Introduction

In this chapter we get introduced to some of the latest news topics surrounding the subject of Autodesk Flame Tracker and some of its underlying modules. Find out some quick info before you start getting into deeper waters.

Tracking Basics

Just in case your are unfamiliar with any kind of tracking, we will get you familiar with the very basics by showing you 1 and 2 point tracking along with image stabilization. Without this basic knowledge, you wont understand completely how the 3D Tracker addresses its point values. This chapter has multiple smaller projects that are purely for tool description and functionality.  There are many places to find a tracker in Flame Premium, however we show you where most of them are.

Lens Distortion

If you can determine lens distortion from any of your footage that you will be tracking, it is best to remove it as best as possible. There are new places to remove lens distortion inside the latest versions of Flame, so its important to show you which ones work the best, alternative methods, and optimized workflows. The new Action node bin gives you the control of a batch tree, and you want to make sure you do not duplicate any tasks up or down stream. This chapter covers the tools in both Batch and Action.

Pre-Processing Concepts

In some instances, your clips could have a blue or green screen, terrible noise, rolling shutter issues, and a myriad of other issues that you may not even be aware of. This particular chapter discusses how to optimize your clips based on their problematic issues. We found the most difficult clips for you to track, so that by example, you will be able to solve any shot on your own in the real world.

Ground Plane Definition

When creating a camera track, you will need to decide if you are going to be mixing live action with 3rd party geometry in the Action Module. This will require you to set a ground plane for your objects to sit on. (If the shot requires them)  Many times, foreground points are minimal in a 3D Tracking process due to the speed of the elements and potential motion blur issues. Use one of our difficult shots to try to get a ground plane from a low contrast pavement, so you can add CG to it.  (We also include shots with detailed ground to make it easier for practicing on your own)

Stereoscopic Tracking

This is a very exciting topic, and we will tackle it after you get the basics and intermediate concepts under control. Relationships with left and right stereo clips are the main focus. We show you how to enter a stereoscopic assignment Action in Batch tree, how to manage and create stereo clips from previously single left / right clips, and we show you how to track and sync the shots in Action for later processing. We include stereoscopic HD footage, as well as the knowledge to create your own stereo clips using the basic and default Action tools.

Tips, Tricks Part 1

In this chapter we show you how to isolate and track individual channels after some simple Batch Processing. This will yield and even better result that the very same clip we processed in RGB earlier in this video. We also take this mini project setup to a simple Sky Replacement setup in conjunction with a Key. You wont want to miss this chapter. For more reference on channels and how modifying them can give you ultimate control, please check our our Flame Keying Video.

Object Tracking

Inside of Flame you have the option to extract secondary motion from a shot after the initial camera track.  This gives you the opportunity to pull out a point cloud that you can then export to motion capture, or a animation department for more detailed CG animation.  You can also use it to help you with different Motion Graphic Design elements in a more Broadcast environment.

Tips, Tricks Part 2

Sometimes you will get very long clips that NO tracker can seem to track.  You might need to split the shot into several shots and track them separately. The problem now becomes, how does one get all that into one shot. We will discuss a few concepts in achieving this goal.

About The Artist

Chris Maynard has been nominated for 10 New Media Awards for Computer Based Training, and the recipient of 8 New Media Award wins. He has worked as an illustrator, sculptor, Visual Effects Compositor, LIDAR processor and 3D MatchMover for Films and Television. A large portion of his career was spent assisting Software Companies future tool development, and is thought to have more Software Non Disclosure Agreements signed to his name then anyone else in the business. As the owner of cmiVFX, he keeps in touch with hundreds of artists around the world at any given time, finding out the latest technology and techniques for Visual Effects and Computer Graphics.