Can a wavy/Jell-O video be stabilized?

[SachseSkyScenes]

I recently went on a trip to Colorado. I captured a lot of amazing footage. Some footage came out as expected. Some started having some weird wavy actions in the video.

This is a 1.6GB file on DropBox:

Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life

www.dropbox.com

Does anyone have suggestions if this video can be saved? I have several that have the same weird waving effect I would like to salvage if possible. I use Adobe Premiere Pro and have tried warp stabilizer. Either I haven't a clue on what I think I should be doing, or it's not working for me to smooth this out. I have even tried the rolling shutter fix in Adobe Premiere Pro without a positive result.

Suggestions or directions are welcome - thank you.

 

[herein2021]

I recently went on a trip to Colorado. I captured a lot of amazing footage. Some footage came out as expected. Some started having some weird wavy actions in the video.

This is a 1.6GB file on DropBox:

Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life

www.dropbox.com

Does anyone have suggestions if this video can be saved? I have several that have the same weird waving effect I would like to salvage if possible. I use Adobe Premiere Pro and have tried warp stabilizer. Either I haven't a clue on what I think I should be doing, or it's not working for me to smooth this out. I have even tried the rolling shutter fix in Adobe Premiere Pro without a positive result.

Suggestions or directions are welcome - thank you.

What you are seeing is rolling shutter distortion...very difficult to fix after the fact if it can be fixed at all. Since you use Adobe Premier this article is going to be your best bet or you may be able to buy a 3rd party plugin that may get you better results but I would not count on it. I haven't seen rolling shutter that bad from a drone in years. This is caused by the gimbal not properly dampening the vibrations from the props and motors. This was a common problem in the earlier drones but not so common in modern drones.

If I were you, I'd check the bushings between the mount and the gimbal to make sure none of them are damaged and the props to ensure they are not damaged as well. The only real way to fix this issue is to prevent it to begin with. One way you can slightly improve it if you shot at 60FPS is to try slowing down the footage to 30FPS

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

yeah, that doesn't look so good; sorry to see beautiful footage come out that way from an autel drone. is all of your footage that way? sad to see shot ruined that way, I had a similar issue from a trip I took this summer but not a bad. whenever I panned too quickly I got some blur but I'm working on fixing a lot of it. will learn for next time. surprised to see this happen when just slowly ascending and basically just....recording. hopefully you can get back out to Colorado (maybe not for the fall colors) and re-take this, where exactly in Colorado? I plan my trip again for next summer and by then I hope to be able to get better shots in a lot of the same places.

 

[SachseSkyScenes]

Awesome- thanks for the reply.

 

[SachseSkyScenes]

yeah, that doesn't look so good; sorry to see beautiful footage come out that way from an autel drone. is all of your footage that way? sad to see shot ruined that way, I had a similar issue from a trip I took this summer but not a bad. whenever I panned too quickly I got some blur but I'm working on fixing a lot of it. will learn for next time. surprised to see this happen when just slowly ascending and basically just....recording. hopefully you can get back out to Colorado (maybe not for the fall colors) and re-take this, where exactly in Colorado? I plan my trip again for next summer and by then I hope to be able to get better shots in a lot of the same places.

I have some footage where the drone was flawless. Some footage starts out shaky and ends up smooth or useable. Some are more wavy, Weird stuff tbh.

I got some good stuff though that works.

Autel had just replaced the camera. I did the IMU, Compass, and gimbal calibrations as well in Colorado.

I’ll get back to Colorado next year and do it again.

 

[jcommstudios]

I recently went on a trip to Colorado. I captured a lot of amazing footage. Some footage came out as expected. Some started having some weird wavy actions in the video.

This is a 1.6GB file on DropBox:

Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life

www.dropbox.com

Does anyone have suggestions if this video can be saved? I have several that have the same weird waving effect I would like to salvage if possible. I use Adobe Premiere Pro and have tried warp stabilizer. Either I haven't a clue on what I think I should be doing, or it's not working for me to smooth this out. I have even tried the rolling shutter fix in Adobe Premiere Pro without a positive result.

Suggestions or directions are welcome - thank you.

@SachseSkyScenes I have dealt with jello as well. I have a stabilizer, the Mercalli V4, that works most of the time. It has a setting for rolling shutter correction. It is a stand alone program but they also have it as a plug-in for Premiere. There is a free trial version of version 5. Here is a link. Mercalli V5 SAL

 

[SachseSkyScenes]

@SachseSkyScenes I have dealt with jello as well. I have a stabilizer, the Mercalli V4, that works most of the time. It has a setting for rolling shutter correction. It is a stand alone program but they also have it as a plug-in for Premiere. There is a free trial version of version 5. Here is a link. Mercalli V5 SAL

Much appreciated - ill give the trial a shot and see if it corrects. If so, I know a plugin I'll be purchasing because I have many beautiful shots messed up due to this.

