Creative Effects > Distort > Animating and Tracking Splines >
Loading a Clip into the Stabilizer

Use the Stabilizer controls in the Warp menu or in the Morph menu to select the clip you want to track, the spline you want to apply the tracking data to, and the tracking mode (Axis or Shape). See Stabilizing.

Select from the Track Clip box: | To track:
--- | ---
Input1 | The Input1 clip.
Input2 | The Input2 clip.
Matte1 | The Matte1 clip.
Matte2 | The Matte2 clip.
Background | The background clip.

Tracking by Axis

To make the spline follow the movement in the clip without changing shape, apply the tracking data to the spline's axis.

To track by axis:

1. Set the Stabilizer controls to apply the tracking data to either the source (Src) or destination (Dst) spline for either the Input1 or Input2 clip. Select the Axis node in the Distort schematic that is the parent of the spline you want to track.
2. Select the clip you want to track from the Track Clip box.
3. Click Track Axis.

   The Stabilizer menu appears.

4. Position the tracker on the image. Tracker 1 controls the position. Tracker 2 controls the rotation or scale. See Working with Trackers.
5. To use two trackers, click Tracker 2, click Active, and position the second tracker on the image.
6. Click Analyse to generate the tracking data.
7. If necessary, fine-tune the analysis.
8. When you are satisfied with the tracking results, click Return to apply the results to the axis and return to Distort.

Tracking by Vertices

To make the spline follow the movement and shape change in the clip, apply the tracking data to the spline's vertices.

To track by vertices:

1. Select the spline's vertices that you want to affect. You can first select a spline by clicking its Spline node in the Distort schematic.
   TipDouble-clicking a Spline node displays the Warp or Morph menu.
2. Set the Stabilizer controls to apply the tracking data to either the source (Src) or destination (Dst) spline for either the Input1 or Input2 clip.
3. Click Track Shape.

   The Stabilizer menu appears. A tracker appears on each vertex that you selected. The reference frame is the frame from which you opened the Stabilizer.

4. If necessary, adjust the position of the trackers to ensure that each tracker has a good reference point.
5. Click Analyse to generate the tracking data, and if necessary, fine-tune the analysis.

   For example, disable a problem tracker and re-analyse, as described in Tracking Difficult Shots and Correcting Errors.

6. When you are satisfied with the tracking results, click Return to apply the results and return to Distort.

Copying and Pasting Tracking Data

You can copy and paste tracking data from one mesh to another using the Channel Editor. For example, if tracking was done using Axis, you can copy the translation of the Input1 source spline and apply it to the Input2 source spline.

Example: To copy translation data:

1. Click Animation to display the Channel Editor.
2. Select the X and Y channels in the Input1 _src translate folder.
3. Click Copy.
4. Select the X and Y channels in the Input1_dst translate folder.
5. Click Paste.

   The translation channels containing the tracking data from the Input1 source spline are pasted into the Input1 destination spline.