For those who don’t know the tool: PFTrack is The Pixel Farm’s flagship 3D camera tracking and matchmoving software, used in VFX and virtual production pipelines for precise camera solves, photogrammetry, and scene reconstruction. It works alongside PFClean and integrates with DCCs from Maya to Nuke.

Lens distortion overhaul

The 25.11.13 release introduces new anamorphic and non-linear distortion models, smarter grid detection, and automatic selection of the most suitable lens model for each shot. The Lens Management system also now allows exporting distortion data directly into supported host applications.

Tracking tools refined

Both Auto Track and User Track nodes gain expanded editing controls in the Cinema workspace, including track grouping and motion prediction. The Localised Motion Prediction algorithm enhances feature consistency on fast-moving footage. Camera and Survey Solver nodes receive improved parameter control and faster iteration feedback.

Photogrammetry and modelling upgrades

The Photo Mesh node’s performance and memory management have been re-engineered to allow significantly larger mesh builds, particularly on macOS. Image Modelling introduces user-defined primitives, enabling custom reference geometry during scene reconstruction.

Sensor databases and third-party data

With the 25.12.19 build, PFTrack adds support for external camera sensor databases, beginning with integration of Matchmove Machine’s CamDB. This allows accurate sensor metadata import to improve focal calibration.

Node and UI polish

Across all 2025 releases, many nodes—including Geometry, Solver, and Point Cloud—benefit from small but meaningful updates: faster point cloud generation, improved solver convergence, and clearer error feedback. The general UI receives smoother interaction within Cinema viewports and enhanced undo stability.

Quality-of-life improvements

The 25.10 update improved bundle adjustment speed and tracking robustness on heavy footage. Version 25.09 refined Python scripting APIs, expanding access to internal data for pipeline automation. Collectively, these tweaks make PFTrack less prone to small but annoying interruptions mid-solve.

Licensing reshaped

After user demand, The Pixel Farm has reintroduced perpetual licences alongside subscription and floating models. Solo, Studio, and Enterprise editions remain available, with perpetuals offered for PFTrack only. Pricing is listed on The Pixel Farm’s store.

Tested before trusted

The Pixel Farm recommends reviewing node behaviour in controlled test scenes before deploying 2025 builds into live productions. As always, newer algorithms can subtly alter solver results between versions.

// https://pftrack.thepixelfarm.co.uk/documentation/changelog.html

The post PFTrack 2025: Matchmoving gets its groove back first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Mocha Pro 2026 is out, and Boris FX’s Emmy and Academy Award-winning planar tracker returns with an update that focuses on refinement rather than reinvention. The 2026 release adds new AI-driven roto and matte tools, smarter 3D-solve cleanup, and a rebuilt Curve Editor, all tuned to make shot-fixing and cleanup faster and more predictable for working compositors.

The update also aligns with VFX Reference Platform 2025, adding support for Qt 6.5.4 with PySide 6, Python 3.11, OpenEXR 3.4.5, Alembic 1.8.8, and FBX 2020.3.7. This ensures fewer pipeline compatibility issues in studio environments.

Matte Refine ML: AI for tricky edges

The new Matte Refine ML system expands Mocha Pro’s machine-learning masking family, which already includes Object Brush ML, Matte Assist ML, and Face ML. It analyses existing masks and automatically refines soft or semi-transparent edges which is useful for hair, fur, motion blur, and defocus.

Two refinement modes are available: one optimised for soft motion or blur, the other for sharper edges. Additional post-processing sliders (Black Clip, White Clip, Edge Grow, Shrink/Grow, and Blur) let artists fine-tune how transparency and detail are blended along the edge.

For multi-layer composites, the new Group Layer Mattes option merges multiple layers into a single matte clip, improving render and playback performance. Combined with Matte Assist ML, this creates an efficient path from object masking to refined alpha without intermediate renders.

Refine Solve: faster, cleaner 3D tracking

The Refine Solve tool targets 3D camera solves that have drifted or accumulated bad data. Using the Clean Up Features dialog, users can delete unstable or short-lived tracking points, then recalibrate the existing solve without starting over.

