Our latest tutorial called Magic Tracking features a handy preset to work with Corner Pin Data from Mocha AE. Well if you are using Mocha for CS5, be sure to export the data from mocha using the "Corner Pin Only" Option. This method does not include any transform data so the preset can function properly.

Also we know the preset is currently only in English, so if anyone would be so helpful to modify the preset and upload it for others to use. We'll try to package it up and get all the languages soon.

In our recent Magic Tracking Tutorial, we used a new preset to help locate a specific point on a surface tracked with Mocha AE. This technique works well to establish objects onto a specific location like a sign but you can also slide objects on the surface as well. This example shows the ability to animate that point along the surface by keyframing the position of the NULL.

For the boulder I used CC Sphere with some fast rotation and manually scaled the ball as it reaches the camera. You can even download the project and see how I did the other effects as well but I encourage you to check the Magic Tracking tutorial to see how it works. There is no 3D tracking and it was all created within After Effects and tracked with Mocha.

Watch Sample Video
Download Project File

So I posted an old out-take from some old footage and there were a few people that didn't believe the shot was real (possibly because our Failed BlogShow Video).

Well to fair, I may have been tricky with the way I cropped the original shots... so here is the full un-cropped shot that clearly show the Air Canon in the background. Of course some people say "Don't believe anything your read", I say "Don't believe anything you see".

But in this case... believe what you want. The truth is out there.

Original Video

I found this old clip from our Action Essentials 2 film shoot. We used powerful air canons to create huge fireballs and I thought it was a good opportunity to run away from one in slow motion. Thanks to John and Ben for this candid moment.

And YES it is a REAL explosion, that's why it looks fake! [Sound Fx added]

In this exciting new tutorial we will go beyond basic tracking with a new Video Copilot preset for utilizing corner-pin tracking data. This new preset allows you to create dynamic Null Objects based on corner pin data from Mocha AE. It's a simple solution to getting precise control over your tracking data and the tutorial shows you all you need to know. The explanation is more complicated than the process!

The preset interpolates a specific point based on your corner-pin data so you can attach elements to an infinite plane of a moving shot to fake depth and parallax; without 3D tracking. Trust me, you should watch this tutorial, it may give you some cool ideas! Plus I say some crazy stuff...

Sample Video

Watch Tutorial