LOCKED-ON CAMERA

Keep Any Subject Locked in Frame While Your Camera Keeps Moving

Locked-On Camera is a Blender camera-animation addon designed to keep a chosen subject consistently framed while preserving the camera movement you already created.

You can lock onto objects, empties, pose bones and deforming mesh regions, transition between multiple targets, add controlled camera shake, adjust composition, preview supported locks in real time and bake the final result into a clean independent camera.

1. INSTALLATION

Locked-On Camera is distributed as a Blender Extension.

1. Open Blender.

2. Go to Edit > Preferences > Get Extensions.

3. Open the extension menu.

4. Choose Install from Disk.

5. Select the Locked-On Camera ZIP file.

6. Enable the extension if necessary.

The addon appears in the 3D Viewport N-Panel.

2. BASIC WORKFLOW

The simplest workflow is:

1. Select or choose your camera.

2. Choose the target you want the camera to follow.

3. Set the frame range.

4. Press Create Locked Camera.

5. Preview and adjust the Locked-On result.

6. Add extra targets, camera movement, composition changes or shake if required.

7. Press Bake Camera when the shot is finished.

Your original camera remains available.

3. CREATE LOCK

The Create Lock section is where a new Locked-On camera setup begins.

Choose:

• Camera

• Target

• Target Type

• Start Frame

• End Frame

Then press:

Create Locked Camera

For lightweight target types, the newly created setup enters Live Preview automatically.

Targets that require deformation sampling begin in Standard Mode.

Advanced creation options are available when needed but are hidden by default to keep the initial workflow simple.

4. TARGET TYPES

Object / Empty

Tracks the world-space movement of an object or Empty.

This is the fastest and simplest tracking method.

Recommended for:

• Products

• Vehicles

• Props

• Motion graphics

• Rigid objects

• Custom Empty targets

Object and Empty targets support Live Preview.

Pose Bone

Tracks a specific bone from an armature.

When Pose Bone is selected, choose:

• Armature

• Bone

• Bone Point

The Bone Point determines which part of the bone is followed:

• Head

• Centre

• Tail

Recommended for:

• Character heads

• Hands

• Chest movement

• Animated limbs

• Rig-based tracking

Pose Bone targets support Live Preview.

Deformed Mesh

Tracks the evaluated visible mesh after modifiers such as an Armature modifier have been applied.

This is useful when the visible geometry moves but the object's origin does not.

Because evaluating deformed geometry is more expensive, this target type uses Standard Mode.

Lock Region

Lock Region tracks a local weighted region of a deforming mesh.

This is usually the best option when you want to follow a precise visible area such as:

• Head

• Chest

• Shoulder

• Hand

• Face region

A Lock Region can be created from selected mesh vertices or faces.

Using a small local region is usually more stable than tracking the centre of an entire deforming character.

Lock Regions use Standard Mode.

5. LIVE MODE

Live Mode updates the Locked-On camera interactively.

It is designed for lightweight target types:

• Object

• Empty

• Pose Bone

Use Live Mode when:

• Blocking a shot

• Moving a target interactively

• Adjusting character animation

• Scrubbing the timeline

• Designing target transitions

• Experimenting with composition

The camera reacts while you work.

Live Mode adds some realtime evaluation overhead, so Standard Mode remains available whenever a generated result is preferred.

6. STANDARD MODE

Standard Mode samples the animation over the selected frame range and generates the Locked-On result.

Use Standard Mode for:

• Deformed Mesh tracking

• Lock Region tracking

• Heavy scenes

• Final generated tracking

• Situations where realtime evaluation is unnecessary

If you change the tracked animation while using Standard Mode, use Refresh Lock to update the result.

7. LOCKED CAMERA INSTANCES

Every Locked-On setup appears in the Locked Cameras list.

Each instance stores its own:

• Source camera

• Locked camera

• Targets

• Frame range

• Lock mode

• Target transitions

• Camera movement

• Composition settings

• Camera shake

• Viewport Lock Guide

Select an instance to reveal its controls.

Use Remove Rig to remove only the selected Locked-On setup.

8. ORIGINAL VIEW AND LOCKED VIEW

Use:

Original View

to inspect the source camera.

Use:

Locked View

to return to the generated Locked-On camera.

This makes it easy to compare the original shot with the Locked-On version.

9. LOCK STRENGTH

Lock Strength controls how strongly the camera follows the Locked-On correction.

