Soft Tracking Step 3 - The Smudge Tool Matthew Merkovich 2016-05-30 | This installment covers all the new SynthEyes smudge tool basics. This ends all the prep stages before doing some soft tracking which is coming next...And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!SynthEyes - ssontech.comMusic credits "Pyro Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0"Maccary Bay" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0"Carnivale Intrigue" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Head Scanning with SynthEyes: Part Deux Matthew Merkovich 2022-06-14 | Just a quick follow-up to the head scanning video of last week.And here's my tip jar of incentivisation! 😂http://paypal.me/mattmerk
Scan your own head with SynthEyes! Matthew Merkovich 2022-06-03 | Here's a quick video about how you can use SynthEyes to make a head scan of yourself. This one goes by pretty fast and I reference several other videos. Here are those links:Supervised tracking playlist:youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg9owbm1ts8Q_gMY96dwJHTgo9wiQbAD1Autotracking playlistyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLg9owbm1ts8Qs62o3Hx_EP2BPoWfbnwq1The Smudge Toolyoutu.be/ByPew3cz-PgTip Jar!http://paypal.me/mattmerk(You could even use what I show here to texture tracked LIDAR or any object, but that's a bigger subject than this video.)
Set Surveys - Part 3: How to Use Them Matthew Merkovich 2022-05-19 | At long last, here is the final chapter of the Set Surveys series that I've been working on since 2016. As you'll see in the video, this is where it all comes together.Here is a URL to download all the media and scene files if you want to follow along. The movies are all ProRes 422 files.dropbox.com/sh/9xk2w9jr1885u43/AADdFIO927JIdtH6wmfeXgrva?dl=0All the location video was shot by Olaf Blomerusinstagram.com/olafblomerusAnd if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
DaVinci Resolve LUTs for use in SynthEyes Matthew Merkovich 2021-03-02 | Here's a quick tutorial I made for you about making LUTs in Blackmagic DaVinciResolve and using them in the SynthEyes 3D tracking and match-moving system.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Set Surveys Part 2: Processing the Set Survey Matthew Merkovich 2021-02-22 | Here’s Part 2 of my series on Set Surveys. Because I said that film grain is not an issue in Part 1, I’m going to go into retiming and denoising the footage in Da Vinci Resolve (and why you probably should NOT bother with noise removal). Then I’ll be walking through my step-by step process of how I set up ALL my set surveys. This is the boring and non-glamorous stuff before we can get into the real excitement I'll be covering in Part 3.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
How I Align Photogrammetry to 3D Tracks in SynthEyes. Matthew Merkovich 2021-01-31 | This video shows how you can align photogrammetry to your 3D tracks in SynthEyes. There are also some mentions of SynthEyes on a new M1 Mac Mini (and some mentions of castle architecture terms). Thanks to Chroma K on discord for sending this shot.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Set Surveys - Part 1: How I Shoot Them Matthew Merkovich 2021-01-15 | How do I shoot set surveys? I reveal all in this tutorial that has been nearly six years in the making!Special thanks to Hatem Hassan for building the excellent clock model.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Super-fast Overview of the Simultrack Window Matthew Merkovich 2020-12-06 | Here's a game changing discovery for me in SynthEyes, and it has to do with the Simultrack window. What is the Simultrack window, you may ask? Hit play and take a look!And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Offset Tracking Matthew Merkovich 2020-11-23 | Here is a quick look at how I use the offset tracking tools in SynthEyes. (Please ignore all that superfluous keyframing the tracker position before hitting the offset button. It's an old habit from way back and no longer necessary.) Enjoy!And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Handheld Whip Pans - Part 2 Matthew Merkovich 2020-11-08 | Another thank you to Jeremy Thompson for donating this footage. He's a super talented guy; here's a link to his website: http://rustedpig.com Thank you Jeremy!Here's that link I mentioned to Kalvin Kindon's video about faking set surveys. Kalvin is also great, so