After Effects Tutorial: Animate 3D Objects with Tracked Footage

 This tutorial will show you how to use camera tracking to animate 3D objects in After Effects. Camera tracking is used to track the movement of a camera in a video footage and then apply the same movement to 3D objects. This technique is often used to create realistic looking 3D effects, such as adding 3D objects to a real-world environment.

Step 1: Import your footage

The first step is to import your video footage into After Effects. To do this, go to File > Import > File. Select the video footage you want to track and click Open.

Step 2: Create a new composition

Next, create a new composition by going to Composition > New Composition. In the New Composition window, set the composition name to something like “Tracked Footage” and set the width and height to the same resolution as your video footage. Click OK to create the composition.

Step 3: Create a camera layer

Next, create a new camera layer by going to Layer > New > Camera. In the New Camera window, set the camera name to something like “Tracked Camera”. Click OK to create the camera layer.

Step 4: Track the footage

Now we will track the footage. To do this, select the camera layer and then go to Effect > Track Motion. In the Track Motion window, select the “Track Camera” option and click OK.

After Effects will analyze the footage and create tracking points. You can adjust the tracking points by clicking and dragging them.

Step 5: Create a new solid layer

Next, create a new solid layer by going to Layer > New > Solid. In the New Solid window, set the solid name to something like “3D Object”. Click OK to create the solid layer.

Step 6: Apply the camera tracking data to the 3D object

Now we will apply the camera tracking data to the 3D object. To do this, select the 3D object layer and then go to Effect > Animate Transform. In the Animate Transform window, select the “After Effects Camera” option and click OK.

The 3D object will now be animated to follow the movement of the camera in the footage.

Step 7: Add 3D effects

You can now add 3D effects to the 3D object, such as 3D lights, shadows, and reflections. To do this, go to Effect > 3D.

Step 8: Render the composition

Once you are happy with your animation, you can render the composition by going to Composition > Add to Render Queue. In the Render Queue window, set the output module to the desired format and click the Render button.

Conclusion

Animating 3D objects with tracked footage is a great way to create realistic-looking 3D effects. With a little practice, you can create all sorts of different 3D effects in After Effects.

I hope this tutorial was helpful.