www.ssontech.com

[darksun48]

I understand the stabilization workflow within SynthEyes - exporting newly stabilized footage, then bringing the result into After Effects.

My questions is this: how are people generating tracking data to paste into After Effects for stabilization purposes? I believe this is done through the 2D export option, but I'm not sure and haven't been able to get a reliable result. I cannot find any information out there about this.

I know of several large projects that generated tracking data and then applied it directly to the footage in AE for stabilization (several feature films). This is sometimes desirable when I don't need keystone corrections, to save time on import/export.

What is the best way to generate usable stabilization data and applying it in After Effects? What transform data can be generated, and how is this applied to the layer (null, etc.?)? Position/scale/rotation? How is this offset (expression, parent anchor point to position of null, cameras, etc.)?

When in the SynthEyes process do you export the trackers - you have the option of applying the stabilization in Image Prep to the trackers - does this need to be done to smooth the motion BEFORE outputting to AE, or are you smoothing the keyframe data in AE with an expression?

This sounds like a lot of questions, but I really just need to know how other people are accomplishing this seemingly basic task, and what is the best way to do this. Please don't just say "export the stabilized footage from SynthEyes and import that into AE" because that isn't what I'm asking - I know this other workflow is being done successfully out there and someone must know how. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

[borgus]

Hi!
pretty good questions! I also really like to know that... Did you asked
Russ? Send a mail to the support. Please share your wisdom after it!

Seb

[Maui]

Hey darksun48,
did you find out how it is done because I'm also very interessted in how this might work.

[darksun48]

Here is what Russ has said about this:

Question:On another note, are the stabilization corrections (keystone corrections and such) translated or made available to After Effects via the new javascript export option? In other words, can I just export the tracking data for stabilization, without applying the stabilization to the footage itself, and take this into After Effects and see the stabilization affecting the original content?

Russ: No. It's not like there's just an X and Y offset. It would probably be possible to do this, but it would take a specialized AE setup, much different than a normal match-move rig.

Question: I know that some people use the tracking data generated to bring into after effects for stabilization; I'm guessing this is somehow done through the 2D export option?

Russ: Yes, that's possible but then you're subject to keystoning unless the deviations are very small, or you are doing something trickier in AE.




I will email Russ again and inquire about how one would use the 2D export option, because all I can tell is that it exports position data only, not scale or rotation.

[darksun48]

Here is what Russ has said in response to my followup questions:

Russ: You're thinking things are more complex than they are. Per the process above, the 2D AfterEffects export moves a tracker's 2D path (either its direct visual path or from a reprojected 3D point) from SynthEyes to a null layer in AfterEffects. What you do with it in AfterEffects is up to you. If you don't know how to use this information in AE to stabilize, don't! (Even if you do, better if you don't!) SynthEyes has a more flexible, capable, and correct stabilizer than AE.


If anyone has any followup thoughts on this, feel free to chime in. I haven't been able to get reliable results, and it seems that there isn't a great way to get reliable results. This would be cool, but I don't see a good, consistent way of doing this.

[Maui]

Hmm ok.
Sometimes I use Syntheyes to do my 2d tracking (because it is so much more comfortable to do it there) and bring those data back into AFX.
I also used it for corner pinning by simply linking the Syntheyes tracking data to the corners in AFX. But I wasn't succesfull in using the data to stabilize the way AFX does. I think AFX uses a combination of offsetting Position and the AnchorPoint.
The way Syntheyes stabilizes is really good but sometimes it is enough to use the AFX way which is the cause why I wanted to know if is possible.