check out HIS YouTube channel: youtu.be/7tj_0O8snxoFinally, here's a link to the SynthEyes Users discord: discord.gg/pAtThY7 It's a great place to meet and talk to other SynthEyes users.Finally, This is probably my most personally disliked tutorial of my own creation. It's a bit all over the place. I was really knocking off the tutorial creation rust, and there was a lot of rust. But I think I have moved all those skills back out of the basement of my mind, back to the kitchen (my favorite room of the house) and I look forward to making more of these.Thanks for watching, friends!And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Handheld Whip Pans - Part 1 Matthew Merkovich 2020-10-07 | Here’s the first video in what will be a series. I’ll be showing how I track hand held whip pan shots with little parallax, but first we need to talk about the footage itself. Here I’ll be delving a bit into Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve which I’ll be discussing a lot more as we take this shot all the way through QC and delivery.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Head Tracking Part 7 Matthew Merkovich 2020-09-29 | I recorded this series of tutorials in August of 2012. I'm reposting them here on YouTube today to wrap up the migration of my videos from Vimeo to here. I cover some some good things in this series and it's probably worth a watch, but many of the techniques have been updated in the newer tutorials on supervised tracking.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Head Tracking Part 8 Matthew Merkovich 2020-09-29 | I recorded this series of tutorials in August of 2012. I'm reposting them here on YouTube today to wrap up the migration of my videos from Vimeo to here. I cover some some good things in this series and it's probably worth a watch, but many of the techniques have been updated in the newer tutorials on supervised tracking.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Head Tracking Part 6 Matthew Merkovich 2020-09-29 | I recorded this series of tutorials in August of 2012. I'm reposting them here on YouTube today to wrap up the migration of my videos from Vimeo to here. I cover some some good things in this series and it's probably worth a watch, but many of the techniques have been updated in the newer tutorials on supervised tracking.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Head Tracking Part 5 Matthew Merkovich 2020-09-29 | I recorded this series of tutorials in August of 2012. I'm reposting them here on YouTube today to wrap up the migration of my videos from Vimeo to here. I cover some some good things in this series and it's probably worth a watch, but many of the techniques have been updated in the newer tutorials on supervised tracking.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Head Tracking Part 4 Matthew Merkovich 2020-09-29 | I recorded this series of tutorials in August of 2012. I'm reposting them here on YouTube today to wrap up the migration of my videos from Vimeo to here. I cover some some good things in this series and it's probably worth a watch, but many of the techniques have been updated in the newer tutorials on supervised tracking.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Head Tracking Part 2 Matthew Merkovich 2020-09-29 | I recorded this series of tutorials in August of 2012. I'm reposting them here on YouTube today to wrap up the migration of my videos from Vimeo to here. I cover some some good things in this series and it's probably worth a watch, but many of the techniques have been updated in the newer tutorials on supervised tracking.
Head Tracking Part 3 Matthew Merkovich 2020-09-28 | I recorded this series of tutorials in August of 2012. I'm reposting them here on YouTube today to wrap up the migration of my videos from Vimeo to here. I cover some some good things in this series and it's probably worth a watch, but many of the techniques have been updated in the newer tutorials on supervised tracking.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Head Tracking Part 1 Matthew Merkovich 2020-09-28 | I recorded this series of tutorials in August of 2012. I'm reposting them here on YouTube today to wrap up the migration of my videos from Vimeo to here. I cover some some good things in this series and it's probably worth a watch, but many of the techniques have been updated in the newer tutorials on supervised tracking.
