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Tracker won't allow target - can't apply. Help!

New Here ,
Nov 06, 2010 Nov 06, 2010

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Totally new to after effects.  Trying to track an animated file in MP4 format using tracker.  I've got the tracking portion figured out, but I never get the "apply" button to activate - it stays greyed out.  Also under "motion target" I can't select either button.

Would appreciate any help very much - I have a project I'm doing for my son's soccer team and I have to present it next week!

I do note that if I select stabilize it then allows both fields to be active and apply be clicked, but I don't want to stabilize, I want to create a motion tracker so I can insert a face into the moving area. Message was edited by: pprioroh

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , Oct 26, 2016 Oct 26, 2016

Every problem described in this thread is the result if improper workflow.

To figure out how to use Track Motion, Camera Track or any of the other built in tracking features that come with AE just type the name of the technique you are trying to use in the Search Help field at the top right corner of the app and check out the community resources. They are filtered and in almost every case you'll get vetted training that teaches you the proper techniques for using the tools.

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Nov 06, 2010 Nov 06, 2010

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Follow the instructions on this page. If one of those steps doesn't work for you, report back here. There are also tutorials (including video tutorials) that show the process here.

By the way, if you're totally new to After Effects, you shouldn't start with motion tracking as the first thing that you do. It's somewhat complex for a first project. I strongly recommend that you methodically work your way through the getting-started materials here.

http://blogs.adobe.com/toddkopriva/2010/01/getting-started-with-after-eff.html

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New Here ,
Nov 06, 2010 Nov 06, 2010

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I've been through that page - It doesn't work as of step 2.

I've got a single file in my timeline, which is selected.  I click track motion, but under edit target I can't select anything.

And I realize it's not a great first step, but it's what I've got in mind for this project.  I've used FCP in the past for editing, but this year bought cs5 so I'm learning premiere and AE at the same time.  My son's soccer end of year party is in a couple weeks and it is what it is

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Nov 06, 2010 Nov 06, 2010

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> I've got a single file in my timeline, which is selected.  I click track motion, but under edit target I can't select anything.

If you've only got one layer in your composition, and that's the one that you're tracking, what do you expect to be able to change the target to? The point of motion tracking is that you track motion in one layer and assign that motion to a different layer. If there's not another layer to assign the motion to, then you can't edit the target.

> And I realize it's not a great first step, but it's what I've got in mind for this project.  I've used FCP in the past for editing, but this year bought cs5 so I'm learning premiere and AE at the same time.  My son's soccer end of year party is in a couple weeks and it is what it is

I understand your desire to get started on doing something "real", but the truth of the matter is that you have to learn the basics before you can be successful with this program. Please, read this page. All that I've done for the past six years is teach people how to use After Effects, and that page summarizes that experience.

If you insist on starting straight into a project involving motion tracking, at least watch the tutorials that I pointed you to in my previous post (here).

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New Here ,
Nov 06, 2010 Nov 06, 2010

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Thank you for your reply again.  What I am trying to do is create a track of an animated cartoon (simple stick figure with a circle for a head) and then use that to take another source (video) and put someone's face into that cartoon as it jumps around the screen.  I thought I had to create a motion track on the cartoon and then add the video later.

You're right i'm sure I'm in over my head.  I've actually watched quite a few of the adobe videos and also I'm a subscriber to lynda.com and have watched numerous videos on AE as well.  It's just actually doing that's confusing me.

I've looked at those tutorials you listed (most of them before I asked!) and I'm still obviously missing something so I'll go back and look again.

Thanks so much for taking time to help me.

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Community Expert ,
Nov 07, 2010 Nov 07, 2010

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Did you create the cartoon? Tracking only works on footage that's a movie or on pre-composed animations. A little more detail about your project would help.

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New Here ,
Nov 07, 2010 Nov 07, 2010

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Yes, it's in .mp4 format.  I've gone through and did all the motion tracking using the boxes, that works fine.  it's just I can't select or apply.  It's an eztoons creation, very simple.

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Nov 07, 2010 Nov 07, 2010

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I think that you may still be missing the point that I tried to make earlier. If there's not another layer in your composition, then there's nothing to apply the motion tracking to. Add another layer to your composition; then you can apply the motion tracking data to it.

Please, watch one of the motion tracking tutorials that I pointed to (such as this one) and follow along with the steps that are shown to you. Then, once you've done this yourself along with a tutorial, it may make more sense.

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New Here ,
Nov 07, 2010 Nov 07, 2010

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the answer was:

Layer, create new, null object

Apply to that layer

Parent my object to the null.

