Tracking and copying handheld footage.

[nummerzes]

Is there a way (and if yes, how?) to track the shaky movements in handheld filmed footage and apply that exact shaking to a different (steady) shot in Final Cut Studio 2?

Thanks.

 

[turkeyjerky]

I do not yet have FCS2 so I won't be able to tell you exactly how, but I'm fairly certain it can be done with the tracker in Motion. I would imagine it would be as simple as tracking the shot, then applying that data to another one in the same project file.

 

[BenB]

FCP 6 has an excellent steady cam filter called "SmoothCam" in the Video filters bin. Motion has a stead cam function that is a tad more sophisticated. It is in the Add Behavior section, Motion Tracking > Stabilize. If you're not using FCS 2, you'll need to use Motion's system. If you are in FCS 2, try FCP's SmoothCam first. Either way, it takes time for the video clip to analyze, so don't be in a hurry.

 

[turkeyjerky]

I think what he's saying isn't that he wants to stabilize footage, but to apply the same shaky movement from handheld clip to another one.

 

[BenB]

Oh, tons of ways to do that, easy! I'd get Nattress or CHV plugins to do it. There are film effect plugins that simulate old worn our film. Use one, turn everything off, except the shaking variable. Lots of ways to do that.

If you want to track the shaking exactly, you can, I believe. But you'd need to use Motion or Shake. You simply place a tracking on something in the frame, attach it to a matte that covers the whole frame, copy and paste it to a new clip. It'd take some experimenting, but it could be done.

If you're trying to make something shake along with a clip that is superimposed over that clip, the same tracking methods apply. To detailed to go into in a forum post, but it's possible, once you learn one of those two apps.