Kevin Bolivar introduces the concept of parallax in relation to motion tracking within SynthEyes Pro. In the following lessons, he will cover how to strategically place tracking points across different 2D planes in the foreground, middle, and background to recreate 3D motion and depth. Efficiently placing these markers while mastering just a few core tools within SynthEyes, will allow artists to meet professional production deadlines while maintaining quality results, thoroughness, and speed in their workflow.

Duration: 9m 30s

Kevin runs down three main sections inside of SnythEyes of key importance for his workflow: Trackers, Solver, and 3-D, and how using these tools can turn a 2D plate into a 3D environment. Starting with Trackers, Kevin demonstrates how to place tracking points strategically, allowing the software to calculate parallax and camera movement, which allows him to create a virtual camera that matches the original shot. This data can be used by other departments in a studio to add anything to the scene and have it exist naturally within the filmed scene.

Duration: 8m 37s

Before diving any deeper into the software, Kevin gives a quick rundown of how to place and manipulate trackers, as well as some keyframe data. Moreover, he explains interface navigation and shows his most-used keyboard shortcuts, which make using SynthEyes more efficient. Kevin emphasizes that these tools and shortcuts may seem overwhelming initially, but that they will become like second nature to users through consistent practice and repetition.

Duration: 3m 52s

In this lesson, Kevin provides a comprehensive demo for tracking a 2D plate from a GoPro in SynthEyes from start to finish. Key takeaways include technical knowledge for setting the scene for proper tracking, efficient and strategic tracker placement methods, and creating to-scale geometry that matches the camera. By following these steps, users will have created an accurate camera Solve suitable for integrating 3D elements into live-action footage.

Duration: 33m 56s

In this lesson, Kevin works off the initial camera shot from the first lesson, demonstrating how to prepare, track, refine results, and export the data from this more dynamic panning shot, which includes an obstruction for tracking points, lens distortion to correct, and a lens flare to work around. When broken down into systematic steps, a shot like this becomes much less complex to handle. Although this process can be tedious, Kevin emphasizes that this repetition builds speed and accuracy within your workflow, which is especially beneficial for freelancers working remotely.

Duration: 25m 23s

This lesson highlights exporting and importing your SynthEyes data to other software packages in VFX production, such as Maya and Nuke, and the settings to be aware of. Proper scene organization and file management are other important aspects of this process, and maintaining these clean hierarchies is key to a smooth workflow. Proceeding in Maya, Kevin prepares the scene, including the camera and geometry from SynthEyes.

Duration: 11m 11s

In this lesson, Kevin provides an overview and foundation for beginners in Maya, showcasing how to do simple polygon modeling for layout work. The instructor focuses on practicality over perfection, emphasizing simple geometric proxies that are accurate to scale and placement in the scene, which saves time for other departments and helps the project as a whole move along. Kevin also notes that one of the best ways to learn this workflow on the job is not only to practice but to ask questions when you need help, saving you and others time in the long run.

Duration: 13m 35s

This lesson gives an overview of animation workflows in Maya and fundamental techniques for parenting objects to another. By using constraints, baking animation, and non-destructive group-based parenting concepts, artists can overcome much more complex animation challenges. Kevin provides these building blocks in preparation for the more advanced constraint work and problem-solving required in professional animation pipelines.

Duration: 8m 9s

Building off the last two lessons, Kevin demonstrates an example of creating and referencing 3D elements for tracking live-action objects within Maya. By separating movement controls into X/Y, Z-depth, and rotation layers, the instructor quickly creates believable object animation that matches the camera-tracked footage, refining only what’s necessary based on visibility in the shot. The method prioritizes speed, making it ideal for tight deadlines where "good enough" often beats "perfect."

Duration: 21m 40s

In this lesson, Kevin tracks a human head without a custom-built model, requiring a bit of patience and iteration between SynthEyes and Maya. The key is understanding when to use full object tracking versus simpler one-point methods, properly weighting trackers to avoid disruption, and managing a back-and-forth pipeline between the two software for adjusting and maintaining symmetry on the geometry. The process shown can be valuable for adding effect, including tattoos, robotic elements, or prosthetics that need to follow facial movement accurately.

Duration: 27m 15s

Kevin recaps the workflow for tracking showcased in the previous lessons, examining different footage examples, each with different challenges to overcome. Even grainy, distorted, low-quality, or simply non-conducive footage can be successfully tracked with proper technique, technical knowledge, and patience. At the same time, it is important to remember that balancing perfection and “good enough" based on project requirements will always be a factor, a philosophy that Kevin insists will come with time and experience.

Duration: 28m 52s

In this lesson, Kevin moves to Nuke, looking at situations where retiming footage might be necessary. He shows us how to use expressions to transfer retimed values directly to camera animation data, rather than struggling to track poorly interpolated frames, before exporting this data back to Maya. This technique is essential for working within a studio setting, saving time and headaches with speedy changes.

Duration: 9m 12s

Kevin shows some finished animated scenes that give context to why camera tracking is such a fundamental part of a professional VFX pipeline, one which cannot be skipped or faked when camera movement is present in a scene. He also shows the power that it gives the artist, showcasing animated and rigged meshes that can be believably integrated into the tracked scene for animators to tell stories. To Kevin, that part of the pipeline is where some of the most fun begins, encouraging artists to experiment with rigged characters you can find online.

Duration: 21m 17s

Before wrapping up this comprehensive workshop on camera tracking, Kevin provides us with two more useful demonstrations he encourages artists to experiment with. For mesh optimization, he details MeshLabs, which keeps the quality of meshes artists may want to animate or track, while significantly reducing the polycount. For mesh generation, he covers Blips in SynthEyes, which creates a point cloud that artists can generate meshes from. Kevin closes this lesson by reiterating his belief that practice makes perfect, and offers artists to reach out for support as they develop their skills in the VFX industry.

Duration: 11m 1s