How to Motion Track in Adobe After Effects
Get your footage into Adobe After Effects., Make a new composition with your footage Drag and drop the footage into the open grey space in the center of the program. , Add a null object., Enable the tracking tab., Click track motion, this will bring...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Get your footage into Adobe After Effects.
Either find some footage from a free stock footage site or use some of your own Import it to Adobe After Effects by dragging and dropping it in the project files tab on the left side of AE by default. -
Step 2: Make a new composition with your footage Drag and drop the footage into the open grey space in the center of the program.
, Go to Layer>New>Null Object to add a null object.
We will use this later. , To enable to tracking tab, go to the window tab at the top of the screen in between view and help.
Look in the list and make sure a checkmark is next to "tracker." If not, click on tracker to enable the tracking tab.
You should now have a box with tracking options on your AE interface. , If track motion is grayed out, refer to the help section at the bottom of the page.
Move the box over a location that stands out among the picture like a very dark object against a light background.
Do this by clicking on the blank space in between the two boxes and dragging it around.
Make the size of the box just slightly larger than the point you choose: if you choose the tip of a pole, make it just larger than the end of the pole.
If you choose someone's face, Make it just larger than the head of the person. ,, Click on edit target and change the target to the Null Object if it isn't already chosen. , Make sure that everything is ready then press the "play" button called analyze forward in the tracker tab.
After it is done, you will be left with a lot of boxes on the screen as well as keyframes for the track. , Go to the tracking tab and click apply to apply the keyframes to the null object.
A dialogue box will pop up asking if you want to apply them to X and Y, hit the ok button.
Each keyframe is editable if you click over it and change the position of the text.
This is nice to allow you to fine tune your track if it isn't absolutely perfect. , Click on the type button and add whatever text you would like and edit it to your preferences.
Move the text into the position you would like it to be throughout the track , Parent the text to the null object by using the "pick whip" tool under parent in the list of layers.
The pick whip tool, for lack of a better explanation, is the little squiggly circular line right next to where it says "none" in the photo below.
Click and hold on the icon, then drag it over to the null object layer.
It should produce a line from the pick whip icon as shown below.
The text will now follow the keyframes created by the track and the null object.
It can be moved and rotated in any way you would like, but it will still follow whatever you chose to track. -
Step 3: Add a null object.
-
Step 4: Enable the tracking tab.
-
Step 5: Click track motion
-
Step 6: this will bring up the tracking point.
-
Step 7: Ensure you are tracking the right types of points in the footage Go to the tracker tab and ensure that only position is checked off...rotation and scale should be unchecked.
-
Step 8: Edit the target layer in which the motion track will apply to.
-
Step 9: Start the motion track.
-
Step 10: Apply the track to the null object.
-
Step 11: Add the text or object you would like to follow the track.
-
Step 12: Have the text move with the footage.
Detailed Guide
Either find some footage from a free stock footage site or use some of your own Import it to Adobe After Effects by dragging and dropping it in the project files tab on the left side of AE by default.
, Go to Layer>New>Null Object to add a null object.
We will use this later. , To enable to tracking tab, go to the window tab at the top of the screen in between view and help.
Look in the list and make sure a checkmark is next to "tracker." If not, click on tracker to enable the tracking tab.
You should now have a box with tracking options on your AE interface. , If track motion is grayed out, refer to the help section at the bottom of the page.
Move the box over a location that stands out among the picture like a very dark object against a light background.
Do this by clicking on the blank space in between the two boxes and dragging it around.
Make the size of the box just slightly larger than the point you choose: if you choose the tip of a pole, make it just larger than the end of the pole.
If you choose someone's face, Make it just larger than the head of the person. ,, Click on edit target and change the target to the Null Object if it isn't already chosen. , Make sure that everything is ready then press the "play" button called analyze forward in the tracker tab.
After it is done, you will be left with a lot of boxes on the screen as well as keyframes for the track. , Go to the tracking tab and click apply to apply the keyframes to the null object.
A dialogue box will pop up asking if you want to apply them to X and Y, hit the ok button.
Each keyframe is editable if you click over it and change the position of the text.
This is nice to allow you to fine tune your track if it isn't absolutely perfect. , Click on the type button and add whatever text you would like and edit it to your preferences.
Move the text into the position you would like it to be throughout the track , Parent the text to the null object by using the "pick whip" tool under parent in the list of layers.
The pick whip tool, for lack of a better explanation, is the little squiggly circular line right next to where it says "none" in the photo below.
Click and hold on the icon, then drag it over to the null object layer.
It should produce a line from the pick whip icon as shown below.
The text will now follow the keyframes created by the track and the null object.
It can be moved and rotated in any way you would like, but it will still follow whatever you chose to track.
About the Author
Henry Sanchez
With a background in religion, Henry Sanchez brings 6 years of hands-on experience to every article. Henry believes in making complex topics accessible to everyone.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: