Monday, December 26th, 2022 Posted by Jim Thacker

KeenTools releases GeoTracker for After Effects


Originally posted on 3 October for the public beta, and updated with details of the stable release.

KeenTools has released GeoTracker for After Effects.

The new After Effects edition of the plugin, previously only available for Nuke, provides “painless, almost real-time 3D object tracking and works like a decent built-in tool”.

An intuitive 3D object tracking tool designed for artists, not specialist match-movers
Originally released for Nuke in 2015, GeoTracker is intended to make everyday motion tracking tasks accessible to VFX and motion graphics artists as well as specialist match-movers.

The plugin uses an intuitive workflow with users clicking in the viewport to ‘pin’ a tracking object – usually 3D primitives like cubes, planes, spheres and cylinders, but you can import custom 3D models in OBJ, FBX or Collada format – to the corresponding object in video footage.

To refine the track, artists can use 2D masks to exclude parts of the frame occluded by foreground objects.

GeoTracker then reconstructs the motion of the object throughout the course of the footage, generating both a 2D track that can be used directly inside After Effects, and a 3D track for use in other apps.

The 3D transformation can be applied in key After Effects plugins – this demo shows 3D render engine Element 3D and particle tool Stardust – or exported to Cinema 4D.

Use cases shown in the video range from routine tasks like phone screen replacements and replacing the packaging on objects to more complex tasks like adding glasses or CG hair to a tracked head.

System requirements, pricing and release date
GeoTracker for After Effects is compatible with After Effects 17.0+ on 64-bit Windows and macOS. The Mac edition supports Apple Silicon Macs.

The first stable version, GeoTracker for After Effects 2022.3, also supports the latest beta release of After Effects, which makes it possible to import 3D models directly into the software.

The software is available rental-only, with subscriptions also providing access to GeoTracker for Nuke.

The price of subscriptions is rising: individual Personal subscriptions now have a standard price of $179/year. up $30/year, and floating Studio subscriptions have a standard price of $499/year, up $100/year.

Until 16 March 2023, you can subscribe at the old prices by using the discount codes in this blog post.

Read more about GeoTracker for After Effects on KeenTools’ website