Troubleshooting

It is not in the list of effects

Try these in order.

1. Check you are in Resolve Studio. The free edition does not load OpenFX plug-ins.
2. Restart Resolve. It looks for plug-ins only when it starts.
3. Check the plug-in is there, in C:\Program Files\Common Files\OFX\Plugins\BallTracer.ofx.bundle.
4. Repair it: close Resolve, run the installer, keep Repair.
5. Clear the record by hand, if the installer said it could not.

1. Restart Premiere Pro.
2. Check the plug-in is there, in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Common\Plug-ins\7.0\MediaCore\BallTracer\. The effect is the file BallTracerPr.aex.
3. Repair it: close Premiere Pro, After Effects and Media Encoder, run the installer, keep Repair.
4. Read Premiere Pro's own log. Paste %APPDATA%\Adobe\Premiere Pro into the File Explorer address bar, open the folder named for your release of Premiere Pro, and open Plugin Loading.log. Look for lines that mention Ball Tracer. A line that holds only a four-letter code means Premiere Pro refused to load it. A support bundle (below) includes those lines.

• Which edition you have

  Resolve's About window names the edition. Ball Tracer cannot appear in the free one.

• The installer says DaVinci Resolve is running.

  Close Resolve completely, then run the installer again.

• The installer says Still running: and names a program

  Close Premiere Pro, After Effects and Media Encoder completely, then run the installer again.

• The plug-in folder is missing or empty

  The install did not finish. Close Resolve and run the installer again.

  The install did not finish. Close Premiere Pro, After Effects and Media Encoder and run the installer again.

• The installer says Adobe's shared plug-in folder was not found

  Install Adobe Premiere Pro first, because it creates that folder. Then run the installer again.

• Why Repair helps

  Resolve stops loading a plug-in that once failed while it was looking. Repair clears that record.

  Repair writes every plug-in file again, so an old file cannot stay behind.

• Clearing the record by hand

  Close Resolve, delete this file, then start Resolve: %APPDATA%\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\Support\OFXPluginCacheV2.xml

“Trace didn't start.”

When a press of Trace Ball or Track Camera cannot start, Status shows Trace didn't start. or Camera track didn't start. and nothing in the project changes. The message box says why. Find the sentence it contains:

• …Start/End are on Auto and Resolve did not give this clip's cut…

  Park on the first frame of the shot and press Set Start to Playhead, then on the last and press Set End to Playhead. Press the button again. See Range: scripting is off below to make this automatic.

• Start/End are on Auto and Premiere did not say where this clip is cut…

  Set Start (File Frame) and End (File Frame) to the first and last frames of the shot, counted in the camera file. Press the button again.

• …Start and End do not make a range of 2 to 5000 frames around the playhead…

  Set Start and End around the shot, with the frame the ball is struck inside them, and press again.

• …which is not a range one press takes

  One press takes 2 to 5000 frames. Set Start (File Frame) and End (File Frame) around the shot, with the frame the ball is struck inside them, and press again.

• …the camera file was not found…

  The clip is offline. Relink it to its camera file in the Media Pool and press again.

• Ball Tracer can't find the camera file on disk or The camera file of this clip is offline in Premiere

  The clip is offline. Right-click the clip, choose Link Media, find the camera file, and press again.

• Only the proxy of this clip is on disk…

  Reconnect the full-resolution media of the clip, then press again.

• …the host did not say which camera file this clip comes from…

  The effect is on a compound clip, a Fusion composition or a generator. Ball Tracer cannot trace these yet. Put the effect on the camera clip itself.

• Ball Tracer can't read a nested sequence yet…

  The effect is on a nested sequence. Un-nest the clip (right-click it, then Restore Unnested), or apply Ball Tracer to the clips inside the nest.

• The message names an adjustment layer, a title, a graphic, a colour matte or a generated clip

  Ball Tracer does not work on these. Put the effect on the camera clip itself.

• The message names a reversed clip, Time Remapping or a frozen clip

  Ball Tracer refuses these. For a reversed clip, untick Reverse Speed. For Time Remapping or a frozen frame (0 % speed), use the clip without them. A trimmed clip and a plain speed change, such as 50 %, are fine.

• Ball Tracer has seen too little of this clip to be sure which camera-file frame each timeline frame is. or …the clip's frames could not be matched to the camera file's frames

  Drag the playhead from Start to End once, or play that part, then press again. Turning on Resolve's scripting (below) lets Ball Tracer match the frames itself.

