Track Irregular Surfaces in Final Cut Pro with FCPX Surface Tracker

3D Warp Tracking in Final Cut Pro

The ability to track moving subjects or objects is essential in video. It allows you to overlay images, text, or even video over surfaces that move with the action in your clip. Tracked and blended in properly, it gives the illusion of the overlay being a part of the scene. Unfortunately, as of the date of this article, Final Cut Pro does not natively support tracking in video. But this ability can easily be added with a third party plugin. There is a number of great plugins available to track flat surfaces that remain the same shape throughout the shot. But, tracking surfaces that warp and change shape is still extremely difficult. Until now. The new FCPX Surface Tracker plugin from Pixel Film Studios makes tracking warping shapes easier than ever. In the video below, we’ll demonstrate what you can achieve with this plugin, and exactly how to achieve the perfect track you need for your project.

FCPX Surface Tracker

The FCPX Surface Tracker plugin from Pixel Film Studios allows you to add a large number of control points to your subject, and track them with every movement. After tracking the clip, the plugin triangulates a 3D mesh between the control points that changes shape and warps with your subject. The control points and the triangulated mesh are key-framed on every single frame, and the data from the keyframes can then easily be exported and applied to your clip.

An overlay can be added to the drop-zone section of the plugin, that takes on the characteristics of the triangulated mesh. Using the position and dimensions of the triangulated mesh from the previous step, the overlay follows every twist and turn of the subject in the tracked clip, for seamless integration with the subject. This makes tracking irregular surfaces and shapes that change shape possible right in Final Cut Pro, allowing you to achieve effects not possible before. 

Tips for Better Track

• choose a subject or an object with sharp detail

• tracking is contrast based, so avoid smooth areas with low contrast

• the track assist filter allows you to add contrast to the tracked area

• surface tracked needs to be flat for at least one frame of the video

• start your track from where your subject is the flattest, and track forwards and backwards from there

• review your triangulated mesh, and remove parts with unnatural movement

The FCPX Surface Tracker plugin from Pixel Film Studios is one of many tools that add or simplify features not available in Final Cut Pro. If this is a tool you need in your editing toolbox, makes sure to use the coupon code SERGEPIXEL for 30% OFF your first purchase. 

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