 Product Review:
Imagineer Systems' mocha Pro
mocha Pro is the latest version of
Imagineer Systems' planar tracking software. It
combines the functionality of previously available products into
one single package, making it easier since there is no longer the
need to worry about different applications for different
purposes.
As I said, mocha Pro is a planar tracking software (to learn
about planar tracking, be sure to check out this video). Basically, it helps users
rotoscope different features of any footage, and provides a set of
spline masks that can be used for different purposes. For example,
maybe you need to track the license plate of a car to replace the
number with something else, or you might need to place a digital
sign on top of a moving live-action truck. Rotoscoping is also a
commonly used technique for stereoscopic conversion.
Â
The workflow is simple. You draw splines on top of features you
want to track. For example, if you need to track an actor's head,
arm, or hand, you draw a spline around those features. You can draw
either exact splines that follow the shape of an object, or splines
that will loosely follow it, and you can use it to drive the
movement of a more fitting spline later.
Once you've tracked the features, you can export the different
shapes to a wide variety of compositing applications, such as After
Effects, Combustion, Fusion, Nuke, Shake, or others.
One of the nice features available in mocha Pro is the Remove
module. This module is used to remove any unwanted features from
your footage. For example, maybe you set up markers in your scene
for camera tracking, but you don't want them to appear in your
final shot. You can simply track those features in mocha Pro, and
then remove them using this module.
You have to keep in mind that removing things such as trackings
may be a problem if your footage doesn't show enough "clean"
background to perform the removal. Luckily, you can import a clean
image to help mocha Pro remove the desired object.
mocha Pro also includes the "Insert" feature. This allows you to
project an image on any tracked surface. This feature can be useful
if you want to place signs on a street, or place a photograph or
label onto something. Just like before, you track your features,
and then attach your image to those tracked features. You can then
modify the position, rotation and scale of your insert for a
variety of effects. You can export this data to your compositing
package, but you can also render out a sequence that includes the
inserted clip in your footage.
The software is really fast, being able to playback video in
real-time since it has an OpenGL accelerated viewport (I was able
to playback uncompressed AVI video at 2K resolution without any
frame drops). Tracking features, most of the time, is very fast as
well, taking just a few seconds to solve the tracks in most
cases.
One thing you should keep in mind is that mocha Pro is not
designed to rotoscope every single feature for you, so it's not
like it will be able to rotoscope every moving part of your actor
or objects without user intervention. It does a great job tracking
objects and features, but there's a chance you will always need to
adjust the splines as the tracker is doing its job, especially for
deforming objects.
I think mocha Pro is a move in the right direction, as it offers
features from previously available software packages from Imagineer
Systems, and eliminates the confusion that the previous lineup of
applications may have caused. The software is very fast, and can
help you get outstanding results. If you need a software that will
help you in your rotoscoping and tracking needs, I would highly
recommend mocha Pro.
For more information:
 Sergio
Aris Rosa [nemirc], is Sr. Staff Writer for the Renderosity Front Page
News. Sergio discusses on computer graphics software,
animation techniques, and technology. He also hosts interviews with
professionals in the animation and cinematography fields. You can
follow
him on Twitter, and if you want to see what he's up to you can
visit his
blog.
|
Comments