Pf to after effects object track no rotation

Hello Dustin,

Getting object tracking nulls into AE has always been a bit tricky, certainly when compared to other software that better support rich 3D scenes such as Flame, Nuke or Fusion example.

In order for AE to parse the Maya ascii file into a set of layers, the transform hierarchy has to be flattened, which is why there is no "master null" with a single object rotation. The tracker layers should still rotate in the same way as the object, but they lose the transform hierarchy and grouping.

The limitations of the Maya ascii file parsing mean AE can't really take advantage of a lot of PFTrack's feature set. Whilst modern versions can also load other file formats such as FBX and GLTF, there's still no support for loading tracking nulls, only meshes cameras and lights.

There are a couple of other workflows you could try to see if they are better for you, but these involve using geometry instead of tracking nulls. You may find these easier to use, as it simplifies the scene and reduces the number of layers you'll be dealing with in AE, and you'll be able to place the geometry at the specific points you need.

For example, you could use the Test Object node in PFTrack to load a mesh and attach it to a tracker on your object, then export your camera and geometry as FBX/GLTF to load into AE. Inside AE, you'd need to use the "Create Camera from 3D Model Layer" function to read the camera from the file, and then change the Animation Options for the 3D model from "None" to "Animation" so it moves correctly.

Alternatively, you could also export your camera and tracking nulls into a 3D app such as Blender, C4D, or Maya and build some proxy geometry for your object. Then export that as FBX or GLTF to load into AE.

Maybe other After Effects users have some better suggestions to share about their workflows for using PFTrack's data?