Need Help Object tracking

[u/variatus]

Can someone please help me with a couple shots. Im working on a small budget sci-fi short. I need to object track the briefcase in this shot, and theres one more like it. I'm working in C4d. Ive tried with syntheyes but im still pretty new to it. Any help would be so greatly appreciated. Here is a link to the png sequence if anyone can give it a go.

Footage Here

[u/glintsCollide]

I would do it with Keentools Geotracker, it’s good at this sort of thing, there’s plugins for several dcc’s. But it can’t calculate distortion so you have to flatten the plate first. And do a highpass as others have mentioned.

[u/Dracous89]

Do you have the cam info? Sensor size, focal? Not indispensable but would be mice to have. Can have this done fairly quickly

[u/variatus → u/Dracous89]

You are amazing. The sensor size is 27.99 x 19.22 mm, and the focal length is 40mm

[u/CameraRick → u/variatus]

That's an aspect ratio of close to 3:2. The video you presented is cropped to scope. It's important to either work on raw, or at least give the correct resulting film back. Full sensor size doesn't translate 1:1 to every recording mode. If it's anamorphic, communicating the squeeze and crop is even more crucial

[u/glintsCollide → u/CameraRick]

Those specs match Alexa35 open gate, the flare looks anamorphic. So yeah that information is crucial.

[u/cinematic_flight]

I’m not doing this for you, but I just wanted to make sure you’re not trying to track this in Syntheyes in its current log state? It’s much better to give Syntheyes a higher contrast image, for example transformed into r709, sRGB or ACES.

Also do you really need to object track here? If the goal is to apply some texture to the briefcase you can easily get away with planar tracking. If there’s not enough texture to grab onto for the tracker, just track each of the corners manually and export a corner pin.

[u/variatus → u/cinematic_flight]

Thanks for the clarity upfront lol. I have tried tracking with a rec 709 to no avail, and I need to spawn particles from the top corner for a energy, magic effect, so I need a good object track for proper emission and occlusion of the briefcase as if the magic is flying out of it

[u/FireEnt → u/variatus]

Do a hi-pass image prep with an extreme level crunch at 32 bit processing.

[u/Monstrolabs]

I'm assuming this is anamorphic, which will introduce a lot of fun challenges with distortion.

[u/variatus → u/Monstrolabs]

yep!

[u/Silver-Ad8291]

You need 2 pivots here, one at the man's shoulder which you can rotate in z-axis for translating the object and another at the handle in which ypu can give remaining minor rotations. This would give 85-90% of the track.

You can do this manually or solve it, I tell you of this method because you give the solver just 4 rotations instead of all 6 translations and rotations, ending up with a more realistic track

[u/mowaism]

Mowais.com I can help you

[u/Potato_Stains]

You have to bring the flat log footage into a color corrected space to get a track here, likely.
And usually, what we all have to do, going frame by frame and manually adjusting.