Planar Tracking Fundamentals in Resolve Fusion

PlanarTracker 101: A hands-on intro to planar tracking with everyday issues to solve

Have you ever wondered how to make tracking flat surfaces in Fusion more efficient and reliable? In this Insight, we’ll explore the essentials of planar tracking, tackling common challenges like reflections, occlusions, and blurry footage. You’ll learn practical techniques to evaluate tracks quickly and choose the best mode for your shots, whether you’re inserting graphics on a building wall or handling more complex abandoned structures.

“A common mistake is to think that Hybrid Point [Tracker] is always better [than Point]. It’s not, it’s different. So Point looks for high contrast points basically like a 3D camera tracker…it’s tracking those points with small areas around internally. But what it can do with Point [Tracker] is if it has 10 points that go in the same direction and one that goes differently, it can discard points.”

Bernd Klimm, VFX Artist

We’ll start with the basics, comparing point and hybrid modes to show when one outperforms the other. Then, we’ll dive into real-world examples, demonstrating how to prep masks, sharpen inputs for better accuracy, and apply motion with corner pins or planar transforms. This hands-on approach will help you streamline your VFX workflows in DaVinci Resolve, saving time on everyday compositing tasks.

As we progress through examples, you’ll discover tips for judging track stability with the “steady” view and adjusting motion types like perspective or affine to fix wobbles. These strategies ensure your elements stick reliably, even when placing them outside the tracked area on coplanar extensions. Remember, always aim for the largest trackable region to minimize error amplification.