At full strength, the target receives the complete Locked-On effect.

Reducing the value allows more of the original camera movement to influence the framing.

Lock Strength can be animated using Blender's normal keyframe controls.

This can be used to smoothly enter or leave the Locked-On effect.

10. MULTIPLE LOCK TARGETS

A single Locked-On camera can contain multiple targets.

For example:

Bottle Body
→ Bottle Cap
→ Label
→ Character Hand
→ Character Face

You do not need a separate camera for every target.

Use Add Target to add another lock target to the selected instance.

Targets can use different supported target types.

11. TARGET HANDOFFS

Targets after the first can transition from the previous target.

Each handoff provides controls for:

• Transition Start

• Transition Duration

• Smoothness

Use Here to place the handoff at the current playhead frame.

During the transition, the camera smoothly shifts its attention from the previous target to the new one.

Available transition styles include:

• Linear

• Smooth

• Very Smooth

Live-compatible targets can preview these transitions interactively.

12. VIEWPORT LOCK GUIDE

Enable:

Show Lock Guide

to display a small hollow tracking reticle in the Locked camera view.

The Lock Guide gives a visual indication of where the camera is maintaining the lock.

The guide is:

• Purple during a normal lock

• Orange during a target handoff

The Lock Guide is drawn as a viewport overlay.

It is not scene geometry and will never appear in the final render.

It also automatically disappears when:

• Original View is active

• The relevant Locked camera is not being viewed

• The current frame is outside the lock range

13. CAMERA MOVEMENT

Locked-On Camera allows additional movement to be layered onto the generated camera.

Orbit

Adds rotational movement around the Locked-On setup.

Useful for:

• Product shots

• Character reveals

• Stylized camera motion

• Adding movement after the lock is established

Orbit can be animated with Blender keyframes.

Offset

Adds positional movement to the Locked-On camera.

Use this to push, pull or shift the camera while retaining the Locked-On behavior.

Offset can also be animated.

14. COMPOSITION & LENS

Composition & Lens provides direct access to useful camera-framing properties.

Camera Roll

Tilts the camera around its viewing direction.

This can create:

• Dutch angles

• Action-camera tilts

• Stylized framing

Camera Roll can be animated.

Horizontal Offset

Directly controls the Locked camera's horizontal camera shift.

It can be keyframed normally.

Vertical Offset

Directly controls the Locked camera's vertical camera shift.

It can be keyframed normally.

Focal Length

Directly controls the Locked camera's focal length.

This allows you to animate zoom and lens changes from the Locked-On panel using Blender's normal keyframe system.

15. CAMERA SHAKE

Camera Shake adds procedural movement after the Locked-On correction.

This means the camera can feel handheld or energetic while the tracked subject remains visually controlled.

Press:

Add Camera Shake

Then adjust:

Strength

Controls the overall amount of shake.

Speed

Controls how quickly the shake changes.

Lower values create slower movement.

Higher values create faster, more energetic motion.

Use:

Remove Shake

to completely remove the shake layer without affecting the Locked-On tracking or source camera.

Camera Shake is applied only within the Locked-On instance's frame range.

16. USING AN EXISTING ANIMATED CAMERA

Locked-On Camera is designed to work with cameras that already contain animation.

The original camera movement is preserved as the base shot.

Locked-On then adds the tracking correction on top.

This allows you to keep:

• Dolly movement

• Orbit animation

• Handheld animation

• Camera constraints

• Parenting

• Existing rotation and translation

• Existing camera motion

while improving the subject framing.

The original source camera remains untouched.

17. ANIMATABLE CONTROLS

Useful controls include Blender's normal keyframe diamonds.

Animatable properties include:

• Lock Strength

• Orbit

• Position Offset

• Camera Roll

• Horizontal Offset

• Vertical Offset

• Focal Length

Use them exactly like standard Blender animation properties.

Move to a frame, adjust the value and insert a keyframe.

18. REFRESH LOCK

Use Refresh Lock when a Standard Mode setup needs to be recalculated after changes to the tracked animation.

Refresh updates the tracking result while preserving the Locked camera's editable composition controls.

Live Mode normally updates compatible target movement automatically.

19. BAKE CAMERA

When the shot is finished, press:

Bake Camera

The addon evaluates the final result and creates a normal independent Blender camera containing the finished animation.

