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How to remove shake and panning from video

S

saqibhasan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 10, 2007
114
122
So I was on this trip and used my iphone4 to capture some HD video - the clip is around 3 minutes long and as much as I thought I had done a good job, I couldn't hold the phone steady enough. There is some shake, which does get eliminated pretty well using iMovie09, but the panning remains.

Is there any software (even paid - within reason :)) where I can go through frame by frame and reposition the video so the main subject remains centered? Or, better still, one that will be able to decipher the main subject and maintain the center on it throughout the length of the clip?

Any help would be appreciated - I have done some google searches and thus far come up with nada.

Thanks,
Saqib.
 
Consider buying Final Cut Express if you are keen on editing video. Within this you can key frame motion quite well but it can be quite difficult.

Download the 30 day trial off After Effects and use that to keyframe the motion of your video. However, it would be a frame by frame process. It's simply a case of looking at how much the footage means to you and how much time and money you are willing to throw at it.
 
thanks for the replies.

would now be a good time to buy final cut studio or do you think Apple will be bringing out a new one soon?

The footage does mean a lot - I even tried to advertise for somebody to look over the footage and remove the problem but I didn't get any bites.
 
saqibhasan said:
I even tried to advertise for somebody to look over the footage and remove the problem but I didn't get any bites.
Click to expand...

No one knows when Apple will release software. If they do know, they'd be under a non-disclosure agreement preventing them from saying so.

Even though you advertised, for a job like this, you'll need to actually call around to various post-production houses and get rate quotes. Don't expect them to be looking for work on sites like craigslist.

-DH
 
saqibhasan said:
So I was on this trip and used my iphone4 to capture some HD video - the clip is around 3 minutes long and as much as I thought I had done a good job, I couldn't hold the phone steady enough. There is some shake, which does get eliminated pretty well using iMovie09, but the panning remains.

Is there any software (even paid - within reason :)) where I can go through frame by frame and reposition the video so the main subject remains centered? Or, better still, one that will be able to decipher the main subject and maintain the center on it throughout the length of the clip?

Any help would be appreciated - I have done some google searches and thus far come up with nada.

Thanks,
Saqib.
Click to expand...


To stop the panning, you will need at least Final Cut Express to do a decent job, which is still a chunk of change and a lot of work for footage shot from an iPhone 4. Unless that footage is extremely important (I'm guessing not very important if it was shot on a phone), I would just leave it at that, save your money, time, and headaches as you try to figure out a program just to make the panning slightly better.

If you think you will be interested in video editing, I would definitely recommend Final Cut Express as a start. However, with Final Cut Express, you will have to manually go frame by frame to track your main object, which won't be fun. You'll have to pay high dollars for Adobe After Effects, or Apple Motion along with tracking plugins for auto-tracking abilities.
 
chiefroastbeef said:
To stop the panning, you will need at least Final Cut Express to do a decent job, which is still a chunk of change and a lot of work for footage shot from an iPhone 4. Unless that footage is extremely important (I'm guessing not very important if it was shot on a phone), I would just leave it at that, save your money, time, and headaches as you try to figure out a program just to make the panning slightly better.

If you think you will be interested in video editing, I would definitely recommend Final Cut Express as a start. However, with Final Cut Express, you will have to manually go frame by frame to track your main object, which won't be fun. You'll have to pay high dollars for Adobe After Effects, or Apple Motion along with tracking plugins for auto-tracking abilities.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I'll look into express then. The footage was important but I was not allowed to take a proper camera into the place, so kinda sneakily used the iPhone. (It was during the Hajj pilgrimage, and big bags and cameras are not allowed for safety reasons.) In hindsight, I should have taken a little tripod thing like garyfong's. You live and learn eh?
 
A motion tracker would be your best bet as it would add some automation to the process. You wouldn't want to go and do this frame by frame yourself. For one, it's time consuming. And two, it still won't look quite right.

Check out the 30 day trial for After Effects. The built in tracker is pretty good. But it also comes with mocha, which is a great 2d tracker (although I'm not sure of the functionality in the trial).

Iphone video is also subject to a lot of rolling shutter issues. You're probably seeing them as well. Reducing them is a much bigger issue.
 
handsome pete said:
A motion tracker would be your best bet as it would add some automation to the process. You wouldn't want to go and do this frame by frame yourself. For one, it's time consuming. And two, it still won't look quite right.

Check out the 30 day trial for After Effects. The built in tracker is pretty good. But it also comes with mocha, which is a great 2d tracker (although I'm not sure of the functionality in the trial).

Iphone video is also subject to a lot of rolling shutter issues. You're probably seeing them as well. Reducing them is a much bigger issue.
Click to expand...

What he said, the 30-day trial period would be perfect, just search for some tutorials online on how to use the motion tracking software and get it done before the 30 days expire. :) Good luck!
 
short term download the trial of after effects cs5

you can use the stabilizer to track and remove shake and panning
 
thank you everybody - trialling it now.

just one thing - how do i export this? I can only export as premiere, so I have downloaded the premiere trial also - but it doesn't want to seem to open up - is it limited?
 
saqibhasan said:
thank you everybody - trialling it now.

just one thing - how do i export this? I can only export as premiere, so I have downloaded the premiere trial also - but it doesn't want to seem to open up - is it limited?
Click to expand...

when you add the comp to the render queue click on the yellow text to the right of output module. You can use whatever settings you want to export
 
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