Copying power window tracking data to an exiting node

Hello,

I'm wondering if it's possible to copy tracking data from one node to another node that already exists and has adjustments. I want to copy tracking data only but keep all other adjustments exactly as they are. Creating a new node and copying and pasting is not ideal in this situation. While I would have my tracking info identical, as desired, I would lose all my other adjustments.

I've made a color grade and "grabbed a still". When the still is applied to other shots it looks great except that I, of course, have to manually redo the window tracking as all the shots are slightly varied. I've made a power window that perfectly tracks a person's face to give a slight lift in the shadows so that their face is a bit brighter (node 1).

I have another node (node 2) right after this one that darkens, saturates and does other things to everything in the shot except the face (reverse power window/invert selection?...I don't quite know the proper terminology for this). I want to be able to use the tracking data from node 1 while keeping my adjustments in node 2.

In an ideal world I could copy this tracking data, click the invert selection button and then all my adjustments from node 2 would active and affecting everything EXCEPT the face. Because both nodes 1 and 2 would be identical, I wouldn't have to worry about weird artifacts with the two power windows being misaligned.

Sorry if I'm not being clear, I'm having difficulty trying to explain this especially as I'm a beginner!

An update to my own question:

I've figured SOMETHING out but not my total answer.

In both the track section as well as the window section of the color tab you can click the three horizontal dots and choose "copy track data" and "paste track data" respectively.

While this seems copy the tracking data it still doesn't automatically line up the power window to the same point as the previous node. I see the power window moving the same way as the copied node but it is a few inches off of my subjects face.

Is there something I'm missing here to get it to start at the same point AND have identical tracking?

If your two shots don't have the same same aspect ratio then the tracking window would be offset.
In any case you can go to the track window, click on "Clip" and then move the power window, that will apply the same offset for all keyframes in the tracking curve.

Hey George,

Thanks for the reply.

The two nodes I'm working with are actually on the same clip and right after one another. So I'm really not looking to copy from clip to clip but rather within a clip from node to node.

One node brightens the face and the other node use the same power window setting to invert the selection and darken/saturate everything else besides the face in the clip.

Normally this would be easy because I would create a new node, copy everything from node 1, paste it onto node 2, invert the power window and then make my adjustments.

In this instance, however, I am applying a node tree from a still grab onto another clip and WITHIN the applied node tree on that clip, I want to copy ONLY the window tracking data onto the next node (2) while keeping its adjustments otherwise. The still grab has the exact node tree I want but because the clips are different, I need to manually adjust the tracking for the power window.

Instead of having to do this twice, once for node 1, the power window brightening the face and then again for node 2, the inverted selection darkening/saturating everything else, I'm wondering how I can just set the tracking for node 1 and then copy ONLY the window tracking to node 2 which keeps all the adjustments that it already has and just takes the tracking data from node 1.

Because both of these nodes are on the same clip I need them to match up perfectly.

Am I making more or less sense?

Ok another update, I am inching closer and closer to my goal and it's almost there but my tracker for my power window isn't lining up exactly still for some reason.

This is the latest:

1) Go to the tracker display for node 1 and make sure the clip is at the first frame. When you copy and paste a window to another node it copies it from where it currently is in the timeline. This is why it needs to be at the first frame to line up properly.

2) Still in node 1, go the the window display and click the three dots on the top right. Click "copy window".

3) still in node 1, click the three dots on the top right. Click "copy track data".

4) Select node 2

5) On Node 2, Go to the window display and paste both window and track data respectively

The window and tracker are now aligned but as I play the clip and pause to reference the window positions between the two nodes, they are still slightly off by the end of the clip even though the tracking data appears to be the same and indeed the window position at the start of the clip is IDENTICAL on both nodes.

Any idea why I'm getting these slight variations? I've learned so much trying to work this out myself and I don't know why I'm seeing these small variations in the tracking data.

Ok Ok Ok,

Trying to keep up here in case anyone else runs into this. Final update and it's working!

Must have been a glitch because I tried the above process on a different clip and I got an error message warning me to save the project and restart the application. I did so and now it is working perfectly. They are exactly aligned!

I know it was 5 years ago...but I wanted to thank you.

I didn't read down the bottom (cause sometimes you never know how long a thread is going to be...), but saw your post about the 'Copy/Paste Track Data' function and went to work myself basically figuring out exactly the conclusion you came to in the end.

So thank you so much for your help!

Hi, have you found how to copy window and trackdata, i have tried it many times in 18 beta 5 but nothing happend . Thanks.

Hi, have you found how to copy window and trackdata, i have tried it many times in 18 beta 5 but nothing happend . Thanks.

I think basically it's a bad idea to try to copy both a Power Window and the tracking data. The only occasion where that would be warranted would be if the shots were 100% identical. I could see copying the window, but re-tracking it only takes a few seconds.

Otherwise, I'd use the option menu to Copy Window and then Paste Window within the Window pallet, and then move over to the Tracking pallet and Copy Track Data and Paste Track Data.

Note that at any time you can right-click in the Gallery and choose "Apply Grades Using Start Timecode" (or Source Timecode, your choice), and that will copy both the grade and the window and tracking for a specific node. None of this has changed with Resolve 18 (to my knowledge).

Thank Marc, i will do it later.

For all intents and purposes I need ot copy mask tracking data exactly as is from another clip. WHen I do the window copies, and the track data can be copied, but I cannot for the life of me get the mask points that I manually moved to track along.