The baked result can include:

• Locked-On correction

• Source camera movement

• Target transitions

• Camera movement

• Camera Roll

• Lens and shift animation

• Camera Shake

The baked camera no longer needs the working Locked-On rig to reproduce the final shot.

Bake is recommended when:

• The shot is approved

• Preparing a final scene

• Sending the file to another artist

• Archiving the finished camera

• Removing the working Locked-On setup

20. REMOVE RIG

Remove Rig removes the selected Locked-On working setup.

It is intended for removing one specific instance.

Other Locked-On instances remain untouched.

21. RESTORE ORIGINAL

Restore Original is the broader reset option.

Use it when you want to return the scene to the original camera setup.

The addon also attempts to restore camera-marker relationships that were changed when the Locked-On camera was created.

Because this is a larger reset action, it is kept separate from normal controls.

22. CAMERA MARKERS

If the source camera is bound to timeline markers, Locked-On Camera can transfer those bindings to the generated Locked camera.

The original marker relationships are stored so they can be restored when the setup is removed or restored.

23. PERFORMANCE

For the best performance:

• Use Object, Empty or Pose Bone targets when possible.

• Use Live Mode for interactive lightweight tracking.

• Use Standard Mode for deformation-heavy tracking.

• Use small local Lock Regions instead of tracking an entire character when possible.

• Avoid unnecessarily long frame ranges.

• Increase the sampling step only when appropriate.

Object and Pose Bone Live setups should normally create very quickly.

Deformed Mesh and Lock Region tracking can take longer because Blender must evaluate the mesh across the frame range.

24. LIVE MODE LIMITATIONS

Live Mode currently supports:

• Object

• Empty

• Pose Bone

Live Mode does not currently support:

• Deformed Mesh

• Lock Region

These target types automatically use Standard Mode because realtime evaluated-mesh tracking could cause unnecessary viewport performance problems.

25. TROUBLESHOOTING

The camera is not following a deforming character correctly

If you are using Object tracking on an armature-deformed mesh, the object origin may not move with the visible geometry.

Use:

• Pose Bone

• Lock Region

• Deformed Mesh

instead.

The wrong bone is being tracked

Open the target settings and confirm:

• Correct armature

• Correct bone

• Correct Bone Point

Live Mode is unavailable

Check whether one of the targets uses:

• Deformed Mesh

• Lock Region

These target types require Standard Mode.

Standard tracking does not reflect recent animation changes

Press:

Refresh Lock

to recalculate the tracking result.

Camera Shake is too strong

Reduce:

Strength

and/or reduce:

Speed

Subtle values usually work best for natural handheld movement.

The Lock Guide is not visible

Confirm that:

• Show Lock Guide is enabled

• Locked View is active

• You are looking through the Locked camera

• The current frame is inside the Locked-On range

The guide does not appear in Original View or final renders.

The camera animation looks different after editing the original camera

If using Live Mode, compatible source-camera changes should update interactively.

If using Standard Mode, use Refresh Lock when the tracking result needs to be regenerated.

26. RECOMMENDED WORKFLOW

For most shots:

1. Animate the original camera normally.

2. Select the camera and target.

3. Create the Locked-On camera.

4. Work in Live Preview when available.

5. Add additional lock targets if required.

6. Adjust handoff timing.

7. Refine Lock Strength.

8. Add Orbit or Position Offset if needed.

9. Adjust Camera Roll, camera shift and focal length.

10. Add subtle Camera Shake if appropriate.

11. Use the Viewport Lock Guide while refining the shot.

12. Compare Original and Locked views.

13. Bake the final camera.

27. GOOD USE CASES

Locked-On Camera is especially useful for:

• Product advertising

• Character animation

• Action scenes

• Vehicle animation

• Chase shots

• Stylized cinematics

• Motion graphics

• Camera-heavy commercials

• Storyboards and previs

• Shots where attention needs to move between multiple subjects

28. VERSION

Locked-On Camera 1.0.2

Blender Extension compatible.

Designed for Blender 4.2 and newer.

29. QUICK SUMMARY

Locked-On Camera helps you:

• Keep subjects consistently framed

• Preserve existing camera animation

• Preview supported locks live

• Track objects, pose bones and deforming regions

• Transition between multiple subjects

• Add controlled camera shake

• Animate camera composition

• Visualize the lock in the viewport

• Keep the original camera safe

• Bake the final shot into a clean independent camera

Select a camera. Choose a target. Create the lock. Direct the shot.