In earlier decades many feature films relied on matte paintings to extend sets. They locked off a film camera and filmed scenes though a pane of glass with a painting that was created to make smaller sets look like they were in much larger environments.

In the second half of the 20th Century, optical printers were used to combine filmed footage of a painting with live action film.

 

In recent years matte paintings are digital images that are stored and composited with live action footage using computers. Compositing software can detect camera moves in the live action footage and move the graphic file so that the graphics ‘track’ with elements in the footage.

Up until recently tracking software to cost thousands of pounds and require expensive hardware to perform the necessary complex calculations. Most recently it was only found in high-end compositing applications. Now Final Cut Pro X editors can use a new set of plugins to track objects and camera moves in their video clips to make overlaid graphics and text line up with video that has already been shot.

Here is my sample video of what TrackX for Final Cut Pro X from Coremelt can do:

TrackX greatly reduces the number of workflow stages and opens up motion tracking to editors. It combines great value with ease of use and convenience.

For more information, more sample videos and a download of a 15 day free trial version, visit the CoreMelt website.

For a 84 minute webinar on many TrackX techniques, go to the Imagineer Systems video on Vimeo.

Disclosure: CoreMelt sent me a review unlock code for TrackX. Lucky for me as I was planning to buy it myself. I’d already bought their SliceX masking plugin last year.