Welcome Back! Matthew Merkovich 2020-09-02 | Hi, friends. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back, but here’s a new video for you. Please leave your thoughts in the comments. If you want to join the SynthEyes Users Discord server, here’s the link: discord.gg/2CQ9xBBMeanwhile, stay tuned. More fun tracking and film & TV production stuff is on its way!And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
SynthEyes UI Overview Matthew Merkovich 2020-08-17 | Here's a quick introductory overview of the SynthEyes 3D tracker user interface. I didn't make this for the power users out there, but for the people just starting out. Syntheyes has a pretty unique user interface and I hope this makes understanding it a little easier.If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and maybe that will be the subject of a future tutorial!Music credits:The Itis by Polyrhythmicsfreemusicarchive.org/music/Polyrhythmics/Octagon/The_Itis_1711Fairweather Fiends by Polyrhythmicsfreemusicarchive.org/music/Polyrhythmics/Octagon/Fairweather_FiendsEl Fuego by Polyrhythmicsfreemusicarchive.org/music/Polyrhythmics/Octagon/El_FuegoAnd if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Supervised Tracking Part 3 Matthew Merkovich 2019-05-28 | The latest tutorial covering what may well be the very most important part of supervised 2D tracking: tracking the “impossible”. Many of the shots on my demo reel would absolutely not have happened without this knowledge.Here are links to the files…The footage:dropbox.com/s/2187eze5ynf3soo/shot_020_supervised.mov?dl=0The SynthEyes scene file:dropbox.com/s/vsqyfgroeytbkuy/shot_020_supervised_v02%20part%204.sni?dl=0And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Supervised Tracking Part 2 Matthew Merkovich 2019-05-07 | Now we're getting into the nitty gritty of supervised 2D tracking. Here I discuss a bit more about the Image Preparation setup and start talking about how I do supervised 2D tracks.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
Supervised Tracking Part 1 - Introduction Matthew Merkovich 2019-04-30 | This video covers a lot of theory behind supervised tracked and even goes into a discovery of why SynthEyes was failing on auto-tracking our challenging shot. In the next video, we'll be getting away from the theory and a lot more into the practical.Here is a link to the footage, if you want to follow along:dropbox.com/s/2187eze5ynf3soo/shot_020_supervised.mov?dl=0Here's a link to download the SynthEyes file:dropbox.com/s/vsqyfgroeytbkuy/shot_020_supervised_v02%20part%204.sni?dl=0And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
A Deeper Dive into Auto-Tracking in SynthEyes, the Final Chapter. Part 3 Matthew Merkovich 2019-04-19 | This is the third and final chapter in, "A Deeper Dive into Auto-Tracking in SynthEyes". This time I touch on roto masks and just a bit about how to do some supervised tracking to help out your roto. The main reason this video exists is to show that there are some shots that should just never even be attempted as auto-tracks, but you will get familiarized with even more things in the SynthEyes user interface you may be unfamiliar with.Here's a link to the footage if you want to follow along. I'm issuing it in a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY license. "This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation."dropbox.com/s/2187eze5ynf3soo/shot_020_supervised.mov?dl=0
A Deeper Dive into Auto-Tracking in SynthEyes. Part 2 Matthew Merkovich 2019-04-08 | This is a follow up to my previous video, "A Deeper Dive into Auto-Tracking in SynthEyes". Here, I go a bit into how NOT to get stuck in the trap of just following step-by-step recipes and adding more problem solving tools to your toolbox.(And once again, sorry there is only a dislike button and not a "hate" button.")Here's a link to the footage if you want to follow along. I'm issuing it in a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY license. "This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation."dropbox.com/s/tj1axho6y6q3sca/MerkCam4K%201_1_2014-12-23_0021_C0000.mov?dl=0And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!
A deeper dive into Auto Tracking in SynthEyes. Part 1 Matthew Merkovich 2019-03-30 | There's more to auto-tracking in SynthEyes than just hitting the "Auto" button. This video goes a bit deeper and shows a few other items of interest as well.Please leave and questions in the comments and I'll get back to you.Here's a link to the footage if you want to follow along. I'm issuing it in a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY license. "This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation."dropbox.com/s/tj1axho6y6q3sca/MerkCam4K%201_1_2014-12-23_0021_C0000.mov?dl=0P.S. I know some of this seems a little wonky; I'm just knocking the rust off my tutorial making gears.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!Music credits:All tracks were obtained on http://ccmixter.org"Picking fingers" by Stefan Kartenberg2019 - Licensed underCreative CommonsAttribution Noncommercial (3.0)"Revo Nation" by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD)2019 - Licensed underCreative CommonsAttribution Noncommercial (3.0)"Short Night Groove" by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD)2019 - Licensed underCreative CommonsAttribution Noncommercial (3.0)"disEnchantment - instrumental" by airtone2019 - Licensed underCreative CommonsAttribution (3.0)"Revocation" by Javolenus2019 - Licensed underCreative CommonsAttribution Noncommercial (3.0)
Tracking Demo Matthew Merkovich 2019-02-13 | Here's the latest MattMerk 3D tracking reel that I made for you.
