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I have some handheld live action video and would like to add animation that replicates the subtle camera movements so that the animation appears integrated, like motion tracking. I think this is possible by first creating a path using pixel tracker and then applying the path to my animation layer using key framer. So far I think I have been able to do what's needed to grab/generate a path. I found an area, positioned the pixel tracker viewfinder and clicked the track button. I could see then that pixel tracker was going through the frames, displaying the pixels I picked in the magnification window of the pixel tracker tool as it was calculating. I didn't see a path on screen, but I could see it later in path manager and saved it for future use. I don't know what to do next. In the tutorial I read that I can apply it to another layer, but I don't know how. Any help would be much appreciated.

I'm glad to know you succeeded to follow the whole explanation from the tutorial ^^

bluecarrot wrote:I don't know what to do next. In the tutorial I read that I can apply it to another layer, but I don't know how. Any help would be much appreciated.

Well, if you tracked an area and use the path on the keyframer, then last prt is pretty easy : you just have to choose another layer in the layer stack and re-apply the keyframer.

Thanks Elodie! I will look at it again tonight. This is my first time working with paths. I need to figure out every step, every button click.
I just rewatched your path video tutorial with the blue square and the butterfly. Towards the end after you painted a stroke to create a path you show these steps: keyframer/position tab/position/tools/copy from path bin. I will try this out tonight.

Ok, let me know if something is unclear

For this test I'm just using a held drawing and my video footage. I had some success using keyframer/position tab/position/tools/copy from path bin. I got to a point where I could see the motion tracking effect in preview, my drawing was moving in perfect sync with the video. I had to play with adjusting pivot values because the pixels I tracked and my drawing are positioned in a corner of the frame. However when I clicked "press f/x stack" I expected the effect to get baked out, but instead my drawing was not moving again - the motion tracking effect gone. Do you know what I'm not doing right yet? Thanks so much for your help!:D

Solved. I had it set to "selection". It needed to be "all instances".

Hello,
I've watched the same keyframer tutorial, and tried to swim through forum posts on this topic, but I still don't understand how I could apply the same method when I have multiple layers and instances already animated.
What I want to do is to apply a path for a sequence of animation throughout a time space that's already established from the animation I made.

I'm sorry if I'm not using the right terminology as I am very fresh with animation and trying to pick this up on my own.

I hope it's okay to attach here a gif so that it's clearer to see what I mean- the animation is done but I would like to add motion to all of the elements (I have the girl, cat and brush, and colors on separate layers) so that they are bobbing up and down. How can I do this?

I'm sorry if it's something already previously covered somewhere in the list of tutorials, if I could get a link to something I should read/watch, I'll be on my way.
Thank you so much for your patience!

It's quite simple. Use the Keyframer FX to create a motion path for, say, the broom. Near the Apply button you'll find another one, Layer. This can be This layer, all Layers, this Layer group. Put all your witch and broom layers inot the same group, and voilà.

Gosh it's weird, I don't know what I did differently but it worked this time, thank you for the magic SlowTiger!
Previously I did the same thing (or at least I think), with the path recorder- but it only moved the first frame on the timeline, and everything else was unchanged. Perhaps I didn't check "All instances", am not sure.

Thank you!