Hello people! Let's see in this video the simplest ways to apply an
amazing Motion Tracking effect with Vegas Pro 14!
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future guides for Vegas Pro!
Motion Tracking (also called Track Motion) is an amazing effect where
an object (usually 2D and 3D text) is added inside the video, tracking
its movement, in order to make the object real and fully integrated
inside the video environment. In this video we will see two ways to do
so: by using the default effects contained inside Vegas Pro 14, and by
using an effective and professional plug-in called Boris FX.
Before seeing how to make Motion Tracking, it is fundamental to know how
to use the Track Motion... feature inside Vegas.
The Track Motion is an effect that affects a whole Video Track, with all
its clips contained inside. With this feature, you are able to move,
scale and rotate the Video Track content without cropping anything out.
The clips edges are represented by a simple rectangle contained and
located in a 3D environment, indicated by three axes: X for the
horizontal direction, Y for the vertical one, and Z for the 3D height.
By default, the Track Motion moves on a 2D environment, so you can't
actually work with the Z axis (indicating the height). To use the full
3D environment, you have to click on Compositing Mode, and then choose
3D Source Alpha. When you click on Track Motion..., you will work in a
full 3D environment with all the three axes.
Click and drag the rectangle to move the clips. Use also Prevent
Movement to lock the clips position respect to the X axis.
Click and drag the rectangle corners to scale without cropping, and
regulate scaling by using Lock Aspect Ratio to lock the clips aspect
ratio, or using Prevent Scaling to lock scaling respect to an axis.
Click and drag from the central circle to rotate. You can set all the
Track Motion properties precisely by using the settings on the left.
Even more, you have a local timeline below, that you can use to make
the whole Track content move, scale and rotate in time by using the
keyframes.
The keyframes are special markers that do save a particular Track Motion
state in the instant of time it is fixed inside the local timeline. In
this way, if you place two keyframes that save a different Track Motion
configuration, you will actually create a transition where you pass from
the state of the first keyframe to the second one. This is actually what
you have to do to apply Motion Tracking inside Vegas Pro.
In fact, if you have an object moving, and you want text to follow it, it
is sufficient to add the necessary keyframes on Track Motion to make text
follow it.
Managing keyframes is simple. Everytime you change the state of the Track
Motion in a new instant of time, a new keyframe is added, saving the
new state. Then, simply click and drag the keyframe to move it, if you
need to change the saved state in time, or right-click and go to Delete
to remove an unwanted keyframe.
Also, when Motion Tracking is made, you can add other overlapping clips
if you need, without re-adding another Track Motion with the same series
of keyframes applied.
For example, to add another piece of text tracking in the same way,
you must insert another Video Track, in order to overlap this text with
the clips you want to track. Then, select both the new and the keyframed
Video Track, right-click on them, go to Track Group, and go to Group
Selected Tracks. On one Track, click on Make Compositing Child to make
hierarchy. You do need this to make Parent Motion... feature appear.
This is simply used to apply the same Motion Tracking on more than a
single Video Track on the same way. If you have a ready Motion Tracking
effect, you can simply copy the keyframes from the original Track to the
Parent Motion.... You can do so by clicking and holding on while dragging
on the keyframes to select all of them in a short time.
Then right-click to copy and paste them to the Parent Motion.... In this
way, your Motion Tracking will be applied on multiple Video Tracks.
Remember to remove the keyframes from the old Track Motion... in order
to get the exact Motion Track between the Master and the Child Track.
This is basically how to make a Motion Tracking effect by using the
default features inside Vegas Pro. However, this way may become quite
complicated and time-consuming in case you want to make precise and
professional Motion Tracking effects. Let's see an example.
Let's take a test case of a train that approaches the camera at
increasing speed and then gets out. And let's suppose to add a piece of
text on it, and add Motion Tracking so that, the piece of text completely
follows the movement of the train.
By following the Track Motion... feature seen before, you have to adapt
the text position everytime the train position changes, by adding and
managing the keyframes inside the Track Motion... itself. This means
that, everytime the camera shakes, or the train (or target) changes
position with respect to the camera, you have to add keyframes and
re-adapt the text. This can become quite complex, very time-consuming if
you want to make it quite good, and also hard to manage if keyframes
become so many. For this reason, it is usually better to use a plug-in
called Boris Continuum Complete (or Boris FX).
This plug-in is available just on payment, but collects loads of amazing
effects, including visual effects and 3D Text. One of these effects,
called BCC Match Move, is used to make a professional Motion Tracking
that follows objects moving almost automatically.
This effect is a particular effect that can't be added on single clips,
so it is not commonly listed on the Video FX window as others. This acts
on a whole Video Track.
Let's suppose to make the Motion Tracking on the metro train. On the
Video Track that contains it, click on Compositing Mode, and choose
Custom... inside the list. At this point, choose BCC Match Move, and go
to Add. This effect has everything you need to make Track Motion.
Differently from the classic Vegas Pro effects, this effect is made by
different phases, that must be followed one-after-one. We will see the
very fundamental parts of this effect, but for additional information,
make sure to consult the main website for Boris FX.
The first phase is called Motion Tracker Preprocess, which you can
activate by checking View Preprocessed Source. This is used to prepare
the Video Track appearance, in order to make the make the Motion
Tracking more precisely and correct, by adjusting shadow, highlights and
clarity. Then, uncheck this preprocess to save all settings, and go to
phase two, by enabling the Track On-the-Fly. This creates a very
professional Motion Tracking starting from a target point, that you can
see from the Preview. In short, the target point represents how the
future object must move (in our example the text). Just click and drag
the target to move it and center it where the object moves in the video.
Then, set the target size, or Target Width, to adapt the Motion Tracking
to the dimension of the future object to move, and, as Search Width,
the level of precision to apply against camera shakes and movement. The
less the level for the Search Width, the more precise the Motion
Tracking will be at following movements.
Then, you have to render the Motion Tracking, in order to actually
create the Motion Tracking path that you used to create by lots and loads
of keyframes as seen before. To fast do so, just start from the very
first frame of the Video Track, and preview it using the Loop Region
little by little. In case you go fast, or you lose any frame, a note
appears on the Preview, so just go back where the rendering has been
discontinued, and go on little by little.
Once rendering is finished, you can see how the target moves and matches
movements as you like. In case the rendering must be corrected, just
click on Reset Tracker, adjust the target settings, and render back again.
At this point, the Motion Tracking effect is ready to be used, and so
you can apply it by unchecking the Track On-the-Fly.
Now, you just have to place all the clip that must follow the target
movements. To do so, create as many Video Tracks as you need, placed
right below the Video Track that has the BCC Match Move. If you go back
to this effect, go to Match Move, and select as MM Foreground, Source B.
Thanks for watching this video! Check out our full guide to know all
the amazing features inside Vegas Pro 14!!