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Tracking Strategies

In most of these strategies, you pause the analysis and then return to a previous frame, erasing bad keyframes as you go.

Use this strategy:
When:

Change reference feature

The Tracker loses its reference feature early on in the analysis.

Example: the chosen reference feature moves too unpredictably and abruptly. See Changing the Reference Feature.

Adjust size of tracker box

The reference feature moves outside of the tracker box from frame to frame, but the motion of the reference feature is predictable.

Example: a child on a see-saw. See Adjusting the Size of the Tracker Box.

Adjust tolerance

The reference feature is hidden by another object for several frames and it does not change direction while it is hidden.

Example: a car passing behind a tree. See Adjusting Tolerance.

Change reference type to Roaming

The appearance of the reference feature gradually changes as the clip advances.

Example: a dramatic lightening or darkening of the reference feature takes place. See Using a Roaming Reference Box.

Snap to update reference box

The appearance of the reference feature changes suddenly one or more times in the clip.

Example: a bird flaps its wings, then folds them. See Snapping to Update the Reference Box.

Apply effect before tracking

The quality of the reference feature is too poor for the Tracker to track it.

For example, you can produce a high-contrast version of the source clip using a Color Correction filter, track the reference feature in this version, and then remove the effect when the tracking is finished. See Using Filters to Ease Tracking.

Delete bad keyframes and let Tracker interpolate

The Tracker is setting incorrect keyframes and the motion of the reference feature is sufficiently predictable for combustion to interpolate between two good keyframes.

For example, find the previous good keyframe and the next good keyframe, removing all bad keyframes in between them, and let combustion interpolate between the two good keyframes. See Deleting Bad Keyframes and Letting the Tracker Interpolate.

Continue analysis with a different reference feature

The reference feature moves off the frame before the end of the clip.

The reference feature changes to such a degree it is no longer usable.

For example, an extreme zoom where the first and last frames have almost nothing in common (except perhaps a central point). See Continuing the Analysis with a Different Reference Feature.

Analyze backward

The feature you want to track grows larger or is off screen at the beginning of the clip.

For example, all of your required reference features may not be visible on the first frame. Tracking backwards helps in many cases. See Analyzing Backward.

Edit Tracker's path manually

A portion of the clip cannot be tracked, or an adequate track cannot be "locked down".

Example: one or two bad keyframes are throwing off your track. Edit or remove these keyframes manually. See Editing the Tracker's Path.

Analyze one frame at a time

The Tracker should be checked on each frame.

Example: use for very intricate tracks where extreme precision is required, such as tracking blue eyes onto a brown-eyed actor. See Analyzing One Frame at a Time or Tracking Manually.

Track manually

The reference feature is hidden by another object for several frames, and its motion is not predictable.

The reference feature moves outside the range of the tracker box and its motion is not predictable. See Analyzing One Frame at a Time or Tracking Manually.




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