Video Stabilizer plug-in?

[BrianP]

I'm looking for a video stabilizer plug-in (for Premiere).

I did a search on the net and came up with one called Video Stabilizer that was written by someone in Germany. I have tested it but the shareware only allows a few seconds so it's hard to tell how effective it is. Another plug-in I tried (forgot the name, they're all kinda the same) was a lot more complicated.

I'm looking for something fairly simple (non complicated), effective, and cheap. Does anyone have any recommendations for this type of plug-in? Thanks.

[Brian Ellis]

Sorry, can't help you answer your question. But I wish to take the debate to a more fundamental level. Such software would not be necessary if the camera was steady. Today's trend, especially of cheap cameras, is to make them ever smaller and lighter - with longer optical zoom ranges. Result: camera shake galore. Also, holding cameras away from the head (using the LCD screen as a viewfinder) can only exacerbate the situation. Obviously, tripod mounting with a good head is the ideal but not always practical: and a really good tripod of this nature will not give you much change out of 1000 bucks. What to do when the tripod is not possible. A Steadicam is also expensive and presumably effective (never used one). Is there any other solution? I've thought of an active stabiliser, with two or, preferably, three 500 g flywheels spinning at 10,000 rpm. The extra couple of kg in itself would help, by inertia, but the gyroscopic effect would triple the stability. Obviously, to hold such a weight to your eye for a 2 minute shot would be killing, so we'd have to add a shoulder support. The big problem would be to suppress the whine of the bearings. So, how about a passive device? The problem is that homo sapiens is a biped and any phycisist can tell you that two points of attachment is not inherently stable, especially when the wind acts like a cantilever the best part of 2 m from the point of attachment. I haven't tried it, but it seems that it would be logical to have the centre of gravity of the camera much closer to the ground. Has anyone tried attaching a vertical aluminium tube below the camera, say 1 m or so long, with a weight of say 4 or 5 times that of the camera at t'other end? Would this make the whole caboodle more stable?

[Dr Mordrid]

It's not a plugin, but DynaPel makes SteadyHand....very useful for stabilizing the shakes. $49.99.

http://www.dynapel.com/products.php3?session_id=f2f33f016c855df1483fe68ef0030aa1

On the shareware end there is Digital Video Stabilzer, which is a Premiere plugin;

http://www.download32.com/proghtml/174/17414.htm

Dr. Mordrid

[miya]

Brian Ellis:

What you are proposing with the tube and weights is exactly what a Steadycam is (the real Steadycam, I know nothing about the Jr version.) All that is added to what you described is a support system hooked to a vest worn by the operator, to help with the considerable weight (the pros who operate Steadycams are real athletes.) I am a professional motion picture camera assistant (35mm film) and have worked with Steadycams many times. They are incredible devices, head and shoulders above their many imitators (who try to use the same basic idea.) On a real movie set, no other stablization devices are even considered.

(I've seen some people put gyros on them too, but thats overkill in the eyes of most in the camera department.)

[landrover]

Wait a second guys,

Video stabilizer? Are we talking about artificially compensating unwanted movement of the camera or is BrianP just asking for a plugin to stabilize the video-signal, in other words, a time-base-corrector plugin?

Totally different question. DV-Avi´s do have a 4 GB file limit like all others, don´t they? I bought a new, very complete thought very cheap video editing program called Magix VideoDeLuxe which, as far as I know can not export segmented Avi´s, so for a longer production HuffYuv is not an easy option. But it can also export to DV, hence the question. I would like to export in high quality and then convert to mpeg in TMPEGenc because the built in mpeg encoder of the Magix program is totally crap.

landrover

[Sciascia]

Landrover

What I would do is segment them myself (frame accurate of course), create multiple avi's in Huff or whatever codedc you want and then use Virtual Dub to segment them, just use the append function. Then frameserve them to whatever you want, TMPGEnc, CCE, LSX (I think supports it).

As for the monopod (I love them), it has been around for a while and steadicams, when we can get operators to use them are quite nice, but of course we usually use the big old multi-thousand dollar tripods. We also use Ikegami cameras and are almost ready to replace the Betacam backs with Ikegami digital packs. We are very excited. The point of course is that with cameras that big you do not have the problem of stability that you do with the little tinmy things that are coming out everyday. Point being that link that Doc put up the other day. God that thing is puny! To think that you couldn't get a cassette player that small not too long ago and now you got a 500 line res camera! Incredible.

[landrover]

Hi,

Segmenting the output myself is exactly what I will do if necessary. But if DV Avi´s don´t have a 4 GB limit anymore, it would save me the hassle. Do you know if there is a limit or not?

regards

landrover

Now is this thread about correcting shaky camera work or about a T.B.C. plugin?

[BrianP]

Originally posted by landrover
Are we talking about artificially compensating unwanted movement of the camera ...

Yes. 8mm video shot handheld on an old Sony camcorder. Makes the camera moves on NYPD Blue look languid.

[hippie91]

you shouldn't have that problem with ntfs... at least i haven't

[Flying dutchman]

Checkout "Aist MovieDV 4".

It is a powerful DV video editing program with full VCD/SVCD/DVD creation support AND it has a motion-compensation plugin. It costs only around $50.