking, I will implement it to an unsupported tweaked version. :)

-edit-

In case it sounds like I am exaggerating, I was actually imaggerating (? what's the word for that :P).

Image

-edit-

Though I've done a lot of tracking, 1800 is crazy. I cannot really blame TrackerViz for that, but I always have weird errors when I have too much tracks with too much keyframes and my projectsize climbs towards or over 10 MB.
avi + m2t -> Vdub + DGIndex -> AE CS3 -> x264 -> Hell On Earth :mrgreen:
hype
Posts: 94
Joined: November 27th, 2006, 11:08 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

No, no, I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound like I'm not open to other people's workflows or anything. Sorry if it reads like that, it's not my intent. I just can't fully understand what you want it to do, the way you had explained it, it sounds like you just want it to do something it already does.

In your description, you said some things I don't really understand, as well...
...what solid to use because it resets often in unknown situations...

...rematching the inbetween keyed solid when you decide to alter the track...


I'm just not clear on your workflow, that's all. Any chance you can make a screencapture to demonstrate?
if it's not fun, what's the point?
http://www.mackdadd.com
Maui
Posts: 4
Joined: January 24th, 2011, 8:33 am

would it be possible to also include red giants wrap as an corner pin option? in the tracker viz functions drop down
deema78
Posts: 3
Joined: November 23rd, 2014, 12:36 am

Hey, hype, are yo still available for in depth questions on this script? There are WAY more functions than I have seen tuts for and I have some very specific needs involving auto trace masks
deema78
Posts: 3
Joined: November 23rd, 2014, 12:36 am

Can anyone tell me where I can find detailed documentation or tutorials, other than the original tuts, that would go in depth into the options? I am not using tracking for corner pinning, I am using it to help with very difficult rotoscoping of fast moving dancers, to pull them out of the scene and I know that this script can help to make me more efficient, with that, but cannot yet see how I will go about doing it.

Any help would be great, thanks
DanishTriple
Posts: 1
Joined: November 8th, 2017, 6:38 am

Old thread, I know. But still relevant.

AE CC 2017.2
TrackerViz 4.2

When hitting Execute Average Position for 2-3 Null layers I get this weird error prompt that only reads "undefined".

TrackerViz used to work perfectly before.

Any ideas what's going on?
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