Today we’re going to give you a preview of a highly anticipated feature of HitFilm
version 13: the 3D CameraTracker from Foundry.
HitFilm version 13 will be coming out this July, and at that time we’ll release the
project files for this tutorial, so be sure to bookmark this video and check back later
to try the effect out for yourself.
We’re also running a sale right now on the FXhome store with 25% off storewide, so be
sure to check that out and grab your discounts while they last.
I’ll put the clip into its own composite shot.
This was filmed using a Ronin S Gimbal to get the smooth motion.
Before we actually do the track, there’s something we can do to make it more accurate.
I want the camera tracker to ignore the area that Basil occupies, because he’s doing
his own movements and could mess up the track.
To do this, we have to make a matte.
Create a new Plane and, using the freehand mask tool, draw a rough shape around Basil.
In the Controls panel under the Mask Transform properties, activate keyframes for Position,
Path, Rotation, and Scale.
Go through the clip and adjust the mask as needed so that it covers Basil the whole time.
This is the area the camera tracker will ignore.
Once finished, we have to bake in the mask- select the layer and choose Make Composite
Shot.
Choose to move the masks with the layer.
Now we can begin tracking.
Search in the Effects panel for CameraTracker.
Drag the effect directly onto the video.
In the Controls panel, drop down the CameraTracker controls.
Under Matte Source, select Matte Alpha.
Then choose the Matte Composite Shot we just made.
Then choose Track Features.
The camera tracker will automatically go through the clip, choosing and tracking multiple points
along the way.
Notice how there are no points being tracked in the area of the matte I drew earlier.
Once it’s finished, select Solve Camera, then Create Scene.
This will put a 3D camera on the timeline which matches the motion of what we filmed.
The CameraTracker is going to try to figure out where the ground is, but since we know
that we can tell it directly.
Highlight a few of the points on the ground and go into the menu in the Viewer.
This menu is only visible when the CameraTracker effect is selected.
Go to Ground Plane and then choose Set to Selected.
The camera might be upside down, so to fix that just select the Point that is created,
and set the Rotation Z to 180.
You can now start putting elements into your scene.
I layered some grunge on various surfaces in the clip.
To do this, select the CameraTracker effect so that you see all the tracking points, then
click the point near where you want to place the texture.
Come down to the menu and choose Create -> Point.
This will make a 3D point that is placed exactly on the surface.
I’ll bring in a picture of grunge and make it 3D.
Parent it to the point, and reset the layer to place it directly onto the point itself.
Come into the Controls panel and use the Orientation or Rotation controls to align the surface
correctly.
Once you have that done, the texture should appear to be correctly placed in the scene.
I used this same technique for the broken windows.
Now for the floating ash particles.
Let’s bring the Particle Simulator down into the timeline.
In the Emitter properties, change the Shape to Cube and adjust the Height, Width, and
Depth to fit your scene.
Increase the Life by a few seconds so that they last longer.
Lower the Speed to make them slower.
Decrease the Time Shift by a few seconds so that they’re onscreen from the start.
In the Appearance section under Texture, choose Built-In, and then Fire Ferocity 1.
Let’s lower the Scale to a more appropriate size.
Uncheck Billboard so that the particles aren’t always facing the camera.
Checkmark Align to Motion.
To make the particles fade in and out, let’s select the System and come up to the Lifetime
panel.
Select Alpha, and change the Type to Gradient.
Add a black point at the beginning and end.
The blue color was applied with a Grade layer on top.
I used a Curves effect to lower both the Red and Green channels, then darken everything
on the RGB curve.
I’ll also use a Bleach Bypass effect to crush the shadows a bit more.
There were a few complications with this specific shot because of the lighting.
I found that when I decreased the brightness enough to make it look like night, this piece
of the sky was the only thing visible and Basil was hidden in darkness.
So I drew a mask on a black Plane set to the Multiply Blend Mode to darken it down.
I then used another Curves effect on a Grade layer that was masked around Basil to brighten
him up.
Still the scene was too dark so I added 2 light flare effects on either side of the
screen.
I used the Flashlight preset from the free lens flare pack we released not too long ago.
Let me know if you have any questions about today’s effect, and don’t forget to check
out the FXhome store for 25% off storewide- I'll see you all in the next video.