TrackerViz for After Effects

hype · **Posted:** Tue Sep 23, 2008 11:57 am

So the only difference that scripting change makes is that it doesn't break when you precompose? That sounds like a great change to me if that's the case.

The attach point/feature center issue has already been added to the fix list.

I'm sorry, but I still completely disagree with you on changing the name of combine tracks. The whole methodology of working with TrackerViz is using little solid layers to represent trackers, which is a much more visual way of working with track data than just looking at the path in the layer window. Track combine does just what it says it does. It takes one already-tracked solid which is dependent on another solid for its position, and combines the two down into one. It adds their values together and gives you a new solid with the values combined.

Quote:

virtually baked using expressions

virtually baked using expressions? that doesn't make sense to me. An expression is live, editable data, and keyframes are "baked" from that data. There is nothing baked about a live expression. That is what "baked" means in every program - converting live data to real keyframes. Which is exactly the difference between picking expressions or keyframes from the drop down menu.

If you are not happy with combine tracks, I simply suggest you don't use it, or use it in whatever fashion you want. In 7 years of working on feature films, I have had to correct tracks on almost every single movie I have ever worked on, and nab made TrackerViz for me based on things that were developed in-house at a Hollywood studio that helped us work with the tracked data as much as possible before applying it to the necessary layers. Combining tracks is a big part of that.

Redsandro · **Joined:** Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:55 pm **Posts:** 108

Yep, a minor change that has no downside, unless it's dificult to write in the script!

I dropped by to see if there's any updates. And I need to rectify something. I do like the function (Track Combine). I really like the entire tool. I appreciate your experience. There is no doubt. I just find the name confusing. And like I said baking is discutable. You opt it's wrong. It's not that I don't understand what it does. In fact, that's why I find the name confusing. So you can pick anything that more describes what it does.

Collapse Transforms, Make Independent, Make Unique, Cut parents out of the inheritance, Convert (child) to orphan..

But hey it's a great tool and I understand what it does now. I hope some day I can say I spent a lot of years on compositing feature films, but I'm nowhere near that stage. I have, however, experience in developing applications and designing usability, and I tell you, Track Combine is wrong.

It won't stop me from using it though

Redsandro · **Joined:** Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:55 pm **Posts:** 108

By the way, what about giving TrackerViz an option to reuse the same solid?
Maybe a dropdown in settings?

I always manually alt-drag one solid over them layers to prevent my solids stash from becoming confusing.

Redsandro · **Joined:** Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:55 pm **Posts:** 108

I don't mean to go solo in this topic, but I think there's a bug somewhere.

After doing lots of tracking, I keep getting

Quote:

Please make sure layers have different names to avoid confusion.
Note: if the problem persists try changing the layer name in the settings palette.

Even though all my layers are named unique and I changed the name in settings palette a bunch of times just in case.

-edit-

Or my project file is corrupted.. again. It happens a lot when I'm doing tracking. Dunno why.

-edit-

Not corrupted

I had two precompositions that had nothing to do with anything and a name that has nothing to do with anything.. but both had the same default name. I guess layers (or just precomps?) that are unrelated have to have unique names as well.

-edit-

I have it again, plus a hard time figuring out what layer or setting is to blame.
Can this error message be made to be more specific, for example giving a name it has trouble with? Even if it gives a name, not saying if it's a layer or a footage item (solid), the user (me) would be much more prone to know where something goes wrong.

hype · **Posted:** Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:43 am

Is it not asking you if TrackerViz can automatically rename the layers? It should do that. I don't know what causes the problem, but it happens no matter what the names are. The auto-renaming feature should have that covered, but I guess you're not getting it? Do you know what version of TrackerViz you're using?

Redsandro · **Joined:** Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:55 pm **Posts:** 108

Hard to say, the dialog sais TrackerViz 1.5, but the zip it came in sais TrackerViz_v9.zip

But I fixed it again. One of my shy layers I forgot about had the same name as it's track matte. TrackerViz does indeed rename it's layers, but if ANY layer has a name that is already used, even if TrackerViz has nothing to do with either layer, it will pop that message anyway.

So for quick resolving the error you need to know what layers are named similar, and maybe TrackerViz can help by mentioning in the error message why it won't work.

Until then, my best advice is to show shy layers because it's probably in there if you cannot find it. :mrgreen:

-edit-

It actually does not rename layers, it creates new solids so unique ones are used for every layer. An unnamed layer assumes the name of it's footage item (solid), so it's unique. But once you alt-drag (replace) all unique-solid-containing-tracker-layers by a single one, you have to rename all layers manually afterwards.

This is what I'd like to see changed. Specify a single solid to be used for all tracks. If it's not there, create a new one.

Redsandro · **Joined:** Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:55 pm **Posts:** 108

Confirmed,

Redsandro wrote:

There's a bug in current TrackerViz. (I found it in 1.0, but it's also in 1.5)

I don't know if this affects keyframed output as well because I like to work with expressions, but if you use two tracks to output a layer using expressions (for example, position+rotation+scale from 2 trackers to expressions), it will not follow the attach point, but the center of the feature instead.

This applies also to keyframed output. There is no easy workaround like with expressions.
Instead of having the script work with trackers, you need to apply all trackers individually to a solid layer, and then use the layers with TrackerViz.

