Stabilization Motion Tracking in Adobe After Effects CC - How to

Stabilization Motion Tracking in Adobe After Effects CC - How to

Motion tracking is a powerful feature in Adobe After Effects CC, allowing you to stabilize shaky footage and achieve smoother results. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to perform motion tracking and stabilization on your clips.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Opening the Tracker Panel: Begin by navigating to the start of your clip in Adobe After Effects. To open the tracker panel, you’ll typically find it under the 'Window' menu.

   • Go to the beginning of the clip.
   • Open the tracker panel from the 'Window' menu.

2. Stabilizing Motion: Click on the 'Stabilize Motion' button within the tracker panel. This action will bring up a tracking point on your footage.

   • Click 'Stabilize Motion' in the tracker panel.
   • A tracking point will appear on the footage.

3. Adjusting the Track Point: The Track Point consists of two bounding boxes—an inner box and an outer box. You can drag both to adjust their size and position them over an area with good contrast in your footage.

   • Drag the outer and inner boxes of the Track Point.
   • Position them over a high-contrast area.

4. Running the Tracking: After positioning the Track Point, press the play button to allow After Effects to follow the selected area throughout the clip.

   • Press play to start tracking.

5. Correcting Lost Track Points: Sometimes, tracking points may be lost during the process. If this happens, highlight the problematic track points and press delete to remove them. Manually re-adjust the position of the Track Point if necessary and press play again to continue.

   • If the Track Point is lost, highlight and delete problematic points.
   • Manually adjust the Track Point and press play again.

6. Applying the Stabilization: Once tracking is complete, press the 'Apply' button to apply the stabilization effect to your clip.

   • Press 'Apply' to apply the stabilization.

7. Dealing with Black Bars: Stabilization often results in black bars appearing at the edges of your footage. To address this, simply scale the footage up and adjust its position to ensure the black bars are no longer visible.

   • Scale in the footage.
   • Adjust the position to eliminate black bars.

8. Reviewing the Results: Play back the clip to see the stabilizing effect in action. Your footage should now appear much smoother and more stable.

   • Play back the footage to review.

Keywords

• Motion Tracking
• After Effects
• Stabilize Motion
• Track Point
• Adobe After Effects CC
• Footage Stabilization

FAQ

Q: What is the purpose of motion tracking in Adobe After Effects? A: Motion tracking is used to stabilize shaky footage or to follow and apply effects to a moving object within your clip.

Q: How can I open the tracker panel in Adobe After Effects? A: You can open the tracker panel by navigating to the 'Window' menu and selecting 'Tracker.'

Q: What should I do if my track point is lost during tracking? A: If the track point is lost, highlight and delete the problematic points, manually adjust the track point's position, and press play again to continue tracking.

Q: How do I remove the black bars that appear after stabilization? A: To remove the black bars, you can scale in the footage and adjust its position to ensure the black bars are no longer visible.

Q: What does the 'Apply' button do in the stabilization process? A: The 'Apply' button applies the stabilization effect to your footage after tracking is complete.