Digital Image Stabilization

26th March 2004

Hello,

I have a series of 2k scans shot on a steady-tested Arri 435. About 20k of the frames have a jitter that I need to remove. Basically the frames move left to right about 1 pixel every frame. Does anyone have any knowledge of a software package that can remove this? Removing this by hand will no doubt be tedious!

Thanks,

Jonas Tankersley
Director Interactive Design
iPIX

Jonas Tankersley wrote :

>I have a series of 2k scans shot on a steady-tested Arri 435. About 20k >of the frames have a "jitter" that I need to remove.

MTI's Correct software can do this -- not cheap but you could go to a facility that has it. Was the problem the camera or the scanner? Were they scanned on a pin-registered cine scanner (Imagica, Oxberry, etc.)
or on a telecine?

Jeff Kreines

What about using a Flame and his image stabilization system?

Even combustion can do it, if you track a single pixel.

Pol Turrents
Spanish DP

I'm pretty certain the problem was in the camera. It was scanned on a spirit datacine at Crawford in Atlanta and they reviewed the footage and saw that it is on the film.

Jonas Tankersley

Can combustion do this automatically or will I have to plot the point on each frame?

Thanks,

Jonas Tankersley

Jonas :

How many pixels wide is your frame?

Robert Costanza

Jonas Tankersley wrote:

>I'm pretty certain the problem was in the camera. It was scanned on a >spirit datacine at Crawford in Atlanta and they reviewed the footage and >saw that it is on the film.

I have yet to encounter a (non-pin registered) transfer facility that has the ability to examine film and to be able to accurately say it was camera registration.

You might be able to save yourself a lot of grief and expense if you have a portion of the footage in question re-transferred at such a facility for comparison. You might be pleasantly surprised.

I refer you to Jeff Kreines question: Were they scanned on a pin-registered cine scanner (Imagica, Oxberry, etc.) or on a telecine?

Visible side to side motion is uncommon as a registration problem, but not unknown in transfers.

Brian Heller
IA 600 DP

>Can combustion do this automatically or will I have to plot the point on >each frame?

If you have a pixel which has to be steady, simply use the tracker and stabilization option under the operators menu, and combustion will move the frame to keep the pixel in the same place. The problem came if there are movements on the image and you don't have any (supposed) static pixel BTW It's a totally automated process.

Pol Turrents
Spanish DP

Brian Heller wrote:

>Visible side to side motion is uncommon as a registration problem, but >not unknown in transfers.

Yes. The Spirit's edge guide is not very long, and cyclical error of a couple of pixels (in 2K or HD) is probably considered well within spec.

I'd rescan it on a real scanner. If you're doing precision efx work, that's the only way. Not sure anyone in Atlanta does this, but lots of places in LA do...

Jeff Kreines

Jonas Tankersley wrote :

>I have a series of 2k scans shot on a steady-tested Arri 435. About 20k >of the frames have a "jitter" that I need to remove. Basically the frames >move left to right about 1 pixel every frame.

I reckon you could do this with Virtual dub with a little script. http://www.virtualdub.org

Cheers

Martin Heffels

filmmaker/DP/editor/certified cable tester
Sydney, Australia

Jeff,

Do you have any recommendations for an efx scanner house in LA?

Also, I think the mathtech guys are going to come through for me - they were able to stabilize a sample.

Jonas Tankersley

Ps - Thanks everyone for the input - very helpful!!