Welcome
- What’s new in Motion 5.5
- What’s new in 5.4.6
- What’s new in 5.4.4
- What is Motion?
- Motion workflow
- Motion interface
- Basic components of Motion
- Using input devices
- Intro to creating projects
- Create a new project
- Open an existing project
- Search for projects from the Finder
- Bypass the Project Browser
- Create and modify project presets
- Save, autosave, and revert projects
- Intro to adding and managing content
- Intro to project playback
- Define the play range
- Project playback performance
- Intro to basic compositing
- - Modify layer opacity
- Intro to 3D compositing
- - Intro to 3D coordinates
  - Relative coordinates
- Transform layers in 3D space
- - Create 3D intersection
  - 2D and 3D group properties
- Intro to the Timeline
- Display or resize the Timing pane
- Navigate in the Timeline
- Show and modify keyframes in the Timeline
- - Intro to the Timeline ruler
  - Edit a range of frames in the Timeline
- Edit in the mini-Timeline
- Intro to behaviors
- Behaviors versus keyframes
- - Browse for behaviors
- - Intro to adjusting behaviors
  - Adjust behaviors
- Intro to keyframing
- Add keyframes
- - Add an animation path in the canvas
  - Modify animation paths
- Animate from the HUD
- - Apply keyframes to behaviors
  - Combining keyframes and behaviors
- Use the mini-curve editor
- Animate on the fly
- Simplify a keyframe curve
- Intro to Final Cut Pro templates
- - Template workflow
  - Placeholders vs. drop zones
- - Create a generator template
  - Modify a Final Cut Pro generator
- - Convert a Motion project to Final Cut Pro
  - Convert a template to another type
- Use placeholder images in templates
- Set template resolution
- Add multiple aspect ratios to templates
- Override the Final Cut Pro color space
- Where are templates saved?
- Using masks in templates
- Guidelines for better templates
- Intro to rigging
- How does rigging work?
- Build a simple rig
- Work with widgets
- Control rigs from Animation menus
- Publish rigs to Final Cut Pro
- Intro to Particles
- - Add a particle system
  - Anatomy of a particle emitter
- Create 3D particles
- Particle system timing
- Using graphics in particle systems
- Using filters and masks with particles
- Save custom particle effects
- Intro to replicators
- Replicators vs. particle systems
- - Add a replicator
  - Anatomy of a replicator
- Work with 3D replicators
- Replicator timing
- Using filters and masks with replicators
- Save custom replicators
- Intro to basic text
- Select and modify text in the canvas
- Preview and apply fonts
- Use preset text styles
- - Intro to editing text
  - Display the Text Inspector or HUD
- Convert standard text to 3D text
- Check spelling
- Find and replace text
- Using filters with text
- Intro to 3D text
- 3D text workflow
- - Add 3D text
  - Convert 2D text to 3D text
- Apply a preset 3D text style
- Move and rotate 3D text
- Add a glow or drop shadow to 3D text
- 3D text intersection
- Intro to animated text
- Apply a text behavior
- - Use the Scroll Text behavior
  - Scroll Text controls
- - Use the Text Tracking behavior
  - Text Tracking controls
- - Use the Type On behavior
  - Type On controls
- Animate individual text glyphs
- Animating 2D text in 3D space
- When to use keyframes to animate text
- Adding nontext behaviors to text
- Save a modified text behavior
- Intro to shapes, masks, and paint strokes
- - Intro to complex shapes and masks
  - Draw complex shapes and masks
- Edit fill, outline, and feathering
- Keyframe shape control points
- Convert between shapes and masks
- Using filters and masks with shapes
- Copy shape styles
- Save custom shapes and shape styles
- Intro to using generators
- Add a generator
- - Modify or animate a generator
  - Controls common to all generators
- Save a modified generator
- Intro to filters
- Browse and preview filters
- Apply or remove filters
- - Animate filter parameters with keyframes
  - Animate filters using behaviors
- Publish filter parameters to Final Cut Pro
- Using filters on alpha channels
- Filter performance
- Save custom filters
- Intro to color keying
- - Intro to the Luma Keyer filter
  - Luma Keyer filter controls
- Intro to 3D objects
- Add a 3D object
- Move and rotate a 3D object
- Reposition a 3D object’s anchor point
- Exchange a 3D object file
- 3D object intersection and layer order
- - Intro to 3D object timing
  - Modify 3D object timing in Motion
- Using cameras and lights with 3D objects
- Save custom 3D objects
- Guidelines for working with 3D objects
- Working with imported 3D objects
- Intro to 360-degree video
- 360-degree projects
- Create 360-degree projects
- Add 360-degree video to a project
- - View 360-degree projects
  - View 360-degree video in a VR headset
- - Intro to graphics in 360-degree projects
  - Use graphics in 360-degree projects
- Create a tiny planet effect
- Reorient 360-degree media
- Creating 360-degree templates for Final Cut Pro
- 360-degree-aware filters and generators
- Export and share 360-degree projects
- Guidelines for better 360-degree projects
- Intro to tracking
- How does motion tracking work?
- Motion tracking behavior types
- Analyze motion in a clip
- Stabilize a shaky clip
- Unstabilize a clip
- Use a range of frames for analysis
- Load existing tracking data
- Track shapes, masks, and paint strokes
- Track a filter’s position parameter
- Adjust onscreen trackers
- Save tracks to the Library
- Intro to audio
- View audio files
- Add audio files
- Play audio files
- Intro to exporting projects
- Export a QuickTime movie
- Export audio only
- Export a still image
- Export an image sequence
- Export to Apple devices
- Export to email
- Export using Compressor
- Create share destinations
- Render settings
- View the status of shared items
- Share notifications
- Intro to preferences and shortcuts
- Touch Bar shortcuts
- Move assets to another computer
- Work with GPUs
Glossary
Copyright

