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After all the big updates to DSLRs this year, it seems they are still the only choice for filmmakers on a budget. And it seems none of the manufacturers have done anything to help the distortion (also known as skew or temporal aliasing) from the rolling shutter.
So, since it looks like it’s here to stay, I decided to research what all the new post-production software is doing to fix it and how you can get rid of the rolling shutter skew with what’s out there. Here is what I’ve found.
Adobe After Effects CC 2014
After Effects CS5 can still fix the rolling shutter distortion pretty well with the Warp Stabilizer; however, CS 6 now comes in stock with a rolling shutter plugin.
Here are a few other solutions I’ve seen.
Final Cut Pro X
If you think Final Cut X is excellent, then that’s good for you. It has a nice built-in Rolling Shutter plugin. It works decently, but not as well as After Effects.
Here is a clip from Casey Baker, who does a pretty good job explaining rolling shutters and how to fix them with Final Cut Pro X.
iMovie
Philip Bloom shows you how to do it here with iMovie.
Foundry Plugin
Foundry seems to have a ridiculously priced plugin. Still, you can check it out on their website: http://www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/rollingshutter. It’s 400 USD or something. I might as well spend a few more bucks and get After Effects, so I probably wouldn’t bother even looking at that.
After Effects CS5 Warp Image Stabilizer
If you don’t have AE CS6 yet, you can always use the warp image stabilizer. Check it out, it’s not that easy but effective.
Now, which one is the best? After everything I’ve seen here, it looks like After Effects CS6 is the winner.
Check out this video here to see a comparison between AE CS5 and FCPX
In this video, he’s only using Adobe After Effects CS5 with the warp stabilizer. So, I will assume that CS6 will achieve similar and faster results.
I also recently saw that Adobe Premiere CS6 has a built-in plugin for this, but I’ve yet to see it or test it.
Hopefully, you can find an adequate cure for your Rolling Shutter issues with one of these solutions. I like After Effects, but if you’re only dealing with simple pans, FCPX or iMovie will probably do the trick.
So there you have it: how to fix the distortion from the rolling shutter skew with the latest technology.
If you know of other techniques, feel free to share them in a comment.
