Robert McIntosh has released an After Effects stabilization plug-in dubbed, ReelSteady. McIntosh’s proprietary approach to video stabilization is certainly impressive from the demos, but we haven’t had a chance to put it through its paces yet. ReelSteady was designed for drones and the GoPro, but it claims to work with any rig.
Features:
» Intuitive user interface
» Integrated into Adobe After Effects
» Advanced rolling shutter removal
» Built-in lens distortion correction
» Adjustable smoothness value
» Choose between static or dynamically animated cropped result
» Set custom output resolution
» Re-stabilize duration tool for refining problem areas
» Use any of After Effects’ built-in masking tools to guide the stabilization
» Save and load presets for all of your camera/lens combos
» Presets for GoPro cameras included
McIntosh claims that ReelSteady trumps After Effect’s built-in Warp Stabilizer, and showcases the difference in the above demo video. Warp Stabilizer can do the trick, but sometimes results in the dreaded “Jelly” effect. Even if ReelSteady performs as advertised, there could be a problem. McIntosh may have over-priced ReelSteady. Although, he probably went with the philosophy that he could always drop the price in the future, or divide the software into basic and pro versions, at 400 beans, it takes it out of the realm of the everyday user and will result in piracy. For a one-trick-pony plug-in, a price of $199 would be more reasonable, as well as make it much more accessible to casual users. Time will tell, but we salute McIntosh for the technology achievement.
In you’re interested in utilizing ReelSteady in your Final Cut Pro rig, it looks like you’ll have to wait a while. “As our user base grows, we’ll be looking to port the plug-in over to more host applications,” Robert McIntosh reveals, “but this will not happen in the very near future.”
McIntosh’s ReelSteady costs $399 and is available for preorder with access to the beta.
