After Effects Motion Tracking Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to use the After Effect Tracker Controls which are used for motion tracking. It will take around 30-60 minutes depending on experience with the program. We’ll be tracking a ball bouncing which I created in Cinema 4D. This footage has better conditions than you’ll typical have when tracking real footage, but it will be easier to practice with. Also we’ll be ignoring the feature region, and search region for this tutorial. They are the 2 boxes around the tracker point, if you want to read up on them, they’re explained in the help file for After Effects.

Files

1. Create a new composition with After_Effects_Motion_Tracking_Tutorial_Footage.mov. You can drag the footage to the new composition button to keep the settings of the clip.
2. Open up the tracker controls.

3. In the Tracker Control palette select the layer with the footage as the Motion Source:.

4. Create a new Null Object which will be used for your tracker data. You should always put the position data on a null so there will be more flexibility. Rename your null object to Tracker Data.

5. Click the Edit Target… button and then select the Tracker Data layer (Null Object).

6. Move your tracker point to the yellow ball. When you move the point you’ll see a box which will show you exactly where the point is being placed.

7. In the tracker control click the play button. You should be able to get a good amount of points before the tracker starts to loose the ball. When it does click the stop button and move the playhead back until you find the frame where the tracker lost the ball. Click the Analyze 1 frame forward button in the tracker controls. Then reposition the tracker back onto the ball. You may need to do this in the areas where the ball is at the bottom of the arc, on the lighter background. After you notice it’s able to keep track of the ball (going frame by frame) you can try clicking the play button again. It should be able to get another chunk of the footage before loosing the ball. Don’t use the rewind button when your tracker loses the ball or you’ll rewrite your previous points. Instead move the playhead or go back frame by frame.

8. Eventually you’ll have all your points (up to where the ball goes off screen). Once you’re happy with your points you can click the apply button and your points will be translated into position data on your Tracker Data layer.

9. After you click the apply button you’re Tracker Data should have many keyframes on the Position property.

10. Create a new solid, make it comp size. The color doesn’t matter.

11. With your solid selected go to Effect > Simulation > CC Particle Systems II.

12. In the timeline go to the CC Particle Systems II effect, then go to Producer. Alt click on the stopwatch button which will an add expression to the property.

13. Now that you have the expression you need to pick whip the Position under your effect to the Position keyframes on your Tracker Data layer.

14. Your done, now just play around with the effect settings for CC Particle Systems II until you find something you like.