Sep 24

pftrack solution problems please help

Posted in: Matchmoving Software
hi all. ive been trying for a few days now to track a bit of hand held video i shot walking round a parking space in a supermarket carpark (see attached). tha footage was shot in 1080 hd 25 fps.

i have :

1. corrected lens distortion ( see lens dist grid attached )
2. ive tracked using both user tracks and auto tracks together and seperatly
3 i seem to be able to track the first section of tha last section but not a complete sequence..
4. i have put down alot of tracking markers.. there are 4 yellow ones where the wheels of my cg car will go.. and there are plenty of good tracking points to be had with the surrounding area with lampposts, signs, floor markings etc…

is there any reasons you can think of that would stop me from tracking this shot? what should i have done different when shooting the footage? is there a technique i could try in PFTrack that could provide a solution?

any help or advice would be really useful….if any one is up for the challange i could up load higher res footage or an image sequence…

thanks – jim

Attached Thumbnails

Click image for larger version Name: lense_dist_x01_139.jpg Views: N/A Size: 838.4 KB ID: 10528
 

Attached Files
File Type: mov shot0016b_sm.mov (13.97 MB)
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Sep 23

Reference Frames in PFtrack – Quick Q.

Posted in: Matchmoving Software
Just quoting the manual here but does it mean there needs to be at least 8 user features on each frame, or just in the whole sequence (as a minimum) ?

‘To solve for the position of each reference frame, at least eight user-features
must be tracked in the main footage and also placed in the reference frame.’

I’ve done it before on pans but I was just trying to refresh my memory !

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Sep 19

Boujou into AE

Posted in: Matchmoving Software
Hi, Great resources here! I’m still learning boujou to integrate live footage with some particle effects in AE. I’ve been getting solid solves in boujou (test objects stick, and flagged targets all stay in place during the solve) but when I export into AE (.ma) my flagged nulls (6 or so) all dance around a bit, as does the effects I parent to their position.

I imagine there is a setting I have clicked on or off? Any ideas what I am doing wrong?

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Sep 19

Help with tracking a shot

Posted in: Matchmoving Software
We have a deadline for this shot tomorrow and we can’t get a good camera track for it (don’t have that much experience with camera tracking). It’s a student project and most of the work except the tracking is done. We are adding some 3D objects and everything from the cars and behind is being replaced with a projected matte painting.

I have access to Syntheyes and the camera tracker in Nuke. We did a track in Nuke first but didn’t manage to import it correctly to Maya. Then we tried with Syntheyes but the track we get is not enough (we did try to fine tune it and so on). The matte painting and 3D objects are floating around. The projection error we got in Syntheyes is 0,28.

How could we approach this to get a good track?

(I uploaded the shot and track we got so you can see what I mean)

Attached Files
File Type: zip shot_JPG.zip (14.89 MB)
File Type: zip testtrack.zip (7.12 MB)
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Sep 18

combining auto / manual tracking in boujou 5? possible?

Posted in: Matchmoving Software
Hey guys,

Boujou 5 questions ..

Is it possible to do an autotrack and then use a manual track to lock it down further? so essentially combine use both?

Also is it possible to do a reverse auto track in boujou without rendering the plate prior in reverse?

Thanks
Dave.

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Sep 16

Working out ‘film back’ from sensor size ?

Posted in: Matchmoving Software
Once and for all, I’d really like to get the film back measurements of a couple of camera’s that I use, and to work out other ones when I get to use them.
I have a Canon HF11 and a Sanyo HD1010.

Canon:
Image Sensor 1/3.2-inch CMOS, approx. 3,310,000 pixels
Effective pixels:
Movies: approx. 2,070,000
Still images (LW): approx. 2,070,000
Still images (L, M, S): approx. 2,760,000

Sanyo:
Image sensor: CMOS sensor
Optical Sensor Size: 1/2.5" (? I think not 100% sure)
Camera effective: Still images: Approx. 4 million pixels
Number of pixels:
Movies (HD mode): Approx. 3.56 million pixels
Movies (SD mode): Approx. 2.18 million pixels

I’d really like to know how to work this out :thumbsup:

NOTE:
This is just so I know how to work it out, not vital to any matchmoves.

Useful:
http://blog.tylerginter.com/?p=290

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Sep 08

PF track not exporting

Posted in: Matchmoving Software
Hi guys,

I hit the save button and nothing seems to export. I am trying to export a .ma file but it’s not saving anything in the set location. I am using a bunch of user defined points for tracking.

any ideas what I could be doing wrong?

cheers

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Sep 06

Shameful plea

Posted in: Matchmoving Software
After endlessly trying to solve this shot and resisting punching a nice big whole in my innocent monitor, I’ve decided I need some help with this one.

I’ve tried constraints, solving in sections, manual tracking and abusing my computer and none of it seems to be giving me a decent solution. Basically the camera drops down and then rises again.

The footage is attached, if people could have a look at it or even have a crack at it would be much appreciated. (The premise of the story is that time has stopped (minus the main characters) and I need to place chess pieces in the air as the table had been flipped when time stopped.)

Ps- I’m using PFTrack.

Attached Files
File Type: zip chessSeq.zip (11.19 MB)
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Aug 29

Camera Solve has too much Z depth

Posted in: Matchmoving Software
Using PFTrack 5 PLE here.

I notice that most of my Camera solves when shooting with a Sony EX1 have far too much Z Depth. I have some shallow scenes that have auto features way too far apart in Z. The Focal Length was recorded for each shot (in 35mm equivalent)

Any general advice to correct this?

Should I be using the HD 1080/24 camera preset, or a custom film back that exactly matches the EX1 sensor size? Would that have any impact on this problem?

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Aug 29

3D Tracking an “Handheld Nodel Pan”

Posted in: Matchmoving Software
Hi,

I often run into problems solving NodelPans wich are shot handheld.
The Cam is moving but not "really" changes position, mostly rotation!

Do I set up my Camera best as a FreeMove or as a NodelPan?

The most time when i set something up like this, with as a "freeMove" it solves the points "right" but the cam is doing crazy stuff, althoug everything looks as if its sticking!

NodelPan works often fine, but it cant be correct because i know the cam is moving AND i have no PointClouD(No reference photos!)

Example:
http://vimeo.com/13848044

I m using pftrack!

it would be very great if someone could give me an advice wich technique is best for such shots!

thanks Louis:confused:

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