Because Refine Solve builds on the original solve data, it preserves previous adjustments such as ground-plane alignment or scene scaling. For extended tracking and finishing, the refined data can be exported directly into SynthEyes for further cleanup. The result: faster iterations and fewer re-solves for 3D match-move tasks in complex shots.

Blips and 3D

Technically, Mocha’s camera solver identifies trackable “blips” in the image and converts them into 2D trackers, which are then triangulated into static 3D feature points. The software measures the average deviation between the 2D trackers and 3D points as HPix (horizontal pixel error). A low HPix value signals a stable camera solve, while spikes in the error curve expose moments where the 3D reconstruction drifts. These spikes often correspond to unstable track data caused by motion blur, occlusion, or minor parallax inconsistencies.

The Clean Up Features system provides targeted filters to address these issues. It can automatically disable feature points during high-error frames, discard very short or inconsistent trackers, and remove features that contribute excessive deviation. Once unwanted data is removed, Refine recalibrates the existing camera without re-solving from scratch, updating only the relevant calculations while maintaining previously established orientation and coordinate systems. This allows technical directors to preserve scene alignment and object placement while improving solve precision.

Refinement should be applied only when the base camera movement is physically plausible. If the initial camera path is incorrect or erratic, a full re-solve remains necessary. However, for typical production shots where the solve is broadly correct but slightly unstable, this incremental workflow offers a reliable way to tighten accuracy, lower HPix variance, and maintain alignment integrity across multiple refinement passes.

Curve Editor rebuilt for modern pipelines

After a long hiatus, Mocha Pro’s Curve Editor makes a full return. The interface has been rewritten from the ground up, with tighter integration between the Dope Sheet and Graphs panel. Artists can now visualise tracking, roto, and camera-solve data as curves, then smooth, zoom, or isolate problem areas directly. A new offset-curve overlay in the Adjust Track module displays how refinements affect the original track in real time. Filtering options allow users to display only keyframed parameters or selected spline points, helping to pinpoint problematic data without clutter.

Smaller but useful refinements

Beyond the headline features, Boris FX lists numerous “quality-of-life” updates under the hood. Playback of refined mattes no longer requires separate rendering, and composite mattes can now be applied directly in other Mocha render modules, such as Insert or Remove.

Mocha Pro 2026: Pricing and availability

Mocha Pro 2026 is available as a standalone application and as plugins for Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, Foundry Nuke, Blackmagic Fusion, Autodesk Flame, and VEGAS Pro. Subscription pricing starts at €42 per month or €290 per year. Perpetual licences (from €675), upgrades, and support plans are also offered. Customers with active Mocha Pro or Boris FX Suite subscriptions receive the 2026 update at no additional cost.

Reality check

While the AI-driven refinements and rebuilt Curve Editor mark significant usability improvements, studios should validate performance and matte accuracy in controlled conditions before integrating Mocha Pro 2026 into production pipelines.

The post Mocha Pro 2026: Refined, re-solved, re-edged first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Flexible Lens Workflow Export: Undistort at Will

Lens distortion finally gets the non-destructive, “export-only” approach it deserves. In SynthEyes 2025.5, you can undistort or redistort imagery when exporting—preserving your solve, your sanity, and your timeline. No more “baked-in” mistakes or destructive edits to haunt you later. The interface is consistent across export modules, so every shot gets predictable, reliable treatment, and your scenes remain blissfully reversible. Artists finally get to pick their margin, resolution, and compatibility—like civilized people.

ML Motion Estimation: Let the Machines Suffer

Boris FX throws some proper machine learning at the auto tracking problem this time. Dense, per-pixel motion vectors arrive to save the day (and possibly your wrist). The new ML Motion Estimation model promises less cleanup-work, lower hpix values, and more stable tracker prediction—even when your footage is blurry, flickery, or full of occlusion. Activate it in the tracking UI, and let the algorithm chew on those “challenging shots” while you take a sip of coffee.

