After Effects Guru: Tracking Cameras and Stabilizing Footage

1h 45mIntermediate2021-01-19

Authors

Richard Harrington

Digital Video Expert, Educator, Speaker

Course details

Whether it's removing camera shake or tracking a camera's movement, After Effects has you covered. You can apply a variety of techniques to smooth out the camera movement in a shot, using the After Effects Warp Stabilizer VFX effect, and track the camera to add objects into a scene realistically. Rich Harrington shows you how in this installment of After Effects Guru.

Topics include:
Analyzing footage
Using the 3D camera tracker to stabilize footage
Choosing and moving a target
Adding 3D text to a scene
Tracking an object
Applying the Warp Stabilizer VFX
Choosing a stabilization method
Reducing rolling shutter distortion
Matching movement

Skills covered

Motion GraphicsAfter EffectsRenderingMotion Graphics and VFXVisualization and Real-TimeLimited SeriesAdobeAECProduct and ManufacturingAnimation and Illustration

Concepts

Introduction

Tracking and stabilizing footage in After Effects
Using the exercise files

Using the 3D Camera Tracker

Analyzing the footage
Choosing a shot type for stabilization
Choosing a solve method
Using detailed analysis
Selecting and deleting unwanted track points

Working with Targets

Choosing and moving and resizing a target
How targets can be used

3D Camera Tracker in Action

Mapping an object to a surface
Adding 3D text to a scene
Adding shadows to a scene with a shadow catcher
Tracking an object with the 3D camera tracker

Working with the Warp Stabilizer VFX

Applying the Warp Stabilizer VFX
Choosing between No Motion and Smooth Motion method
Understanding stabilization methods

Refining the Warp Stabilizer VFX

Using the Position method
Using the Position, Scale, and Rotation method
Using the perspective method
Using the Subspace Warp method
Improving the Warp Stabilizer results by masking
Removing camera shake blur

Using Advanced Options

Using detailed analysis
Using synthesized edges
Rolling shutter reduction
Balancing crop and smoothness
Matching movement with the Warp Stabilizer VFX
Compositing effects with the Warp Stabilizer VFX

Conclusion

Next steps