Tracking Mode

Track tab - Clip Panel

The Clip panel contains movie related tools.

Set Scene Frames

Sets the length, means start and end frame of the tracking to match the start and end frame of the active movie.

You can see the length of the active movie in the Properties sidebar in the Footage tab in the Footage Settings panel. And the tracking length and position can be seen and set in the time line.

The default range for tracking is from 1 to 250. But our movie is 295 frames long. Pressing the Set Scene Frames button makes the range going from 1 to 295 here.

Track tab - Marker Panel

The marker panel contains marker related tools.

Detect Features

Adds automatically markers at the current movie position, and tries to detect marcant areas in the current frame that are useful for tracking. It also sets keyframes at this position.

When enough marcant areas are available then it adds up to eight markers that way.

Last Operator Detect Features

Placement

Placement is a drop down box where you can limit the placement of the markers.

Whole frame

The markers can be at every position of the current frame image.

Disable Markers

Disables the currently selected marker(s)

Last operator Disable Markers

Action

Edit box to choose if you want to enable or disable the selected marker(s).

Track tab - Tracking Settings Panel

In the Tracking Settings Panel you will find some settings for Tracking.

Tracking Presets

In the header is a drop down box to choose between some predefined tracking presets.

• Button adds a new preset with the current settings. First give the preset a name in the edit box.

• Button removes the current tracking preset.

Pattern Size

Size of pattern area for newly created tracks.

Search Size

Size of search area for newly created tracks.

Motion Model

Choose between different motion models for tracking.

Match

The pattern match method.

Keyframe matches the tracking from the keyframe.

Previous frame matches the tracking from the previous frame. Regardless if there is a keyframe recorded or not.

Track tab - Track Tools Panel

The tracking tools.

Track

Track selected markers in chosen direction. Usually you want to play them forward. But you can also track backwards. And by one step.

The two play buttons in the center tracks the whole range. The two outer buttons tracks just frame wise.

Clear

The left button clears the track before the chosen position. The right button clears the track after the chosen position.

Last Operator Clear Track Path

Action

Choose the direction.

Clear up to clears the track before the chosen position.

Clear remained clears the track after the chosen position.

Clear all clears the whole track.

Clear active

When ticked, just the active track gets cleared.

Refine

Refine selected marker position in given direction from the current position.

Last operator Refine Markers

Backwards

Refine in backwards directory.

Merge

Join Track

Joins selected tracks.

Average Tracks

Averages selected tracks into active.

Last Operator Average Tracks

Keep Original

Keep the original track.

Solve tab - Plane Track Panel

Create a plane track. A plane track can be used to map an image or a movie at an area in your clip. The Plane track.

A plane track can be used to replace things like billboards and screens on the footage with another image or video. It can also be used for masking.

It is also possible to have some tracks appear and disappear during the time. This required to have two neighbor frames have at least 4 common tracks.

You need to select at least four markers. And the four markers should preferably be at the corners of the area in which you want to map the image or movie.

With the left mouse button and clicking at one of the corners of the cage you can move the plane track plane around in the view.

With the right mouse button and clicking at one of the corners of the cage you can move the single corners, and fit the plane into the area of the movie.

In the sidebar, open the Track tab and the Plane Track panel. Here you can now load an image or movie that gets displayed in this rectangle now, create a new image, or browse for already existing images in the project.

Solve tab - Solve Panel

The Solve Panel contains functionality around solving the camera motion.

Refine

Choose between different refine methods. The method tangential distortion activates when you acticate the Brown model for the lens distortion in the sidebar in the track tab in the camera panel in the lens subpanel

Solve Camera Motion

Starts the calculation for the camera motion to match the track motion.

There should be at least eight common tracks on the both of the selected keyframes.

There should be noticeable parallax effects between these two keyframes.

The average re-projection error is reported to the information space and to the clip editor header. Re-projeciton error means the average distance between reconstructed 3D position of tracks projected back to footage and original position of tracks. Re-projection error below 0.3 means accurate re-projection, (0.3 - 3.0) means quite nice solving which still can be used. Values above 3 means some tracks should be tracked more accurately, or that values for focal length or distortion coefficients were set incorrectly.

Solve tab - Cleanup Panel

This panel contains tools to clean up tracks.

Clean Tracks

Cleans tracks with high error values or few frames. The tracks or segments in question can either be selected, or directly removed. Dependent of the settings.

Last Operator Clean Tracks

Select

The action that should happen when you click at Clean Tracks. Default is select.

Filter Tracks

Removes tracks with too high spikes in their motion curve.

Last Operator Filter Tracks

Track Threshold

Filter threshold to select problematic tracks.

Solve tab - Geometry Panel

3D Markers to Mesh

Creates a vertex cloud using the coordinates of the reconstructed tracks.

Link Empty to Track

Creates an Empty which will be copying movement of active track.

Solve tab - Orientation Panel

Here you will find some orientation functionality to match the geometry in the 3D view to the movie.

Floor

Set plane in the 3D space as a Floor plane, based at three selected markers. You need to have three markers selected. Or you will get an error message.

Wall

Set plane in the 3D space as a Wall plane, based at three selected markers.

Last Operator Set Plane

Plane

A drop down box to choose if you want to set the selected markers as plane or as floor.

Set Origin

Set active marker as origin in 3D space.

Last Operator Set Origin

Use Median

Set Origin to Median Point of selected bundles.

Set X Axis

Set X axis rotation in 3D space, based at the selected marker. You need to have one marker selected. Or you will get an error.

Set Y Axis

Set X axis rotation in 3D space, based at the selected marker. You need to have one marker selected. Or you will get an error.

Last Operator Set Axis

Axis

A drop down box to choose if you want to use the axis to X or to Y

Set Scale

Set scale of scene by scaling camera, based at two selected markers. You need to have two markers selected. Or you will get an error.

Last Operator Set Scale

Distance

The distance between two bundles used for scene scaling.

Apply Scale

Apply scale to solution.

Last operator Apply Solution Scale

Distance

The distance between two bundles used for scene scaling.

Distance

The distance between two bundles used for scene scaling. This setting is a pre value, and gets used for Set Scale as well as for Apply Scale when you perform those tools.

Solve tab - Scene Setup Panel

Annotation tab

The annotation tool is available in multiple editors. With this tool you can write notes at the screen. The annotate tools is the little brother of the grease pencil object in the 3D view.

Further settings for annotations can be found in the sidebar. Here you can also remove an annotation when you don't longer need it. And here you can also adjust the size of the stroke.

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