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

Much appreciated - ill give the trial a shot and see if it corrects. If so, I know a plugin I'll be purchasing because I have many beautiful shots messed up due to this.

im going to check it out as well....

 

[jcommstudios]

Much appreciated - ill give the trial a shot and see if it corrects. If so, I know a plugin I'll be purchasing because I have many beautiful shots messed up due to this.

@SachseSkyScenes Make sure you dig in and try various settings. I've used this since V2 (2016) and it has saved me a few times. V4 has worked well as a stand alone regardless of frame rate. I just run problematic scenes at 4K in the highest output setting.
If you get the plugin it will only work with footage that is the same frame rate of the program you set up. Meaning if you set your project at 29.97 the plug in will not work with 60fps footage. You would need to convert it to 29.97 before using it or shoot at 29,97.

 

[herein2021]

@SachseSkyScenes Make sure you dig in and try various settings. I've used this since V2 (2016) and it has saved me a few times. V4 has worked well as a stand alone regardless of frame rate. I just run problematic scenes at 4K in the highest output setting.
If you get the plugin it will only work with footage that is the same frame rate of the program you set up. Meaning if you set your project at 29.97 the plug in will not work with 60fps footage. You would need to convert it to 29.97 before using it or shoot at 29,97.

I tried Mercalli back in V2 as well and never got good results with it. It would improve the footage somewhat but there were still too many artifacts to me for me to use it. I'll be curious to see how well V4 works for the people having these issues.

As I discovered many years ago...an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.....if your drone has rolling shutter issues that bad then something is wrong that should be fixed before filming. The number one cause that I found was bad bushings between the gimbal and the drone, or damaged props; a hard landing, crash, collision, etc. could cause damage to the props, gimbal, or bushings that is not visible to the human eye.

If the drone is doing this and you just purchased it, I would send it back immediately; otherwise you will always be stuck trying to fix a problem that shouldn't have happened in the first place. I never get one hint of rolling shutter even in 20MPH winds with my EVO II, P4, or my recent Mavic Pro. Even the DJI Air 2 doesn't have this problem.

 

[jcommstudios]

I tried Mercalli back in V2 as well and never got good results with it. It would improve the footage somewhat but there were still too many artifacts to me for me to use it. I'll be curious to see how well V4 works for the people having these issues.

As I discovered many years ago...an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.....if your drone has rolling shutter issues that bad then something is wrong that should be fixed before filming. The number one cause that I found was bad bushings between the gimbal and the drone, or damaged props; a hard landing, crash, collision, etc. could cause damage to the props, gimbal, or bushings that is not visible to the human eye.

If the drone is doing this and you just purchased it, I would send it back immediately; otherwise you will always be stuck trying to fix a problem that shouldn't have happened in the first place. I never get one hint of rolling shutter even in 20MPH winds with my EVO II, P4, or my recent Mavic Pro. Even the DJI Air 2 doesn't have this problem.

@herein2021 Rolling shutter is just a phenomena that happens from time to time with CMOS sensor cameras. The V2 was what it was in 2016. The V4 and V5 are much improved over the early version especially the standalone version. I've used it on footage that needed stabilization with 1" CMOS cameras other than drones and the outcome has been good. I agree if it is something that is present all of the time there could be something wrong with the drone. Other causes can be a faulty gimbal, turbulent wind or a slight nick in one of the props etc. What we are trying to do here is find a solution and a fix for the guys footage. You cannot prevent something that has already occurred. Hard to believe you have never experienced it if you shoot a lot with CMOS sensors.

 

[herein2021]

@herein2021 Rolling shutter is just a phenomena that happens from time to time with CMOS sensor cameras. The V2 was what it was in 2016. The V4 and V5 are much improved over the early version especially the standalone version. I've used it on footage that needed stabilization with 1" CMOS cameras other than drones and the outcome has been good. I agree if it is something that is present all of the time there could be something wrong with the drone. Other causes can be a faulty gimbal, turbulent wind or a slight nick in one of the props etc. What we are trying to do here is find a solution and a fix for the guys footage. You cannot prevent something that has already occurred. Hard to believe you have never experienced it if you shoot a lot with CMOS sensors.

Oh I am well aware of the causes and the fact that they are now trying to fix it after the fact, I am just providing tips on trying to prevent it in the future. Switching out a damaged prop or bushing is much easier to do for future footage than simply accepting that much rolling shutter distortion.