Soft Tracking Step 5 - Weight Painting Matthew Merkovich 2016-05-30 | This final installment covers the basics of the new SynthEyes weight painting tool basics.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!SynthEyes - ssontech.comMusic credits "Aurea Carmina" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0"Carefree" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Soft Tracking Step 4 - Localized Feature Tracking Matthew Merkovich 2016-05-30 | This installment covers all the new SynthEyes secondary object tracking basics. This is the last step before weight painting the object vertex influence weights which is coming next...And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!SynthEyes - ssontech.comMusic credits "Guts and Bourbon" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Soft Tracking Step 2 - Creating Geometry and Basic Alignment Matthew Merkovich 2016-05-30 | Here I'm getting ready to show you how to make generic geometry, generated in MakeHuman and edited in Blender, fit any actor's head in SynthEyes. The same principles would apply to any generic head geometry you happen to have as well.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!LinksSynthEyes - ssontech.comMake human - makehuman.orgBlender - blender.orgMusic credits"Funky Chunk" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0"Carnivale Intrigue" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0"Hep Cats" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Soft Tracking Step 1 - The Hard Track Matthew Merkovich 2016-05-30 | The first of my promised tutorials on the new SynthEyes soft tracking capabilities. But before we get to the advanced stuff, we have to do some prep work. First we need a "hard track". Next we'll conform a generic head model with the smudge tool and lastly, well set up that secondary deformation tracking.And if you wanted to buy me a coffee, here's my Paypal. (Any donations will actually just go toward making more videos.)paypal.me/MattMerkPlease leave comments or ask questions below!SynthEyes can be found here: ssontech.comMusic - "Quirky Dog" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Quick demo of the new SynthEyes tracking capabilities… Matthew Merkovich 2016-05-18 | We all have to practice to stay at the top of our game, right? And so I was doing just that with the newest version of SynthEyes, which has leaped forward in power.Since I posted this, a number of people have pointed out that other software does real time face tracking, which is true, but that I chose to use my face for this demo is really beside the point. With these tools, someone can track soft deformations of ANY kind, provided there are 2D trackable features to lock onto.Like I say at the end of the video, tutorials coming soon.SynthEyesssontech.com
Dr Dolittle 2 Matthew Merkovich 2016-05-18 | Some 3D tracking I did for the movie Dr. Dolittle 2 back in 2001.Music: "Funky Chunk" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Tracking Dots Matthew Merkovich 2016-05-17 | As you can see, there is very little reason to add tracking markers most of the time. But I thought I should add a few important points for when you do need them.- Always DOTS.- Never X's made with colored tape, or checkerboard patterns, or triangles, etc. Just circular dots.- Preferably white dots on a dark background. If your track is in a white environment or a white object, black dots will work, but will disappear during whip pans. (I don't make the rules of light physics; I just have to live by them.)- You typically need to see around nine dots on screen at any point to get a good track/match-move. The dots can leave and re-enter frame during camera moves, but you still need to see about nine dots at any given time. That just means you need more dots off camera that come on when you pan and tilt.- And move the camera, if that's what you want! "We only moved the camera a little to make it easier to track." All you succeeded in doing is making your shot more boring. (Obligatory winky face goes here.) Big moves or little moves are no different in difficulty. However, fast moves with lots of motion blur are harder.- Circular dots. CIRCULAR DOTS! CIRCULAR DOTS!!!- And if you need to throw up a lot of tracking markers fast, for example on a green or blue screen, get a cheap laser with diffraction grating. Blue lasers are great for blue screen. Likewise, green lasers for green screen. Too bright? Unscrew the cap and jam some ND filter in there. Boom! A field of tiny dots to track. They should be just bright enough to be visible and you won't need to spend a lot of time doing roto or paint to clean up your edges. And stick to the nine dots visible at any time guideline, erring on more instead of less.If I think of anything else, I'll update the list, but really, that's it. Have fun shooting!I might add I do all my tracking in SynthEyes. You really can't find better 3D tracking/match-moving software anywhere. http://ssontech.com
Rubiks Cube Matthew Merkovich 2016-05-17 | This is NOT one of my SynthEyes tutorials but just a look at how it stacks up against some tracking software I saw someone talking about on twitter.
2014 Tracking Demo Matthew Merkovich 2016-05-17 | People often ask me, "Do you still do 3D tracking?" Well, the answer is a big, YES! So if you need any kind of tracking or match moving, please reach out and send me a message. I'd be delighted to help.All tracking was done in SynthEyes. ssontech.comI can't say enough good things about this software. It really has made my life easier. Even better, it has made the lives of all my clients easier too.And finally, the music is by the School of Seven Bells. Check them out here: sviib.com
