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Motion Tracking with ASP and AM


Kamikaze

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AMers

 

I was just checking out anime studio pros motion tracking on Utube and started wondering if there could be a way to use its MT and somehow incorporate this into AM rigging to animate a AM model?

 

Thanks,

Mike

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Well then... heck yes A:M can do that.

(with regard to ASP... that's not motion tracking... that's manual labor. ;) )

I was thinking that by 'ASP' you were referring to some new API for open source motion tracking data.

 

Condensed reply: You can duplicate the workflow that is shown in that video in A:M almost exactly.

 

One easy way to test out a workflow (such as was in that Anime Studio video) is to create a Null and then keyframe a minimum of three keyframes where the Null stays in place over a specific point in the video/moving rotoscope. For many simple motions these three keyframes may be enough but for more complex movements additional keyframes can be inserted. The key (pun intended) is to let the computer inbetween the movement/placement of the object.

 

Once tracked then just constrain the desired object/image to the Null and watch it follow the track.

Adjust to taste as necessary.

 

Similarly, you can use a path as the track for the object to follow.

Ideally in this instance you might create a spline/path/model and then edit it in real time via mouse motion.

Set the video/reference to play in a loop and then select various Control Points and move them into position.

 

For more intensive motion tracking you'll want to use Synth Eyes or a similar program to import the motion tracking data.

The benefit to this approach is that those applications have dedicated features that automatically track changes in an image.

The top of the line applications (such as Nuke) can set you back several thousand dollars of course.

 

Now... it seems to me that you might be talking about moving that motion data back and forth between the two programs?

A lot of that will depend on what motion data Anime Studio can Import/Export.

If it can read BVH, MOT and MDD files then you should be able to use the same A:M data in ASP.

Otherwise you'd have to use some workaround to transfer the motion.

 

Edit: I do see that ASP does have a motion track capability that automatically tracks (or tries to track) an area but that wasn't what was on display in the referenced video. It should be noted that to get more than two trackers one must purchase the Pro version of ASP. ASP Debut only lets you use two.

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I don't want to in any way downplay motion tracking technology but I want to share some of my observations about it.

 

It was about six months or so ago (perhaps more) that I started looking into motion tracking because I thought I might need to use it in the future.

What I observed, even in pro demos, was that in many cases the motion they were tracking could have been tracked in less time and just as accurately manually (in some cases moreso... such as when dealing with tracking in the third dimension).

 

The key to understanding that every motion has at least three points; initiation, attitude or direction and termination.

In ballistics... fast moving motion... these might be termed as internal, external and terminal ballistics.

(Does this remind anyone of the Bouncing Ball exercise?)

 

When tracking any object then these three points must be considered/observed.

Where does the object start?

Where does it stop?

How does it proceed from start to finish?

(Not necessarily in that order)

 

At it's most basic this is about three minutes work whereas with most motion tracking systems the solution will take much more.

 

A fun what if: What if a Null could be made sensitive to the pixel or group of pixels it was over?

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Thanks Rodney,

 

I enjoyed your insight .... sometimes (as my topic suggests) that I am not sure what I am asking ...lol.......I am so bad and slow at animating ....... I think I was on the wrong path ..... I've been trying to look into ways to track my motion, like ones sees on the extras of many movie DVDs where they have all those dots and that motion gets translated/converted? to some format for an animation format BVH? ...... I think what I'm finding is there is not simple way of doing this ..... I'd just like to video myself or others preforming an action and that go straight to the model ...lazy me, I know ....... or should I say..little free time, must be used wisely.....

 

I can see where what you have explained can come in handy!

 

Mike

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I am so bad and slow at animating

 

At the risk of going slightly off topic:

 

Of late it seems that I am getting worse at animating (not that I was that good at it to begin with).

I believe this is a combination of things... poorer eyesight... inadequate laptop...

 

An interesting thing I have noted is that I have considerably more difficulting animating in a Chor than I do in an Action window.

This seems very odd to me and I think it is a combination of things one of which is that there are (generally) too many things in a Chor to distract my attention; too many bones... too many objects.... too many camera lines... etc. etc.

 

The promise of technology such as motion tracking is to add some automation to the process and espeically to align 3D objects with objects perceived to be in 3D space (but really all moving on a flat 2D plane in front of a virtual camera) so that we don't have to continually and continuously do that. We've all seen excellent examples of motion tracking and there are very good reasons to use it.

 

I think such discussions are very important because they inform our approaches to animation.

There will always be a siren call beckoning us to a life of ease and liberty in animation but ultimately animation is best suited to those who really enjoy the work.

 

This is where knowing the tools that are available to us becomes important.

For instance, I would love to rig a character/set so that my characters always know which way is up.

Orientation seems such a simple thing for us.

A simple Null to control general orientation might suffice.

 

It's interesting to note that motion tracking is basically just reverse engineering the path an object has taken beforehand.

If we already know what that path is there really isn't much need to motion track the object.

The remaining need then is mostly (viewer) perception and orientation.

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Rodney,

 

Complex..animal (human or otherwise) animation I have to do in actions, then blend them, which I have always found difficult, for me anyway, guess that's my only big thing holding me back..not that I'm great at any of it, but satisfied with my modeling .... I've learned not to try to be a perfectionist in anything I do, cause I never get to a point of completion ....... but always looking for ways to achieve a more satisfactory look, to my eyes (and or ears, in the case or music) ..... and on the dime....lol....

So for me as of now..... I stick to very simple animation and little non mechanical animations...... it's still all fun to see models come to life !

 

Mike

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Mike,

If you've got lots of free time on your hands you may want to investigate how you could incorporate Blender into your work with A:M.

I see that the latest release of Blender has improved Motion Tracking.

 

Where this might get even more useful is where we can move data back and forth between A:M and Blender.

 

 

Note: For the patient, the video shows some tips and techniques that can be used directly in A:M to facilitate motion tracking.

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