Stabilize controls in Motion

The Stabilize behavior uses a sophisticated motion analysis to track every pixel from one frame to the next to smooth shaky motion in a video clip or image sequence. Unlike the Match Move and Analyze Motion behaviors, the Stabilize behavior does not use onscreen trackers to analyze motion. However, if the result of the analysis requires additional correction, you can manually add onscreen trackers to noncontiguous segments of the clip. For example, if an accidental camera bump affects frames 350 to 380, you can add a tracker to analyze that portion of the clip. The data recorded from the analysis is added to the data recorded by default analysis to further smooth the clip.

In addition to considering horizontal, vertical, or horizontal and vertical movement in the clip, the Stabilize behavior looks at position, scale, and rotation. The Stabilize behavior can only be applied to footage objects in your project (QuickTime movies or image sequences).

For information on using the Stabilize behavior, see Stabilize a shaky clip in Motion.

After you apply a Stabilize behavior to a clip or image sequence, the Behaviors Inspector displays the following adjustable controls:

Source: A source well to designate the source object supplying the tracking data used to stabilize the clip. By default, the clip you apply the Stabilize behavior to appears in this well, ready to be analyzed. However, you can manually drag a different source object into the well—another Stabilize behavior in your project or even a different footage object in your project. To clear a Source well, drag the thumbnail away from the well and release the mouse button.
Action pop-up menu: A pop-up menu (with a gear icon) to manually assign tracking data (from other tracking behaviors in your project).
Movement-Analyze: A button to activate a motion-tracking analysis. When you click Analyze, a status window appears and displays the tracking progress. To stop the analysis, click the Stop button in the status window or press Esc.
When using the Stabilize behavior (without trackers), the track begins at the start of the clip, rather than the current playhead position.
Quality: A pop-up menu to define the level of detail in the motion analysis. There are two options:
- Faster: Allows for a faster operation, but motion analysis is less detailed.
- Better: Provides a more detailed analysis, but is slower. This is the recommended option when the clip contains rotation.
Track Region: A checkbox that, when selected, lets you manually define an area in the frame to be analyzed. A red overlay appears in the canvas. The area outside this overlay is ignored by the analysis. The track region’s onscreen controls are similar to a shape’s onscreen controls, allowing you to modify the size, shape, and position of the track region.
For more information on setting a track region, see Stabilize a shaky clip in Motion.
Method: A pop-up menu to define how the stabilization is applied to the clip. There are two options:
- Stabilize: Attempts to lock the motion of the principal subject in the shot to eliminate motion. As a result, the background appears to move around the subject being tracked.
- Smooth: Smooths the apparent motion of the camera, while allowing the general movement in the frame to proceed. Use this method to remove camera jitter.
Translation Smooth: A slider (available when Method is set to Smooth) to smooth motion in the X and Y dimensions.
Rotation Smooth: A slider (available when Method is set to Smooth) to smooth image rotation.
Scale Smooth: A slider (available when Method is set to Smooth) to smooth an uneven zoom.
Note: Don’t set the Scale Smooth value above 0 unless you’re positive the clip is being zoomed.
Borders: A pop-up menu to set how moving border artifacts are handled. When you stabilize a clip, the resulting transformations may cause moving black borders to appear around the edges of the clip. Stabilized clips containing extreme horizontal or vertical movement (due to excessive camera shake) may result in very large black borders. There are two Borders options:
- Normal: Maintains the size of the stabilized footage. The moving black borders remain around the edges of the clip.
- Zoom: Expands the clip to fill the canvas. This prevents black borders from appearing around the edges, but scales up the stabilized clip, which may degrade image quality.
  Tip: You can also eliminate the black borders manually by adjusting the layer’s scale or Z position in the Properties pane of the Inspector.
Direction: A pop-up menu to specify the dimensions in which the recorded movement are applied—Horizontal and Vertical (X and Y), Horizontal (only X), or Vertical (only Y).
Adjust: Three buttons to set the type of transformation applied. Select any combination of the three:
- Position: Stabilization is applied to the position of the analyzed image.
- Scale: Stabilization is applied to the scale of the analyzed image.
- Rotation: Stabilization is applied to the rotation of the analyzed image.
Tracker: An Add button to add trackers to the Stabilize behavior. By default, trackers are added at the center of the canvas. You can add a maximum of two trackers to the Stabilize behavior. The first tracker you add is the Anchor tracker, used to analyze changes in X and Y position. The second tracker you add is the Rotation-Scale tracker, used to analyze changes in rotation and scale.
When you add trackers, the following occurs:
- The Track Region parameter is no longer available.
- The Reverse checkbox becomes available, allowing you to analyze a clip backwards from the playhead position (in reverse).
- The Tracker Preview, Offset Track, Auto-Zoom, Auto-Zoom Mode, Look Ahead Frames, and track list controls become available. For more information about these controls, see Match Move controls in Motion.
  Note: When another behavior is used as the source for the stabilization, you cannot add trackers to the Stabilize behavior.

Helpful?

Motion User Guide

Stabilize controls in Motion