Hero Tracker quick start

Adds the thermal hero box and tracking HUD to a graded shot, and exports a clip that lines up frame for frame in Resolve. Everything runs in your browser, and your footage never leaves your computer. Open the tool

Once, before you start

• Use Chrome or Edge. Other browsers won't work.
• In Windows Settings → System → Display → Graphics, set your browser to High performance, so it uses your graphics card rather than the built-in one.
• The dot at the top right of the tool shows whether your browser is ready: green means ready, and amber means click it to see the warning.

The five steps

1. Render from Resolve Render the graded section as H.264, MP4 or MOV, at the same resolution and frame rate as the timeline (up to 4K). Include all its cuts: the tool finds them itself.
2. Open it Drag the file onto the tool, or click Open. If a message says the file won't work, it tells you what to change in the render settings.
3. Analyse, then save Click Analyse. This finds the cuts, the people and the points to track, and takes a few minutes: roughly two to three times the clip's length. When it's done, go to the Analysis tab and click Save project, and keep that file next to the video.

   Next time: open the same video, then Open project… and pick the saved file. You won't have to analyse again, and your fixes and look come back too.

4. Pick a look In the Look tab, hover over a look to preview it and click it to use it. Press Space to play. For most clips that's all you need to do. The sliders underneath are there if you want to fine-tune.
5. Export Click Export clip and choose where to save. The tool then checks the file against the source frame by frame. Export verified in green means it's done.

   Audio is off by default, because in Resolve the export goes over your original, which already has the sound. If you want a file to watch or send around, tick Include audio in the Clip tab before exporting.

Putting it in Resolve

The export is the full picture with the effect baked in. It has exactly the same number of frames as your render. Place it on the track above your graded section so it starts on the same frame, and it lines up frame for frame from there. It carries no timecode, so line it up by where it starts.

If something looks wrong

All optional. Pause first (Space). After fixing anything, click Save project again.

The thermal box is on the wrong person, or on nobody

The strip under the scrubber shows the hero: blue has a hero, red has people but no hero, and grey has nobody.

• Click a person to make them the hero from that frame on.
• G jumps to the next red stretch, so you can go through them one by one.
• X removes the hero from here on, if you don't want one in this shot.

The boxes slide across a cut

The tool missed the cut. Go to the first frame of the new shot (← → step one frame) and press C. To remove a cut that isn't real, click its marker above the scrubber, then press Delete. Only the shots next to the cut are analysed again, which takes a few seconds.

You want a closer look

Check frame (bottom bar) shows the current frame at full size, exactly as it will export. Drag to move around.

You can ignore the Debug view, most of the Analysis tab, the bitrate and Burn in frame numbers. They're there for testing.

Keys

Problems

• Analysis is very slow, or the dot is amber and mentions the integrated GPU: redo the High performance setting above and restart the browser.
• The tool looks different or odd after an update: press Ctrl+F5.
• Closing the tab warns you if there's unsaved work. Save the project first.