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Understanding 3D Camera Tracking: Part 5

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Uriel Deveaud
• 2 min read
Graphic Design 3D Design

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Understanding 3D Camera Tracking: Part 4

1. Creating Crater

Step 1

Start 3ds Max and open the file that was saved in the last part of the tutorial.

Start 3ds Max Start 3ds Max Start 3ds Max
Start 3ds Max 

Step 2

Delete all placeholders to create the crater from scratch.

Delete all placeholdersDelete all placeholdersDelete all placeholders
Delete all placeholders

Step 3

Create a plane with Length Segments and Width Segments as 150 each.

Create a plane Create a plane Create a plane
Create a plane 

Step 4

Press M to open Material Editor.

Material EditorMaterial EditorMaterial Editor
Material Editor

Step 5

With an empty slot selected, click on Get Material icon. It opens the Material/ Map Browser window. Select Gradient Ramp map.

Get Material iconGet Material iconGet Material icon
Get Material icon

Step 6

Create the ramp as show in the following image.

Create the rampCreate the rampCreate the ramp
Create the ramp

Step 7

Set the Gradient Type to Radial, Noise Amount to 0.5 and Noise Type to Fractal.

Gradient TypeGradient TypeGradient Type
Gradient Type

Step 8

Double-click on the map slot to see the map clearly. The black part shows the depth and the white part shows the surface.

Black and white mapBlack and white mapBlack and white map
Black and white map

Step 9

Apply Displace modifier on to the plane.

Displace modifierDisplace modifierDisplace modifier
Displace modifier

Step 10

Drag and drop the Gradient Ramp map to the Map section of Displace modifier as shown in the following image.

Gradient Ramp map Gradient Ramp map Gradient Ramp map
Gradient Ramp map 

Step 11

Increase the value of Strength as shown in the following image.

Increase the value of StrengthIncrease the value of StrengthIncrease the value of Strength
Increase the value of Strength

Step 12

The crater looks like as shown in the following image.

The crater looks like as shown in the following imageThe crater looks like as shown in the following imageThe crater looks like as shown in the following image
The crater looks like as shown in the following image

Step 13

With the second empty slot selected, drag and drop the Gradient Ramp map to the Diffuse channel of the second empty slot. Apply this material to the ground.

Gradient Ramp mapGradient Ramp mapGradient Ramp map
Gradient Ramp map

Step 14

Apply soil texture to the black and grey ramp points as shown in the following image.

Apply soil textureApply soil textureApply soil texture
Apply soil texture

Step 15

You get the crater texture as shown in the following image.

The crater textureThe crater textureThe crater texture
The crater texture

Step 16

Apply 3-Point lights to lit the scene according to the live background plate.

Apply 3-Point lights Apply 3-Point lights Apply 3-Point lights
Apply 3-Point lights 

Step 17

Press F10 to open Render Setup window. Render the frame with alpha channel till the desired range. You can choose either TGA or PNG file format for alpha channel.

Render Setup windowRender Setup windowRender Setup window
Render Setup window

2. Compositing in After Effects

Step 1

Open After Effects and import the rendered frames to the timeline. Bring in the live action footage as well and place it below the 3d rendered framers.

Open After EffectsOpen After EffectsOpen After Effects
Open After Effects

Step 2

With the rendered frames layer selected, Right Click on it and go to Blending Mode > Darken.

Blending Mode DarkenBlending Mode DarkenBlending Mode Darken
Blending Mode > Darken

Step 3

Hit the Play button and you will see the 3D rendered scene matching perfectly with the live footage.

Hit the Play buttonHit the Play buttonHit the Play button
Hit the Play button

Conclusion

In the next part of the tutorial, I'll show you some different ways to track the footage in different software.

Graphic Design 3D Design
Uriel Deveaud By