• Ball Tracer has seen too little of this clip to be sure which camera-file frame each timeline frame is.

  Move the playhead about one second along the clip, wait a moment, then press again.

• …no picture of this clip has been shown yet…

  Play or scrub across the clip once, then press again.

  Park the playhead on the clip, with Ball Tracer first in its effects, so Premiere Pro shows a frame of it. Wait a moment, then press again.

• …camera file does not show the same picture as the timeline…

  Play the clip once at normal speed from Start to End, without fast scrubbing, then press again.

  Put Ball Tracer first in the clip's effects. Play the clip once at normal speed from Start to End, without fast scrubbing, then press again.

• No hardware video decoder

  Your graphics card cannot read this camera file. Sony 4:2:2 10-bit files need an NVIDIA RTX 50-series card. Convert the clip to ProRes, then use the converted clip.

• …has not taken a reference picture of this clip yet

  For phone clips in 60 fps sequences, update to 0.2.4, which fixes this. On 0.2.3, or if you still see it: it happens when the camera file's real frame rate differs slightly from the sequence's. Place the clip so it starts at its first frame, park the playhead on that first frame until the picture shows, then press Trace.

• …with its colours changed…

  Most grades, LUTs and colour management trace since 0.2.2. This one changes the colours too much to compare, or the clip on the timeline is not this camera file.

  Take off any grade, LUT or colour-space change that comes before Ball Tracer (or put Ball Tracer on the clip first) while you trace, then play a few frames and press again.

  Put Ball Tracer first in the clip's effects (before Lumetri or any LUT), or turn those off while you trace, then play a few frames and press again.

• …but a changed picture…

  Something before Ball Tracer changes the picture's shape: a crop, a stabiliser, lens correction, noise reduction or sharpening. A zoom or position that stays the same over the clip is usually not the cause.

  Put Ball Tracer on the clip before any other effect or node, and turn off Inspector zoom, position, crop, stabilisation, lens correction and noise reduction while you trace, then play a few frames and press again.

  Put Ball Tracer first in the clip's effects, and turn off Scale, Position, Crop, Warp Stabilizer and Lens Distortion on the clip while you trace, then play a few frames and press again.

• Zoom changes over the clip

  The clip's zoom is animated, or Dynamic Zoom is on. Take the keyframed zoom or Dynamic Zoom off while you trace, then press again. For a zoom that moves with the ball, use Ball Tracer's own AutoZoom.

• …do not line up with the camera file at one steady speed…

  The clip has a speed ramp or a freeze inside the shot, or it was moved, slipped or trimmed after Ball Tracer saw it. Use the clip at its own speed. After a slip or a trim, play it once from Start to End, then press again.

• …show too little movement to confirm which frames of the camera file they are…

  On the Fusion page: play or scrub across a part of the clip where the camera moves, then press again.

• …the stored camera track does not cover the impact frame…

  Press Track Camera over a range that includes the impact, or press Reset Tracking and trace again.

• …is not installed with this copy of Ball Tracer…

  Close Resolve, run the installer and keep Repair.

  Close Premiere Pro, After Effects and Media Encoder, run the installer and keep Repair.

• …helper could not be started…

  Allow BallTracerHelper.exe in your antivirus, or close Resolve and run the installer with Repair.

  Allow BallTracerHelper.exe in your antivirus. It lives in the helper folder inside C:\Program Files\Adobe\Common\Plug-ins\7.0\MediaCore\BallTracer\. Or close Premiere Pro, After Effects and Media Encoder and run the installer with Repair.

• Can't ask Premiere. or …Premiere did not let Ball Tracer ask which clip it is on…

  Update Premiere Pro, then press again.

• Clip not found.

  Click the clip in the timeline, then apply Ball Tracer to it again.

• Camera file type not read.

  Convert the camera file to an MP4 with H.264 or H.265 video, or to a ProRes MOV.

• …Premiere did not say the camera file's frame rate…

  Close the sequence and open it again, then press again.

• …press the button again in Effect Controls

  Premiere Pro did not take the press. Click the button again in Effect Controls.

• It is about memory, time or tracing stopping

  See the next section.

