If you want to track motion in After Effects, to stick a title to a moving object, replace a screen or place graphics into live footage, there are three main tools to choose from. Each one suits a different kind of shot. This guide explains when to use point tracking, planar tracking and 3D camera tracking, walks through each one, and covers the habits that make a track hold.
Which tracking method should you use?
- Point tracking follows one or two small, high-contrast details. Use it to attach a label or graphic to something that moves across the frame.
- Planar tracking follows a flat surface, such as a phone screen, a sign or a wall, including its perspective. Use it for screen replacements and anything that needs to sit on a surface.
- 3D camera tracking works out how the real camera moved through the scene. Use it to place 3D text or objects into footage so they stay put as the camera moves.
How to track motion in After Effects with the point tracker
The built-in tracker is the quickest way to make one layer follow a point in the footage.
- Open the Tracker panel with Window > Tracker.
- Select the footage layer and click Track Motion. The footage opens in the Layer panel with a track point.
- Drag the track point onto a small, high-contrast detail, such as a corner, a dot or an edge that’s visible for the whole shot. The inner box is the feature to follow; the outer box is the area After Effects searches each frame.
- To track scale or rotation too, tick Scale or Rotation in the Tracker panel. A second track point appears; place it on another detail.
- Click Analyze Forward (the play button in the Tracker panel). Watch the points as they track and stop if they drift.
- Click Edit Target and choose the layer that should follow the track. A null object is a good choice: you can parent several layers to it later.
- Click Apply. The target layer now has keyframes that follow the tracked point.
Applying the track to a null and parenting your graphics to it keeps things flexible. You can move, scale or animate the graphic on its own layer without breaking the track.
Planar tracking with Mocha AE
For surfaces, a planar tracker is usually more reliable than individual points, because it follows a whole area rather than a few pixels. After Effects includes Boris FX Mocha AE for this.
- Select the footage layer and apply Mocha AE from the Effects & Presets panel (search for “Mocha”).
- Launch the Mocha interface from the effect controls.
- Draw a shape around the flat surface you want to track, for example the screen of a phone.
- Track forward. Mocha follows the surface, including perspective changes.
- Adjust the surface corners to match the real edges of the screen or sign, save, and bring the tracking data back into After Effects to drive your replacement layer.
The exact buttons depend on your Mocha AE version, so check its built-in help if a step looks different.
3D camera tracking
The 3D Camera Tracker analyses the whole shot and recreates the camera’s movement, so you can place 3D layers into the scene.
- Select the footage layer and click Track Camera in the Tracker panel. After Effects analyses the footage in the background, which can take a while on long shots.
- When it’s done, coloured track points appear over the footage. Select three or more points on the surface where your graphic should sit. A target appears showing the plane they define.
- Right-click the target and choose Create Text and Camera, Create Solid and Camera or Create Null and Camera.
- After Effects adds a camera that matches the real one, plus your new layer placed on that surface. Replace the solid or text with your own design.
Camera tracking needs parallax: the camera has to actually move through the scene. A locked-off shot or a pure pan from one spot gives the tracker very little to work with.
Tips for a track that holds
- Pick strong features. Corners and high-contrast details track best. Flat, blurry or repeating areas, such as clear sky or a plain wall, don’t.
- Track in chunks. If a point drifts, stop, move it back onto the feature and continue from that frame.
- Watch for motion blur and occlusion. Fast movement and objects passing in front of the feature are the most common causes of a failed track. Track from a cleaner frame and work backwards if needed.
- Stabilise first if the footage is very shaky. Warp Stabilizer can calm footage, but stabilise and track as separate steps so the result is easier to control.
- Add motion blur to your graphic. Turn on motion blur for tracked layers so they blur the same way the footage does.
When you don’t need to track at all
Tracking solves the problem of matching graphics to real camera movement. For fully designed shots, you can do it the other way round: record the camera movement first and apply it to an After Effects camera. Our Phone Camera Controller for After Effects records handheld movement from your phone as camera keyframes, so 3D layers move with a natural, filmed feel without any footage to track. Our guide to creating a realistic handheld camera in After Effects covers that workflow.
Once your track is in place, the graphic still has to look good. Our free 2000+ Animation Presets pack gives you ready-made text and element animations to put on a tracked null, and our AI Assistant for After Effects can build a title or callout from a written prompt.
FAQ
What’s the easiest way to track motion in After Effects?
The built-in point tracker. Open Window > Tracker, click Track Motion, place the point on a high-contrast detail, analyse forward and apply the result to a null object.
How do I track a phone or TV screen?
Use a planar tracker such as Mocha AE, which follows the whole flat surface and its perspective, rather than individual points.
Why does my 3D camera track fail?
Usually because the shot has too little parallax, too much motion blur, or few trackable details. Camera tracking needs the camera to move through the scene.
Should I apply the track to my graphic or to a null?
A null is usually better. Parent your graphics to it, and you can adjust them freely without changing the tracking data.
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