I read through quite a few of those links, but actually found it at this video which was VERY helpful:

http://greyscalegorilla.com/blog/2009/12/make-the-jibjab-effect-using-after-effects-and-the-tracker/

Thanks to both of you for trying to help me.  I will continue to work through the tutorials and learn more, this product seems very useful and fun, but it's also a whole new vocabulary and workflow to learn.

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New Here ,
Jan 09, 2019 Jan 09, 2019

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not helpful

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New Here ,
Dec 06, 2011 Dec 06, 2011

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Possibly you forgot to set "Track Type" to "Stabilize". It's probably set (by default) to "Transform". I had the same problem and spent two hours on that... Unfortunately Todd's answer, "RTFM", wasn't very helpful.

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New Here ,
Oct 17, 2012 Oct 17, 2012

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thanks for your help mate! 🙂 i'm using AE CS5.5 and i have a same problem as pprioroh. After you mention about "Track Type" . Thank's again.

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New Here ,
Oct 10, 2016 Oct 10, 2016

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that works, thanks man.

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New Here ,
Apr 25, 2018 Apr 25, 2018

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This is what I was missing. THANK YOU!

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 29, 2021 Aug 29, 2021

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Resurrected this thread to say that this works! Thank you!

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New Here ,
Jun 23, 2023 Jun 23, 2023

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Thank you🤦🏼

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New Here ,
Oct 26, 2016 Oct 26, 2016

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For me, I duplicated all my layers and and deleted the track points on my duplicated layer. Then I went back into the tracker and target layers could be selected.  Pretty simple, but extremely annoying.

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Community Expert ,
Oct 26, 2016 Oct 26, 2016

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Every problem described in this thread is the result if improper workflow.

To figure out how to use Track Motion, Camera Track or any of the other built in tracking features that come with AE just type the name of the technique you are trying to use in the Search Help field at the top right corner of the app and check out the community resources. They are filtered and in almost every case you'll get vetted training that teaches you the proper techniques for using the tools.

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New Here ,
Oct 26, 2023 Oct 26, 2023

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This is suggested as the correct answer? It's not a solution to the issue at hand, just some condescending drivel about "correct workflows". AE is a complex piece of software, but it is also idiosyncratic and counterintuitive and opaque in many of its machinations, and encountering this kind of resolution to a well formed technical question like the OP only further maddens those of us who have been dealing with After Effect's myriad problems for years (more than a decade for me).

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New Here ,
Nov 18, 2023 Nov 18, 2023

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LATEST

Yes and every person who wants to learn how to bake bread should use a recipe book they happen to already own instead of using the internet like a normal person. Great answer, genuis! 

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Explorer ,
Dec 09, 2017 Dec 09, 2017

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i had the exact same problem when i wanted to stabilize motion of my video layer.

exactly like griestopf has pointed out: the problem was that initially the the tracker wasn't set to "stabilize motion".

SOLUTION is to copy the old tracking points keyframes and paste them to a second "stabilize motion"-tracker

Steps:

1: select the tracking point(s) from "tracker 1" and copy (CTRL+C)

2: create a second tracker by clicking "track motion" once more, but this time click on "stabilize motion" in the tracker settings.

3. edit target should now work.

4: paste (CTRL+V) the tracking points from tracker 1 to the new tracker. and delete the old ones which are empty of keyframes

5: click apply

6: you can now delete the old tracker 1

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New Here ,
Dec 18, 2017 Dec 18, 2017

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I just found a workaround for the problem. I was using a "replace with after effects comp" file generated in premiere.

!!! I opened a totally new AE comp and dragged my clips in from the finder and set the ins and outs. Then added a null. Motion tracked my clip. And tada! The "set target" dialogue was enabled!

I know how to motion track. I've done tons of it.

So it's a glitch, one of several that come out with every update.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 09, 2019 Jan 09, 2019

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If you had a footage layer in the comp that was created by Dynamic link you should be able to open the Motion Tracking workspace, select the footage layer, then do your tracking. The target will automatically be created. I know of no bug that would prevent this from happening.

The comp Dynamic Link create does not know that it came from premiere so there is no difference at all between one that you create from Premiere and one that you create from scratch.

If there are a bunch of layers selected in PPro or a bunch of cuts, sometimes you can end up with nested comps and it's a little harder to get those selected to do some tracking and to get the Layer Panel opened up, but, once again, I know of no bug that would make motion tracking fail in a comp created from a selection in a Premiere Pro sequence.

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