Originally posted by: tellan

can this be done?

I've got

after effects
adobe premier

a) what is this techinique called
b) can anyone point me to a tutorial, alternatively, can I send you the two bits of footage and you could motion track for me?

it's 88 frames of stuff.

LOL! I just started messing with this stuff. Had a heck of a time finding info.

Can you set 2 tracking points? There may be a little camera rotation. And you have to pick points that aren't screwed up by artifacts. In AE Pro, you'd line the plate up with the first frame, mask, and pick your point(s) on the first frame of the moving footage. (As I understand it).

If that's how Vegas wants it, then you could take a snapshot of the first frame (VirtualDubMod), and line up the relevant portion of your plate, onto it, in an Image Editor, like Photoshop. Then save it without altering the original dimensons of the snapshot. Import that still, and it'll be automatically aligned to the first frame. Yadda yadda yadda, and motion control would take over from there.

After Effects Pro has "motion tracking" that's supposed to be brilliant.

Tutorials - click on the "Assisted Suicide" one

Mind you I didn't get the motion tracking to work right, yet. It went insane when it encountered Telecined material. I have to Inverse-Telecine the source, and the source may have too many encoding artifacts, as well. In fact, I came here to have another look at ADM's guide, for the IVTC part... saw this... laughed... wrote down my laugh... uh, but anyway...

If you don't have AE Pro there's a plugin that works with "most compositors". SynthEyes I doubt if the 3-D part would get in the way. But it's priced for 3D... ($400). I hear (read) that it kicks hindquarters.

I believe there's other plugins, too. Maybe something cheaper that'll do the job.

If you can do Linux (I wish I could even *hope* to learn Linux in time for my current tasks), there's a freeware that's supposed to work nicely. (Looks like it may not be any more poorly documented that AE). 2 Versions:
Heroinewarrior Cinelerra
Cinelerra - Community Version

And, for the independently wealthy, EyeOn Fusion is another proggie (at a mere $5,000).

If you don't have Pro, and Vegas wont work, and so on, I hope someone skilled will step up. As a last resort, I could take a shot at it. But, I wont have Pro for long, its a temporary licence-transfer thing, for, maybe, a couple of months. And I'm up to my receeding-hairline in stuff to do with it. Of course it would be better if you found someone who wasn't at the " WTF???!!!! " stage, LOL!