How to Stabilize Footage in Premiere Pro [Tutorial]
- Last updated on 2024-12-30
Table Of Content
Introduction
No matter how advanced your camera is or how professional you are, video shake is a very common issue in recorded video footage. Any shaky footage can be turned into stabilized footage using the advanced software's shake stabilization algorithm, whether due to a camera shake, handshake, sudden moving object, or camera malfunction. Let's get a detailed guide on how to stabilize footage with the top four methods.
Reasons for Shaky Footage
Before getting into the solution to stabilize footage, you should glance at the main cause of the shaky video. This will help you figure out the most appropriate method to fix your shaky video perfectly and according to specifications.
- Camera shake or malfunction
- Shaky hands
- Lightweight or small devices such as smartphones, camcorders, action cams, etc
- Using a handheld recording device or sports camera
- Using motion tracking
- Shooting from moving car, boat, etc
- Filming in unusual conditions like underwater, 360° video, etc
- Shooting while zooming in or out
What is Video Stabilization
Video Shake Stabilization is an algorithm used in various high-end cameras, devices, or software to enhance the video quality while recording the footage or already recorded footage. There are two types of shake stabilization technologies used during the recording of any video footage:
Electronic Image Stabilization(EIS): It works digitally and is a software algorithm used to stabilize video footage during shooting while adjusting the image within the frame.
Optical Image Stabilization(OIS): Unlike EIS, OIS stabilizes movement while adjusting camera lenses physically.
However, in addition to these two options to stabilize footage while recording the video, you can also use highly advanced software to stabilize any shaky footage that is already recorded, including shakes caused by camera juggling, handshakes, etc., and get smooth and clear footage for seamless streaming.
Why Stabilize Footage: Key Advantages
Using high-end video stabilization software, you can remove any jitters, blurs, or shakes from the video footage. The software zoomed in on the video footage, analyzed the movement automatically, and fixed the shake by zooming in the opposite direction of the movement. These tools stabilize shakes without any data loss. So, let's see what the benefits of shake stabilization are.
- Enhance the video quality without losing the original data
- Get smooth, clear & sharp images to enjoy
- Ensure seamless streaming on any large-screen device
- Remove jitters, blurs, dots & other visual imperfections while stabilizing the shake
- Improve your video streaming experience
- Retrieve any shaky video & make it shareable & presentable on any platform
How to Stabilize Footage in Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is a very powerful and prominent name in the video shake stabilization software list. With the Warp Stabilizer effect, this tool can stabilize any camera shake within a few clicks. It also excels your shake stabilizing experience with precision and perfection with fine-tuning. Various factors and parameter adjustment options include positions, scale, rotation, perspective, subspace warp, etc.
Stabilize Footage Premiere Pro
Drag your shaky video file to the main interface of Adobe Premiere Pro > select the uploaded video clip in the timeline > move to the click Distort > select Warp Stabilizer > add this effect to the timeline by double-clicking or dragging it to the video clip on the timeline.
The warp stabilizer will automatically analyze the video clip. To reduce shake stabilization time, you can split the video into parts to stabilize the particular shaky part. For splitting video, you can use the keyboard shortcuts Command+K on Windows and Control+K on Mac.
After finishing the analysis, the tool will show you a banner to tell you that your analysis and shake stabilization process is over. You can choose the preview option to check the edited File.
For further adjustment, you can select the settings of "Stabilize Only" under the Framing Menu. You can also go to "Advanced Settings" to select "Smoothness" or "Crop Less Smooth More Function."
Pros
Two dedicated advanced settings, "Smoothness" or "Crop Less Smooth More Function".
The degree of Stabilization can be adjusted using a slider.
The default "Smooth Motion" option is to retain the original camera movement.
"No Motion" option to remove all types of camera motion.
Cons
This program is not easy to use for beginners.
It requires high-end computer specifications to process any function.
UniFab Video Stabilizer AI: A Smarter Alternative
With UniFab Video Stabilizer AI, you don't need any technical skill, editing knowledge, or prior experience because of the AI automation support. While using the AI algorithm, UniFab automatically analyzes the motion trajectory and settles the shake of the footage automatically. So, to make the most out of this software, you must know the most attractive functions of it.
Attractive Features of UniFab
Three Modes: UniFab offers three dedicated modes to stabilize footage with different levels and intensities of shaking. Mild Mode is for slight shaking, Moderate Mode is for significant shaking, and Strong Mode is for severe shaking. If you are clueless about which Mode to choose, go to "Moderate Mode."
Fix Handheld device shake: This tool can handle any video shake caused by shooting while traveling, capturing running cats, or filming while dancing or running.
Stabilized Action camera shot: It can stabilize footage caused by shooting with any action camera like drones, DJI Pocket 2, GoPros, etc. While removing jitter, shaking, or any other unwanted camera movement, UniFab gives you smooth and crisp footage to stream.
Stable Zoomed Footage: Stable shake from zoomed-in or zoomed-out video footage. It can stabilize footage of any wildlife video, transportation footage, or concert/ stage recordings.
Significant video editing: UniFab offers the most useful video editing functions, like cropping, trimming, etc., to make any footage look more attractive and appealing without losing any data.
Customizable Output Settings: You can adjust codec, bitrate, resolution, and more to meet your specific needs.
How to Stabilize Shaky Footage Using UniFab
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Open UniFab. Go to the left side panel to select "Stabilizer." > Tab on the "+" icon or drag and drop to add the video file for shake stabilization > select the level of shake reduction: Mild, Moderate, Strong.
For other customization, select "Settings" > choose multiple default custom settings such as codec, bitrate, frame rate, etc. If you are clueless about what to choose, it is recommended that you select the default values of all the parameters.
Afterward, select "Start" to initiate the shake stabilization process for your uploaded video.
Conclusion
You now have a detailed guide on how to stabilize footage in Premiere Pro. Premiere Pro offers great tools for stabilizing footage but can be complicated for beginners. For a simpler, automated solution that delivers excellent results without the need for professional skills, UniFab Video Stabilizer AI is the perfect choice.
FAQs
What is the stabilize effect called in Premiere Pro?
The stabilize effect in Premiere Pro is called "Warp Stabilizer." It helps smooth out shaky footage and stabilize video by analyzing the motion and compensating for unwanted camera movement.
Which is better for stabilizing video: Premiere Pro or After Effects?
Premiere Pro is quicker and easier for basic stabilization, while After Effects provides more control for advanced adjustments. For a deeper comparison, check out this article: After Effects vs Premiere Pro.
What video stabilization method is best, during or post - recording?
You can use a high-end camera or device with built-in video stabilization technique that specially works through lense adjustment and therefore sometimes you can't use some recording mode and full resolution mode. So, you will end up with stabilized footage in compromised resolution.
However, using video footage stabilizing software like UniFab Video Stabilizer AI can fix the shakiness of a high-resolution video. So, it's recommended to use stabilization software to reduce shakiness from any video with any resolution instead of using the built-in camera stabilization function with compromised resolution.
What is the best video stabilization software?
UniFab Video Stabilizer AI is one of the most popular video stabilization software. It is versatile and flexible, handling any kind of video shake caused by anything with seamless perfection and precision.