Mesh-to-Tracker Parenting: No More Geometry Orphans

Why should meshes wander aimlessly when they can be parented to trackers with a single click? SynthEyes 2025.5 brings click-to-parent mesh attachment, snapping your geometry and pivot right to the tracker in the viewport. As your solve evolves—distortion, scale, constraint, all the usual chaos—your meshes stay attached. Export hierarchies are preserved for 3D and comp tools, and you can still tweak pivots and offsets without breaking the family. Geometry drama, solved.

Additional Enhancements: File Handling That Handles Itself

More small wins for the workflow obsessive: mask dilation by set pixel counts (for less fluffy hair and fringe chaos), automatic orientation for JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and ProRes (finally, no more 90-degree headaches), and a dedicated LUTs folder for .cube, .3dl, and .lut files—automatically loaded in the UI so your grading artist doesn’t have to go on a folder safari. Oh, and SynthEyes now speaks Blackmagic RAW SDK 4.5, so importing 17K URSA Cine 65 footage is, as they say, natively supported.

Syntheyes is available as a monthly subscription for 55 € a Month, and through various savings (Yearly cost 290€) you can even still get a perpetual licence for 580 €.

The post SynthEyes 2025.5: Now With Fewer Headaches Per Pixel first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Mask ML, as the name suggests, is a machine-learning powered roto tool, complimenting the existing roto toolset in Syntheyes. Artists can very quickly define objects to be masked in a simple point-and-click procedure on either a single or multiple frames and then let the application produce roto to be used for example to exclude moving objects from a solve or to be rendered out to be used in another application.

Dynamic Tagging, Multi-Exporter and Workflow Presets

The 2025 release also focuses heavily on pipeline automation, introducing Dynamic Tagging. With the Project Tag Manager, Artists can set up a blueprint for file paths to be used on a certain project, ensuring that all the assets, renders and cameras are automatically saved in the right location. 

This feature works hand in hand with the new multi-exporter, which allows you to save multiple export presets into a single preset file. That way deliverables can be streamlined and automated, allowing you detailed control on type of export, geometry and trackers to be included and much more. This feature also takes advantage of the Dynamic Tags.

The new Workflow Presets Manager allows Artists to more easily adhere to a specific workflow by starting a new shot with specifically designed presets – these can be managed on a facility-, user- or project basis.

Head Geo

For head tracking, Syntheyes is now supplying a standard human face mesh in low, medium and high resolution meshes. These meshes can easily be added to a head track and then be customized using the brush tools inside of Syntheyes. From there the mesh can either be used in CG or compositing applications. Especially for de-aging and digital beauty work this feature can be really helpful.

Batch Processing

Batch Processing allows the Artist to queue numerous Syntheyes tasks like tracking, solving, processing lens distortion or the new Mask ML feature and then process them inside a single batch. As resources are allocated accordingly, the artist is still able to work in the foreground while the batch processing is happening simultaneously in the background.

Users on subscription or active upgrade and support plans will receive Syntheyes 2025 as a complimentary update. Right now Syntheyes is on a flash sale with 25% off until Friday, February 28th, 2025.

The post Syntheyes 2025: ML-powered masks, batch processing and more… first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Christoph Zapletal.

In nuce: The user Xavier (Jack), developer, animator and programmer in one, has presented the current development status of his real-time hand tracking app via Twitter. On 23 January, Xavier posted a moving image on Twitter that demonstrates what his app currently looks like in use. See below:

Good news!

I got a small grant to experiment with the creative use of real-time hand tracking in the browser.

First step, get that hand rig working with mediapipe (@tensorflow) and @threejs pic.twitter.com/RwXocbxZqJ

— Xavier (Jack) (@KMkota0) January 23, 2023

In toto: The highlight: His app should work directly in the web browser. According to Xavier, his app should still achieve good results even if the fingers being recorded are obscured by objects in the foreground of the image, for example. During development, Xavier utilised both the open source library TensorFlow , which focuses on machine learning for research and production, and Three.js, a cross-browser JavaScript library and application programming interface that can be used to create animated 3D graphics in the web browser.

Click further: To the Twitter account of the user Xavier (Jack).

Source: 80.lv ( message from Theodore McKenzie)

The post The future of real-time hand tracking? first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.