Marking Two Decades of Visual Effects Milestones: A Tribute to 20 Years in the VFX Industry
Mocha: Revolutionizing Visual Effects in Film and Television
For over two decades, Mocha has been a cornerstone in the visual effects (VFX) industry, playing a crucial role in numerous movies and TV shows. This remarkable journey began in the mid-2000s when Imagineer Systems, a pioneering company in VFX technology, introduced Mocha – a groundbreaking planar tracking software that revolutionized the way VFX tasks were approached.
The Birth of a Revolution
In the mid-2000s, Imagineer Systems introduced Mocha, a software that tracked flat surfaces rather than individual points. This innovative approach allowed for improved handling of occlusion, motion blur, and low-contrast footage – common issues in traditional point trackers.
Expansion and Acquisition
In 2014, Boris FX, a leading provider of integrated VFX and creative solutions, acquired Imagineer Systems, integrating Mocha into its suite and greatly expanding its feature set. Post-acquisition, Mocha Pro evolved to include advanced planar tracking, rotoscoping tools, object removal, image stabilization, and PowerMesh organic warp tracking, becoming an industry standard plugin widely used inside major hosts like Adobe After Effects, Nuke, and DaVinci Resolve.
A Transformative Impact
Mocha's impact on the film and television VFX industry has been substantial. By providing a robust solution for tracking complex shapes and surfaces, Mocha advanced the efficiency and accuracy of VFX post-production. It facilitates precise rotoscoping and masking, reducing the need for manual frame-by-frame editing, a traditionally slow and labor-intensive task.
The software's ability to isolate moving objects and handle tracking challenges that stump traditional point trackers has elevated quality standards and streamlined workflows for artists and studios. Mocha Pro has become a critical tool in professional VFX pipelines due to its reliability and capability to work on difficult shots involving motion blur, occlusion, or damaged footage.
Continuous Evolution
In recent years, Mocha has continued to evolve, adding 3D tracking capabilities through the acquisition of SynthEyes, enhancing its usability for complex VFX pipelines. It has also expanded its cross-platform capabilities, integrating seamlessly with other professional software, thereby democratizing high-end planar tracking and providing advanced tools to a broader range of creators while maintaining its strong presence in large-scale production environments.
Recognition and Achievements
Mocha's contributions to the VFX industry have not gone unnoticed. In 2013, it was recognised with an Academy Award for Science and Technical Achievement, and in 2019, it received an Engineering Emmy Award. The software's 20-year anniversary was celebrated with a live stream featuring the original inventors of planar tracking, sharing fun stories, insider secrets, and more about Mocha's history and development.
In 2019, Mocha added the MegaPlate stitched extended frame VFX workflow, and in 2020, it introduced the PowerMesh "sub-planar" tracking feature to track organic and warped surfaces like skin and clothing. In 2016, Mocha's planar tracking & masking tools were integrated into Continuum, and in 2013, they were integrated into Silhouette. Adobe licensed Mocha AE in 2008, bringing free planar tracking & masking tools to After Effects artists.
In 2017, Mocha introduced a 360/VR mono and stereoscopic workflow, and Mocha VR won the Advanced Imaging Society Award. In 2021, Mocha Pro 2022 was released with up to 40% faster render speeds, Apple M1 native support, Adobe After Effects multi-frame rendering (MFR) support, and more.
In summary, Mocha’s development from a planar tracker to an advanced VFX software integrating 3D tracking features under Boris FX has had a transformative impact on film and television VFX, setting industry standards for how motion tracking, rotoscoping, and complex scene manipulation are accomplished in post-production workflows.
[1] Source: Boris FX website [4] Source: Imagineer Systems website
- The revolutionary planar tracking software Mocha, initially introduced by Imagineer Systems in the mid-2000s, has significantly impacted the VFX industry by offering improved handling of occlusion, motion blur, and low-contrast footage, thus bridging the gap between traditional point trackers and technology.
- As Mocha Pro evolved—integrating advanced features such as rotoscoping tools, object removal, image stabilization, and PowerMesh organic warp tracking post-acquisition by Boris FX—it conquered entertainment spaces by becoming an essential tool for artists working on major hosts like Adobe After Effects, Nuke, and DaVinci Resolve.