A trace runs out of memory or time

A trace uses your computer's memory, not the graphics card's, so lowering Resolve's playback resolution does not help. Find the sentence in the message box:

A trace uses your computer's memory, not the graphics card's. Find the sentence in the message box:

• …there is not enough free memory to give the helper room for a trace…

  Nothing was started. Close other programs, or lower Resolve's memory use, then press again.

• Status reads Out of memory.

  Close other programs, or in Premiere Pro raise RAM reserved for other applications in Edit → Preferences → Memory. Or set Start (File Frame) and End (File Frame) closer around the shot. Then press again.

• …took longer than its time limit for this range and was stopped

  Press again. If it happens again, shorten Start and End to the shot.

• …stopped making progress and was stopped

  Press again. If it happens again, shorten Start and End to the shot.

• …stopped unexpectedly…

  Press again. If it happens again, send a support bundle (below) straight away, before you press anything else.

• There was not enough free memory to search for the ball coming down.

  The climb was traced, but not the fall. Close other programs and trace again, or set the Landing marker where the ball came down.

If it keeps happening, try these in order:

1. Shorten the range so it covers the shot, not the whole clip.
2. Close other programs.
3. Restart ResolvePremiere Pro.

“No ball found.”

The message box says why. Find the sentence it contains:

• Nothing in the shot moved against its background.

  Check the range covers the flight. Raise Sensitivity and trace again.

• …The picture is at reduced playback resolution…

  Changing the playback resolution this sentence names will not help. It appears when the clip is much smaller than the timeline, which leaves the ball very small. Mark the ball by hand with ball marks, as Your first trace shows.

• …which is too few to fit a flight to. Raise Sensitivity.

  Raise Sensitivity. Set the Ball At Impact markerthe impact marker if you have not.

• The best consensus was not a shape a ball can fly.

  The range may include a practice swing: tighten it to the real shot. Or the camera track is wrong: run Track Camera again, and check Camera Is Locked Off matches the shot.

• …which is too loose to trust.

  Set Ball At Impactthe impact marker, set the Landing marker if the ball leaves the picture, and tighten the range.

• See what the ball finder found

  Turn on Show Detections and scrub. If the trace comes close but not right, drag the path handles, or fix it with ball marks (Your first trace).

• Try the AI ball finder

  Tick AI Ball Finder (experimental) in 3. Trace and trace again. It works best on a ball in the air against the sky. Where it finds nothing, or cannot run on your computer, Ball Tracer searches without it, as before.

The trail sits on the wrong thing

• It said No Ball At Impact marker was set

  The flight was never checked against the ball. Park on the impact frame, drag the amber ring onto the ball, and trace again.

  The flight was never checked against the ball. Park on the impact frame, drag the impact ring in the Program Monitor onto the ball, double-click it to set it, and trace again.

• It said The flight found does not lead back to the ball you marked at impact

  The trace may have followed another ball. Check the trail, or click the ball on a few frames with ball marks and trace again.

• Camera Is Locked Off is wrong for the shot

  Ticked on a moving shot, the trace looks for the ball in the wrong place. Unticked on a tripod shot, the camera step can add movement that was never there.

• The range covers a practice swing

  Tighten it to the real shot.

• The clip is compound, stabilised or retimed

  Ball Tracer does not support these yet. Use the clip as it was filmed, then trace again. A zoom or position in the Inspector that stays the same over the clip is fine; a zoom that changes over the clip is not.

• The clip is nested, reversed, remapped or frozen

  Ball Tracer stops with a message on these. Use the clip as it was filmed, then trace again. A trimmed clip and a plain speed change, such as 50 %, are fine.

• Another effect sits above Ball Tracer

  An effect above it that changes the picture's shape, such as Crop, Scale or Warp Stabilizer, changes the picture Ball Tracer compares. Put Ball Tracer first in the clip's effects and trace again. A colour effect such as Lumetri or a LUT no longer stops it on its own.

The trail stops short or lands in the wrong place

• It said Landing In Shot is off, so it was looked for only up to frame N

  If the ball comes down in the picture, tick Landing In Shot in 3. Trace and trace again. Otherwise set the Landing marker where it came down.

  If the ball comes down in the picture, tick Landing In Shot in 3. Trace and trace again. Otherwise set the landing marker where it came down: park on that frame, drag the marker onto the ball, and double-click it.

• It said No landing could be estimated

  Drag the Landing marker to where the ball came down and trace again.

