Mesh slips when actor turns head 90deg to camera and can't recover

Mocha AE
#1

I’m using Mocha Pro AE Plugin 2021 8.0.3.

Edit: I see the Layer Properties where I can set in and out points on each layer, but that doesn’t solve my issue with the transition between facing the camera and looking left or right where the mesh distorts.

When the mesh loses its targets and can’t recover when the actor turns back towards I assume I’ll have to reset the mesh with a new layer. It’s not clear to me from the manual how I can stop tracking one layer at a given keyframe and start using another layer when the actors turns back toward camera. Seems to me that would be the only solution to my problem.

I tried using AdjustTrack but the mesh triangles are all messed up after the head turns back to camera even though I’ve reset the targets. I assumed incorrectly that the mesh was pinned to the points set in AdjustTarget. And trying to generate mesh again after setting points in adjust target throws a warning that the tracking data will be deleted. Could you point me to a section in the manual where there might be a solution?

Otherwise I can just cut the clip in two and track separately I suppose. But that makes the middle of the actors head move unusable.

Thanks!

#2

You can hand animate mesh points. Adjust track isn’t going to do much for PowerMesh but hand animating points will.

And I would do the exact technique you described, make keyframes down the timeline where the mesh is in the right place and track into the problem areas from either side.

Can you try that and let me know?

#3

Great, thanks @maryp I’ll give that a shot. Sounds reasonable.