YouTube video stabilizer distortion - extreme version

<p>YouTube has some interesting simple editing features, including a stabilizer. I tried it recently on an extremely shaky video - I mean unwatchably shaky. The results were interesting - reminiscent of those 1960s-early '70s rock music videos with over the top cheesy effects.</p>

<p>I'd read a few reports of distortion from YouTube's stabilizer but the results didn't seem so bad to me - probably because the folks shooting the videos have much steadier hands than mine. I may have set a new record for trippiest distortion ever from YouTube's video stabilizing editor.</p>

<p>These videos are mostly of local musicians playing at Hip Pocket Theatre, a favorite outdoor theater on the west side of Fort Worth. Normally I'll use the 10-30/3.5-5.6 VR lens on the Nikon 1, since I don't usually tote a tripod. But on one night this summer I tried the non-stabilized 50/1.8D AF Nikkor via the Fotodiox adapter. Big mistake for a few reasons:</p>

<ul>

<li>It's not stabilized. I really need in-body VR for my faster primes and zooms. Nikon's 1 System VR lenses are all slowpoke variable aperture zooms.</li>

<li>50mm was way too much lens on a 2.7x factor body. I could get close enough to the stage that I needed only my 10-30 VR or, at most, my 24/2.5 Tamron Adaptall as a faster lens.</li>

<li>To shoot around and between equipment piled up stage-side I had to lift the camera awkwardly, in some places with only one supporting hand. That contributed to an original video that was unwatchably shaky. A tripod wouldn't have helped unless it was tall enough to clear the clutter.</li>

</ul>

<p>If you jump to the <a href="http://youtu.be/L6vHIhBaxck?t=3m35s"><strong>3:35 mark of this video</strong></a> you'll see sci-fi movie-like time/space distortions, just before entering the wormhole. The mic stand in particular seems ready to liquefy.</p>

<p>BTW, that's my friend Bruce Payne performing "Marie" by Townes Van Zandt, along with Preston Dunlap on guitar and Jack Harris on drums. Really nice version of that melancholy song.</p>

<p>And in this video (cover of Old 97's "Barrier Reef") you can see some odd distortions as Preston's head appears to morph. But the best bit is when the stabilizer tries to follow Jack's drumming, <a href="http://youtu.be/9R91lp8JOww?t=2m50s"><strong>around the 2:50 mark</strong></a>.</p>

<p>YouTube's stabilizer also affects text. So next time I need the stabilizer I'll use only straightforward titles - no zooms, hinged drops, etc.</p>

<p>If you opt for YouTube's stabilizer, prepare for a long wait. It took over an hour per 3-5 minute 720p video to produce the stabilized versions. Apparently the effect can be reversed if desired, but I'll leave these videos as-is since the originals really were difficult to watch due to the extreme shakiness. While the stabilizer distortion is hallucinatory, it's not nearly as annoying as the unstabilized version.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Lex, I've not tried the YouTube shake reduction, but you can get rid of that rolling shutter jelly effect with most modern software - I know Sony Vegas and Aftereffects can do it.</p>

<p>The processing time is understandable. It has to shift frame-by-frame and align them against a reference frame then render it without unnecessary cropping.</p>

<p>Here's a short footage that shows some extreme correction necessary because the automated telescope mount can't slew fast enough:<br>

<a href="

<p>Another showing uncorrected shaky footage, probably uncorrectable:<br>

<a href="

<br>

If you just want to take care of the camera shake and can live with the jelly effect, Deshaker is free and works pretty well:<br>

<a href="http://www.guthspot.se/video/deshaker.htm">http://www.guthspot.se/video/deshaker.htm</a> </p>

<p>Thanks, Mike, I'll check out those links. I'm still pretty new to digital video. Not sure yet how involved I want to get with it.</p>

<p>Lupo, those weird effects reminded me of the first time I tried Chimay blue, which might have been at the Greenville back in the 1980s. I had no idea how potent it was until after the third bottle in an hour.</p>