Chapter: Target Tracking¶
Overview¶
Target tracking allows the camera head to follow a moving subject. This covers setup, calibration, instability, and integration with tracking hardware and apps.
How Target Tracking Works¶
Target Tracking works by storing two separate paths at every keyframe/waypoint — a camera position and a target position — and letting Flair's software work out the camera orientation needed to keep looking at the target in between. Targets do not have to be stationary: because each waypoint stores its own target position, Flair can follow a moving target (the edge of a box, a line on a map, a person walking) just as easily as a fixed one.
To tell Flair where the target is at a waypoint, measure the physical distance from the rig's measure point (often set to the film plane, though this is configurable) to the target — with a tape measure, a focus-assist sensor, or a manually-focused lens — and type that distance into the Target field for that waypoint. Turning on Target Tracking (or Camera Orbital, the other common tracking mode — between the two, they cover the large majority of shots) then drives pan/tilt/focus automatically so the camera keeps looking at the stored target throughout the move, instead of drifting off it the way independently-driven axes do.
For Target Tracking to work correctly, three things must all be set up correctly on the rig:
- The kinematics file matches the physical rig. Flair needs six axes of motion defined for a rig to Target Track: X, Y and Z position of the camera, plus pan and tilt to look at the target, plus a target-distance axis. These are defined in a kinematics file, which also encodes the rig's physical geometry (jib/arm lengths, axis offsets), whether the camera is top-mounted or floor/base-mounted, and the head's axis order (e.g. tilt-pan-roll). The file specifies which rig model it is for (e.g. a UR10e-based arm) — if the wrong kinematics file is loaded for a rig, Flair effectively thinks the robot is the wrong physical shape, and Target Tracking will not behave correctly. If Target Tracking isn't working on a rig, the kinematics file is one of the first things worth checking.
- Zero/home position is accurate. The kinematics file's measurements are defined relative to the rig's home position. If home is not set correctly, a move built and shot today will not match the same move shot again tomorrow, at a different venue, or on a different day — because the geometry the software is calculating from has shifted even though the job file hasn't changed.
- The lens/camera nodal point is set up correctly. Target Tracking needs to know exactly where the camera (the lens's optical point) actually is relative to the rest of the rig — see the Lens Calibration chapter for nodal point measurement. Without this, Target Tracking cannot compute where the camera is in 3D space, even if the kinematics file and home position are both correct.
▶ 00:10 — What Target Tracking is and why it was developed ▶ 05:08 — Measuring target distance and entering it into the Target field ▶ 08:57 — Each waypoint stores its own target position; targets can move
▶ 02:27 — The six axes of motion a kinematics file must define for Target Tracking to work ▶ 05:54 — Kinematics file is specific to the rig model; if Target Tracking doesn't work, check this file first ▶ 06:41 — Why an accurate home/zero position is required to match moves across sessions and locations
Scope¶
- Target lock and acquisition
- Tracking instability / hunting
- Flair Tracker App integration
- 43A — Tracker App Setup (Windows) — InTime bridge, IP, router, iPad, and Flair live-control walkthrough
- Tracker App Live Control — Complete Windows Setup — consolidated operator HOW TO with community troubleshooting
- Lidar / depth sensor tracking
- Remote tracking modes
- Virtual production tracking
- Target tracking during repeat runs
- Pan/tilt follow modes
Official Documentation References¶
| Document | Chapter/Section | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Flair Tracker App QSG — printed p.1: setup | Full document | Tracker app setup |
| Focus Assist Depth Sensor QSG — printed p.13: setup in Flair | Full document | Lidar-assisted focus/tracking |
| Flair 7 Operator Manual - PDF p.171: Chapter 10 Target Tracking | Target Tracking | Target path, camera path, Roll Up, Cartesian control |
Issue Index¶
| Issue | Status | First Seen |
|---|---|---|
| Dummy Focus Axis - Target Tracking Geometry With Separate Real Focus Motor | Field Guidance | 2021-03-20 |
| Focus Follows Object vs Focus Follows Target — Behavioural Differences | Informational | 2024-08-15 |
| 360 Degree Orbit in Roll Up Mode | Field Guidance | 2024-08-27 |
| FFT Focus Stuck — Move Focus First | Resolved | 2024 |
| Focus Drift on Tracking Mode Switch | Ongoing | 2024 |
| Focus At Infinity - Cartesian / Target Drift and Unexpected Gotos | Field Guidance | 2020-05-25 |