Making a shot steady

[Elliot Beach]

Another things that’s quite annoying is not option to feather one side. I tried the mask shape/feather but that only seems feather top/bottom or left/right. Any plug-ins around for FCP7 that allow this? I tried Andy’s Simple Crop but the feather doesn’t work.

I managed to get the 4-point Matte method working but as I’m doing a type of wipe form one shot to the next when someone walks past the camera for example, the 4-point matte is a little tricky to do.

[Elliot Beach]

Sorry be adding more but another issue in the same group. Although Some shots with the Smoothcam filter work just fine and some have the over vibration when its trying to compensate for the footsteps, any shot that i export with the apple smoothcam is jittery with what looks like some strange interlacing of the video. Ive read other people with this problem but can seem to find an answer. If anyone knows one or somewhere on the internet that there is I really like to know of it!

[Joseph Hung]

First off, getting it right in camera is always better than a smoothcam plugin. There are going to be little things that aren’t very easy to fix, such as your footsteps problem. The computer is going to interpret footage in certain ways, and doesn’t always get it right. You can try After Effects or Motion and manually center the shot frame by frame? Or just cut the offensive part altogether and think of something else? Or just live with it?

[Ben Slocum]

I get the same thing whenever I work with DVCProHD 1080 60i footage. Try dropping the “Fast De-interlace” filter on after the smoothcam filter. And change the field to Lower (Even). I know that your footage may very well be upper field dominant but for whatever reason, this works for me. I hope it works for you too.

Ben Slocum
Production Manager
KCOY-TV