Planar Transform Node

The Planar Transform is the natural companion of the Planar Tracker. While the Planar Tracker analyzes the motion of a flat surface, the Planar Transform applies that data to another element (a mask, a polygon shape, an image).

It is generated automatically from a Planar Tracker with the Create Planar Transform button - a way to "bake" the tracking data so you can reuse it cleanly in the flow (lighter than a full Planar Tracker, which has to track again if the project is closed and reopened).

• Effects Library: Tools > Tracking > Planar Transform
• Automatic generation: in a Planar Tracker, the Create Planar Transform button. Recommended.
• Manual add: right-click in the Node Editor → Add Tool > Tracking > Planar Transform. You then have to connect the Track Spline manually.

Planar Tracker

Analyzes + applies the perspective. Has to track again if the project is closed. Available in 4 modes (Track, Steady, Corner Pin, Stabilize).

Planar Transform

Applies only. The data is baked into the node (Track Spline) and persists between sessions. Lighter, perfect for the integration phase after a validated track.

Ideal workflow: Planar Tracker to track → Create Planar Transform to bake → delete / disable the Planar Tracker → keep compositing with the Planar Transform alone.

• Image Input (orange) - the 2D image to transform (a logo, an image, a pattern to place on the tracked surface).
• Effect Mask (blue) - mask shapes (polylines, primitives, paint, bitmaps) that define the shape to warp. This is the most common use case: warping a mask onto a moving flat surface.

Planar rotoscoping:
Planar Tracker → (Create Planar Transform) → Planar Transform
                                                  ↑
                             Polygon (drawn roto) ┘
                                                  ↓
                                            Matte Control → Merge 2D

Replacing an image:
MediaIn → Merge 2D (BG)
Image → Planar Transform → Merge 2D (FG)

Reference Time

The frame where the tracking pattern was originally defined in the parent Planar Tracker. Usually the frame used as the reference at tracking time.

Track Spline

Holds the 4×4 perspective distortion matrices (one per frame). Shared with the parent Planar Tracker: if you retouch the tracker, the Track Spline is updated automatically in the associated Planar Transform.

Filter Method

Resampling filter (Linear, Cubic, Catmull-Rom, etc.). Catmull-Rom by default. Lanczos if you want to push quality.

Edges

Behavior at the edges of the tracked mask (Canvas / Wrap / Duplicate / Mirror).

Motion Blur

Enables motion blur on the warp so a fast-moving mask blends in more naturally (consistent with a shot that has motion blur itself). Subdivide and Shutter Angle control the quality.

1. Track the flat surface (a wall, a floor, a sign) with the Planar Tracker.
2. Click Create Planar Transform in the Planar Tracker tab. A new Planar Transform node appears, already connected.
3. Add a Polygon node and draw the shape to roto on the reference frame (where the perspective matches the tracked data).
4. Connect the Polygon to the Effect Mask of the Planar Transform.
5. Scrub the timeline: the polygon automatically follows the tracked surface in perspective.
6. Refine if needed: adjust the polygon points on a few extra frames where the surface is not perfectly flat (an actor's hand passes by, a slight bulge).
7. Use the warped mask to mask a correction, apply local grading, blur part of the image, etc.

• Rotoscoping a flat surface - roto of a wall, a table or a floor moving in perspective. 1 polygon drawn on 1 frame → complete roto thanks to the Planar Transform.
• Local grading on a tracked object - warped mask of the sign + Color Corrector = make the sign more or less saturated without animating the mask by hand.
• Selective blur of an ad - replace the content of an ad or blur a brand logo in a moving shot.
• Replacing an image - a company logo, poster or pattern placed on the tracked surface with a Planar Transform between the source image and the Merge 2D.
• Saveable tracking data - bake a Planar Tracker into a Planar Transform so the data persists and you can keep working on the same track without re-tracking everything every session.
• Portability between comps - copy-paste a Planar Transform and its Polygon into another comp = the tracking data travels with it, without depending on the original Planar Tracker.

• Always generate it with Create Planar Transform - faster than a manually added Planar Transform (which requires you to find and connect the Track Spline).
• Draw the polygon on the reference frame - the frame where the perspective of the plane matches the one originally tracked. Drawing on another frame can work but introduces error.
• Disable the Planar Tracker after baking - it lightens the render (the Planar Tracker is expensive). The Planar Transform runs fast.
• Combine with the Paint node - add a Paint node between the Planar Transform and the Merge to paint directly on the stabilized surface (through the tracker's Steady mode). A pro paint clean & fix workflow.
• Motion Blur for fast surfaces - enable the Planar Transform's motion blur so the warped mask/image does not look sharper than the rest of the shot.
• Limited portability between projects - the Track Spline is stored in the node. Copy/Paste works between comps, and if you export only the Planar Transform without the Planar Tracker, the data stays intact (an advantage).