  Park on the frame the ball came down, drag the landing marker onto the ball, double-click it to set it, and trace again.

• It said the flight could not be carried on from them.

  The trail ends at your last ball mark. Mark a few more frames, clear the Landing marker if one is set (double-click it on the frame it is set on), then trace again.

• It said …assumed - the host app reported no rate. Set Clip Frame Rate to the clip's own.

  The flight was timed at a guessed frame rate. In Trace Settings, set Clip Frame Rate to the rate the clip was filmed at, then trace again.

• It said …so it was cut back to frames…

  End reached past the clip's last frame, so the trace stopped at the clip's end. Set End inside the clip if the ball lands later than that in the shot.

• It said …so the flight is timed as if slowed down…

  The clip plays at a different frame rate from the one it was filmed at. In Trace Settings, set Clip Frame Rate to the number the message gives for the ball's real speed.

• Landing is after End Frame.

  The Landing marker is after End Frame, so the trace stops at End Frame and lands there. Set End Frame to the landing frame or later for the landing to be exact.

Ball mark messages

• Mark at least 2 frames.

  Draw Path From Marks needs two ball marks or more. Tick Mark Ball Mode, click the ball in the Program Monitor on two or more frames, then press it again. If you already have two, mark more frames inside Start and End, where the camera track can place them.

• Mark the ball first.

  Trace With Marks As Help needs at least one ball mark. Click the ball on a frame or two where the tracer loses it, then press it again.

• No Ball Mark here.

  The frame you are parked on has no ball mark. Click the ball on this frame first, or park on a frame that has one.

• Delete: frame N has no ball mark.

  Step to a frame that has a mark, then press Delete again.

• The landing must come after the impact. or The impact must come before the landing.

  Mark the impact on an earlier frame than the landing. To move one, park on its frame and press Mark Is Impact or Mark Is Landing again to unmark it.

Range and camera messages

• Range: scripting is off

  Ball Tracer could not read the clip's cut from Resolve. Set the range with Set Start to Playhead and Set End to Playhead. To make it automatic, open Preferences → System → General, set External scripting using to Local, and restart Resolve.

• Range: Edit page only

  The cut is read on the Edit page only. Set Start and End with the playhead buttons.

• Range: clip is retimed

  The clip is slowed down or sped up. Ball Tracer cannot match it to its camera file yet. Use the clip at its own speed.

• Range: clip is too long

  Set Start and End to the part with the shot.

• Range outside the clip or Impact outside the clip

  Start and End, or the impact frame, lie outside this clip on the timeline. Set them inside the clip and press again. A Start or impact a little before the clip's first frame is fine if the file has those frames, for a shot trimmed right after the hit.

• Camera not solved.

  The shot may be too featureless or blurred to track the camera. If the camera never moves, tick Camera Is Locked Off instead.

• Busy - press again.

  Another Track Camera or Trace was running, in this effect or another. Wait for it to finish, then press again.

• Trace stopped. or Camera track stopped.

  The pass was cancelled and nothing changed. Press the button again to run it.

• Press Trace again to replace.

  You moved a path handle by hand. Press Trace Ball again to replace your handles.

• No point selected. or Point not usable.

  Click one of the track points in the viewer first, one that is also on screen on the frame the trail is drawn on. Then press Use as Close or Use as Far.

• No point selected.

  Click one of the track points first. They are the crosses on the Program Monitor. Then press Use as Close or Use as Far.

• Saved track not readable here.

  The project's saved track was written by a different build of Ball Tracer. It is kept, not overwritten. Install the matching build to get it back, or press Reset Tracking and trace again.

Licence messages

What Licence Status can show:

• Trial - enter a licence key.

  Ball Tracer is not activated, so frames carry the TRIAL mark. Paste your key and press Activate.

  Ball Tracer is not activated, so frames carry the TRIAL mark. Press Activate, paste your key into the window that opens, and press Activate there.

• Paste a key, then Activate.

  The key field was empty. Copy the key from your account page, paste it, press Enter, then Activate.

• The key box is empty.

  Nothing was pasted into the key window. Copy the key from your account page, paste it into the window and press Activate.

• Key not valid - check it.

  Copy it again with the Copy button on your account page. The field is cleared after every press, so paste it again first.

  Copy it again with the Copy button on your account page, paste it into the key window and press Activate.

• All activations in use.

