iMovie Tutorial to Fix Shaky Video
Video surveillance is one of the most crucial activities for any reputable private investigator and it is also one of the most important tools of the trade. The private investigator must employ appropriate work techniques, excellent work ethics, best equipment and most of all take high quality video clips. Video clips of a certain event can either make or break a case. To get outstanding surveillance footage, a private investigator must have access to good equipment and understand video surveillance and filming techniques such as video editing and post production. While video surveillance is usually conducted from a distance, there is a need to get as much high quality video footage as possible. If that didn’t work out like you planned, you may need this iMovie tutorial to fix shaky video.
Amateurish, blurry, low quality and shaky videos should never be submitted to court by any self-respecting professional P.I. In years past, equipment was costly and bulky. The recent emergence of smart phones can now be used to document important events casually without raising any suspicion. However, even with the incredible technology available in these devices you may still find some shaky and bumpy video clips; but there’s a solution that could remake your clip into a stable high quality recording – iMovie.
iMovie is video editing software by Apple made for use by people who can’t spend three years learning to edit videos. It works only on iOS and Mac devices. iMovie has been a favorite for many novice users who want good results without the fuss of learning a professional editing tool. Here is a step by step iMovie tutorial on fixing shaky or jittery videos.
iMovie Tutorial Part 1: Four main ways to analyze for stabilization on Mac
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Click the “After Import Analyze for Stabilization” button in the import box. This allows iMovie to scan all clips being imported. This option works best if you have a lot of videos to analyze.
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Otherwise, select a single clip in the Event Browser and then select File – Analyze Video – Stabilization. This analyzes the entire clip even if you’ve selected just a part of it.
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Alternately you can choose to analyze a section of your clip. Select a single section of your clip by selecting the desired clip in the Project Browser and then select File – Analyze video – Stabilization. iMovie does not scan the whole clip in the Event Browser. However, if more video from the same clip is added, iMovie may analyze it again and again.
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Double-clicking a clip brings up the Clip Inspector. Click the Analyze Entire Clip if it is in the Event Browser. If the selected clip is in the Project Browser, then click the Stabilization: Smooth Clip Motion box.
iMovie Tutorial Part 2: How does iMovie stabilize Videos?
The time taken in the stabilization process depends on the video length. What really happens is that iMovie zooms and crops the video so that it can focus solely on the primary theme of the video and keep it centered. The amount of stabilization applied in a particular video is in direct proportion to the amount of zoom and cropping applied by the iMovie software.
Any recorded video is usually made up of an array of pictures known as frames. iMovie thus becomes the best option when it comes to analyzing every single frame in the video, and once it finds a camera motion that went off during recording, it rotates the video clips to remove the bumps.
To fix a shaky video, iMovie analyzes each and every picture in the video and compares the edited picture with the one nearby so as to recognize the changes realized in every angle. When stabilization is completed, iMovie slides the video clip to iron out the jitters and other bumps.
There’s an indicator in the iMovie software that shows when work is in progress. Once completed, a check mark is displayed in the “Stabilize Shaky Video” box. The amount of stabilization applied to the video footage is also displayed.
iMovie Tutorial Part 3: Don’t forget these tips
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Preview your stabilized clip so as to confirm whether the quality of the video is as desired. Click the Play button in the viewer once the Playback options are displayed.
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If the quality desired is not yet attained, apply more stabilization by adjusting the “Stabilize Shaky Video” slider.
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Note that when the analyzed video is played from the Event Browser, it plays it in its original recorded state without smoothing out the clip motion. Stabilization will be noticeable only when the video is played in the project browser.
Even the most professional private eye has a bad day every now and then. Hopefully these tips will help you correct those shaky, unstable videos to provide your client with the results they need.
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