Redsandro · **Joined:** Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:55 pm **Posts:** 108

Okay, I hope nab doesn't mind me fixing his script.
This version does all Track based calculations in expressions and keyframes correctly - AttachPoint based in stead of Feature Center.
http://stuff.rednet.nl/files/TrackerVizFix20081027.zip

I was unable to figure out how to do the use-same-solid thing I mentioned. I have not enough AE scripting experience.

Anyway, if someone wishes to continue to work on it, you can easily compare my changes with nab's original version using a comparison tool like ExamDiff (free version).

I kept all original Feature Center pool gathering stuff in there and created new ones for Attach Points. I did not delete anything, just in case it's nesesary for something.
Also I didn't touch the shape to layer/tracker and vice versa functions, so they still obey the feature centers.

The only unrelated change is G.VERSION, so in the future no head-scratching is nesesary.

hype · **Posted:** Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:36 pm

My god, man, you sure do have alot of problems with this thing. And for the record, I am done discussing the renaming of Combine Tracks. If you don't like the name, please go into the code and change it on your computer. That way, everyone is happy.

And I'm not saying that in a mean tone or anything, I am very serious. If I didn't like the name, that's what I would do.

Quote:

It actually does not rename layers, it creates new solids so unique ones are used for every layer.

I was under the impression that it added a "." to names to make them unique.

Quote:

Until then, my best advice is to show shy layers because it's probably in there if you cannot find it.

While I do agree that might be a nice feature if it took shy layers into account, I certainly don't think it's necessary. I think that's up to the user to un-shy the layers needed.

Quote:

it will not follow the attach point, but the center of the feature instead...
This applies also to keyframed output. There is no easy workaround like with expressions.

That is correct, the early versions did use the feature center, not the attach point, and expressions or keyframes didn't make a difference. This has been fixed. I thought it was fixed in 1.5, but maybe it wasn't. The next version, which is coming very soon, will have this fixed 100% for sure.

Also, I don't know how practical using ONE solid for every new layer really is. Just turning on the "cycle colors" checkbox would make it have to override that, anyway. I'll look into this a little bit, though. I do agree that if you are using the same color and size for all the solid layers it ads, there's no reason it couldn't be using the same one. But this would be a v3 addition, since v2 is about to come out.

hype · **Posted:** Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:37 pm

Quote:

Okay, I hope nab doesn't mind me fixing his script.
This version does all Track based calculations in expressions and keyframes correctly - AttachPoint based in stead of Feature Center.

This has been fixed already. I guess not in the version you have.

Redsandro · **Joined:** Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:55 pm **Posts:** 108

-edit-
Damn I just wasted ^%#@$! good precious time on that. I downloaded the latest version from the OP. Where is the latest version supposed to be at?
-edit-
So EVERYTHING I just complained about might already have been fixed... sigh*

(* I know it's a good thing, but I thought I was doing everyone a favour by taking a swim in the code..)

-update-

hype wrote:

Quote:

Until then, my best advice is to show shy layers because it's probably in there if you cannot find it.

While I do agree that might be a nice feature if it took shy layers into account, I certainly don't think it's necessary. I think that's up to the user to un-shy the layers needed.

For the record.. that's exactly what I mean

If YOU cannot find it.. it's probably somewhere in all the shy layers.
Anyway a name in the error message seems like a good idea anyway. If the script detects there's a problem because a name is used twice, it's probably quite simple to forward that name to the error message.

hype wrote:

Also, I don't know how practical using ONE solid for every new layer really is. Just turning on the "cycle colors" checkbox would make it have to override that, anyway. I'll look into this a little bit, though. I do agree that if you are using the same color and size for all the solid layers it ads, there's no reason it couldn't be using the same one. But this would be a v3 addition, since v2 is about to come out.

Ah, nice! V2

About cycling overriding the single solid, yeah that would be a choise the user purposely makes.

hype · **Posted:** Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:49 pm

I'm checking with Nab to see what version we had changed that in, since I kinda can't remember, having tested so many versions. But I thought he had done it v1.5. the latest version available right now would be on his website

http://nabscripts.com/downloads_en.html

More specifically
http://nabscripts.com/downloads/scripts/TrackerViz.zip

I think I changed the OP when his website went down, so I'll go change it back, just in case that's the problem. If the problem is still in there, v2 will be out very soon, hopefully by the end of the week.

Redsandro · **Joined:** Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:55 pm **Posts:** 108

Yep, that version is the one I have, the one with the bug, the one I just patched.
Soo I guess the version you have been testing is newer and not yet released to the public.

Please keep the G.VERSION global and include a date every new version. :idea:

agrapha · **Joined:** Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:04 am **Posts:** 8

I cannot download TrackerViz, or even access nab's site.

Is it offline, or gone?

Redsandro · **Joined:** Wed Jun 25, 2008 4:55 pm **Posts:** 108

Maybe temporarily down. Since waiting sux in compositing, while you're waiting you can download this one.

Redsandro wrote:

Okay, I hope nab doesn't mind me fixing his script.
This version does all Track based calculations in expressions and keyframes correctly - AttachPoint based in stead of Feature Center.
http://stuff.rednet.nl/files/TrackerVizFix20081027.zip

As long as the new version is not released, this one is fixed to be top shelf.

AE ENHANCERS

TrackerViz for After Effects

Who is online