  Press Deactivate on the other computer, or Release it on your account page. Then press Activate here. Ball Tracer in DaVinci Resolve and in Premiere Pro on one computer use one activation each.

• Too many computers this month.

  The key has been activated on as many different computers lately as one key allows. Write to support to have it moved.

• Not activated on this PC. or Licence is for another PC.

  Paste your key and press Activate on this computer.

  Press Activate on this computer and paste your key into the window.

• Licence is for another app.

  The saved licence belongs to Ball Tracer in another program on this computer. Press Activate and paste your key.

• Licence file unreadable.

  Paste your key and press Activate to restore it.

  Press Activate and paste your key to restore it.

• Activated, but not saved.

  Check that %APPDATA%\BallTracer can be written to. Until then ResolvePremiere Pro asks again after every restart.

• Cannot reach licence server., Licence server problem., Server reply unusable. or Too many tries - wait.

  Check the internet connection, wait a few minutes, and press it again.

• Network blocked the server.

  Something on your network answered instead: usually a Wi-Fi sign-in page, a VPN, a firewall or a proxy. Sign in to the Wi-Fi, turn the VPN off, or try another network, then press Activate again.

• Check the computer clock.

  Correct the date and time, then restart ResolvePremiere Pro.

• Offline too long - go online.

  It has not checked in for over 30 days. Connect to the internet and restart ResolvePremiere Pro.

• Key too old for this version.

  This version came out after your 12 months of updates ended. Install the version you had before. See Updates.

• Key disabled - contact us.

  The key was switched off, for example after a refund. Write to support if that is a mistake.

• This key has expired., Key is for another product. or Key does not cover Resolve.Key does not cover Premiere.

  Write to support with the first few characters of the key.

• Licence service unavailable. or Computer ID unreadable.

  Restart ResolvePremiere Pro. If it stays, send a support bundle (below) and write to support.

• Can't open key box - retry.

  Press Activate again. If it stays, restart Premiere Pro.

• Seat freed; file not deleted.

  The activation was released. Close any program that might be using the licence file and press Deactivate again.

• Licence ends at next restart.

  The licence server no longer confirms this licence. Write to support if that is a mistake.

• The TRIAL mark is still on some frames

  Resolve keeps frames it drew before you activated. Use Playback → Delete Render Cache and they are drawn again without the mark.

  If Premiere Pro keeps frames it drew before you activated, use Sequence → Delete Render Files and they are drawn again without the mark.

Send a support bundle

Use the Support group, at the bottom of the panelEffect Controls panel. There is nothing to turn on first.

1. Press Prepare Debug Log straight after the problem. Nothing is sent yet.
2. Press Open Bundle to read exactly what would be sent.
3. Press Send to Support. The status row in the Support group shows a reference like BT-7K3Q-2M.
4. Email support.balltracerplugin@gmail.com with that reference and what you were doing.

• What is in it

  Your Resolve and plug-in versions, the panel's settings, and the last few thousand things the plug-in recorded.The release of Premiere Pro and of the plug-in, the effect's settings, the Ball Tracer lines from Premiere Pro's own Plugin Loading.log, and the plug-in's own log when there is one. Your licence key is never included. Every file path is reduced to its shape, such as <C: path, .mov, 30 chars>: the drive, the file type and the length stay, and every folder and file name is removed. No video, project file or picture is included.

• Could not write the bundle.

  Check that %APPDATA%\BallTracer can be written to, then press Prepare Debug Log again.

• Could not reach the support service., The bundle is too large to upload. or The support service refused the upload.

  Send the file by hand. Bundles are saved as support- followed by a date and time, in %APPDATA%\BallTracer. Press Open Bundle to find the newest one and attach it to your email.

• Support asks for a deeper log

  Some faults, such as a crash during a trace, need a fuller record. It is off until you turn it on:

  1. Paste %APPDATA%\BallTracer into the File Explorer address bar.
  2. Create an empty file there called debug_log, with no file extension.
  3. Restart ResolvePremiere Pro and do what went wrong.
  4. Use the three Support buttons as above. The deeper log goes with the bundle.
  5. Delete the debug_log file afterwards to turn it off.

Still stuck

Write to support.balltracerplugin@gmail.com with your Windows version, Resolve version, graphics card, and what you pressed. Say which release of Premiere Pro you run. The reply comes within 2 business days.