MEP Image stabilization doesn't seem to work well

lance.mefford wrote on 10/15/2015, 1:17 AM

How do I increase the level of stabilization? We use a lot of drone footage and are having a hard time getting smooth video on windy days. I see a lot of programs and add-ons for After Effects that seem to stabilize very well. I would really like MEP to do the same thing.
I don't understand all the settings and what to increase/decrease to get the most stabilization.
Radius
Section for analysis (do you select small area or large)
Maximum displacement
Temporal smoothing

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 10/15/2015, 3:37 AM

Which version of MEP are you using?

If MEP2016 are you using Mercalli 2 or 4?

. . . . . drone footage and are having a hard time getting smooth video on windy days . . . . .

Unless the drone has a sophisticated active stabilised gimbal camera mount they are very susceptible to wind - many drone makers recommend not flying in winds above 15 mph / 25 kmh.

Is the camera on the drone optically or electronically stabilised?

Getting the best reults with image stabilisation depends on the image being stabilised ie:

The section for analysis needs to contain distinct areas with strong contrast/colour/edges which can be locked on to
The displacement in the source video should ideally not be more than 10% of the images smallest dimension - normally height. Otherwise, when applying stabilisation, you will get black borders appearing at the displacement extremes.
Panning or moving shots should be relatively slow
Temporal smoothing depends very much on the amount of variation and speed of the displacement in the video and does not (AFAICS) affect the actual analysis of the video - just how smooth the stabilisation displacements from frame to frame of the final result are.

HTH

John EB

Scenestealer wrote on 10/15/2015, 6:44 PM

In reference to MEP's stabilizing tool - To add to John's comments:-

1.The section for analysis needs to contain distinct areas with strong contrast/colour/edges which can be locked on to.

Generally the larger the area the better the stabilisation but the longer the analysis.

2.The displacement in the source video should ideally not be more than 10% of the images smallest dimension - normally height. Otherwise, when applying stabilisation, you will get black borders appearing at the displacement extremes.

Clicking "Suppress black borders......." should avoid this, and is sometimes necessary if there is a lot of movement, as this setting will limit the smoothing to a max of 10% of the frame dimension if not increased.

3.Panning or moving shots should be relatively slow - See 4 below

4.Temporal smoothing depends very much on the amount of variation and speed of the displacement in the video and does not (AFAICS) affect the actual analysis of the video - just how smooth the stabilisation displacements from frame to frame of the final result are.

Temporal = over time. Increasing this setting is helpful for smoothing out a sudden jerk over a greater number of frames so that the displacement is not totally removed but more gradual eg. works well to smooth out a jerky pan. As John has pointed out, it is supposed to work after the analysis stage but I find it is better to alter this at the start.

5. The "Radius" I find is optimum if set at around 20.

Cheers

Peter