Motion tracking is a very powerful tool for creating effects in video editing. It allows you to create advanced effects or even do simple things like move text along with a shot without too much hassle. Nowadays we all have computers that can handle this level of processing. Still, finding the best way to do this in your NLE is a big question that could involve any number of built-in tools or separate plugins.
Filmmaker Peter Lindgren believes that mTracker 3D is the best tracking plugin available for Final Cut Pro X and he is going to show off a tutorial of it in use.
Loading in some clips into the timeline, using the plugin is easy. All you have to do is head over to the effects panel and drag mTracker 3D over onto the clip you want to modify. You’ll need to start tracking which can take a while depending on your footage resolution, frame rate, etc. Then you’ll have a bunch of already provided options you can instantly throw into your clips.
Once the tracking is done, you can drag one of the pre-built effects in the timeline over the clip in question and then Paste Track onto the effect clip. Now you can pick a position and orientation for it on your clip. You can do this using the preview area or using the sliders and dials in the plugin control panel.
Image Credit: mTracker 3D
For best results, you will want to make sure you have some contrast in the scene so the software can identify points to track from frame to frame.
One benefit of mTracker 3D is that it receives updates and additional content via Expansions. These are some new titles and effects that will make designing fancy titles super fast. You can see Peter making these changes in real time and getting a ready-to-export result takes only a few clicks and adjustments.
I think it is worth using. Plus, it is Apple Silicon (M1 chip) compatible if you have recently picked up one of Apple’s latest machines.
[source: Peter Lindgren]
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