As far as it occurring in other situations for me...no, I know the causes, my cameras, and the scenarios where it could occur, and take extra precautions to prevent it for my cinema and mirrorless cameras. I also don't shoot fast action sports or other types of footage where it would be likely to occur or where I would need faster sensor readout speeds or a global shutter.

And yes, Mercalli V2 did help, but nothing I tried fixed the footage to the point to where I could deliver it to paying clients. These days I simply do not have that problem from any of my drones regardless of wind/turbulence which is why I am recommending that they check their gimbal and props to try to prevent it in the future.

 

[SachseSkyScenes]

Oh I am well aware of the causes and the fact that they are now trying to fix it after the fact, I am just providing tips on trying to prevent it in the future. Switching out a damaged prop or bushing is much easier to do for future footage than simply accepting that much rolling shutter distortion.

As far as it occurring in other situations for me...no, I know the causes, my cameras, and the scenarios where it could occur, and take extra precautions to prevent it for my cinema and mirrorless cameras. I also don't shoot fast action sports or other types of footage where it would be likely to occur or where I would need faster sensor readout speeds or a global shutter.

And yes, Mercalli V2 did help, but nothing I tried fixed the footage to the point to where I could deliver it to paying clients. These days I simply do not have that problem from any of my drones regardless of wind/turbulence which is why I am recommending that they check their gimbal and props to try to prevent it in the future.

I believe it could have been avoided for sure. However, when I didnt realize this was occurring on previous days as well, I didnt realize I was heading for a day full of these rolling shutter issues. Autel had just replaced the camera and gimbal. I have owned this drone since August 2020, with a variety of concerns, mainly tilted horizon as the most persistent concern, sometimes to the point of crazy left tilt like the camera just fell left. Receiving the drone back from Autel, I assumed it was ready for the trip to Colorado. I also have a feeling the propellers played a part here as well. I had a couple nicks on two of the propellers. I am thinking this attributed to the vibrations. What is really weird is that I would get the rolling shutter issue, stop the drone in the air, take some stills, then go back to recording the video - and the rolling shutter issue wasn't there as it was before I stopped the video recording to do the stills. Some happened in the opposite. I wasn't getting the shutter issue, then stopped to take stills - and starting it back up, the vibrations started. There was no one thing that started or stopped the vibrations. Ill be dropping on new propellers and doing the IMU, Compass, and Gimbal calibrations next time before droning in a location I cannot get back to quickly. I am trying the Mercalli V4 trial now...fingers crossed

 

[herein2021]

I believe it could have been avoided for sure. However, when I didnt realize this was occurring on previous days as well, I didnt realize I was heading for a day full of these rolling shutter issues. Autel had just replaced the camera and gimbal. I have owned this drone since August 2020, with a variety of concerns, mainly tilted horizon as the most persistent concern, sometimes to the point of crazy left tilt like the camera just fell left. Receiving the drone back from Autel, I assumed it was ready for the trip to Colorado. I also have a feeling the propellers played a part here as well. I had a couple nicks on two of the propellers. I am thinking this attributed to the vibrations. What is really weird is that I would get the rolling shutter issue, stop the drone in the air, take some stills, then go back to recording the video - and the rolling shutter issue wasn't there as it was before I stopped the video recording to do the stills. Some happened in the opposite. I wasn't getting the shutter issue, then stopped to take stills - and starting it back up, the vibrations started. There was no one thing that started or stopped the vibrations. Ill be dropping on new propellers and doing the IMU, Compass, and Gimbal calibrations next time before droning in a location I cannot get back to quickly. I am trying the Mercalli V4 trial now...fingers crossed

Bingo.....you mentioned all of the warning signs that I was looking for...recent gimbal/camera change and nicked props. There is no rhyme or reason to when the jello will occur when you have nicked props or a bad bushing; I had all the same issues with the earlier drones; one min its perfect, the next min unusable jello.

When something like a nicked prop is part of the equation there could be certain RPMs where the gimbal can dampen the vibrations but then others where it gets past the bushings; i.e. at 1000RPM it could be fine but at 2000RPM the bushings can't dampen that frequency; so if the drone suddenly starts fighting a crosswind or you accelerate, or hover the jello will come and go seemingly randomly.

I can almost guarantee you that the nicked props is causing the issue; gimbal bushings these days have improved so much that props is the much likelier suspect. Also, here's to hoping that you can salvage what you have with Mercalli.

 

[SachseSkyScenes]

@SachseSkyScenes I have dealt with jello as well. I have a stabilizer, the Mercalli V4, that works most of the time. It has a setting for rolling shutter correction. It is a stand alone program but they also have it as a plug-in for Premiere. There is a free trial version of version 5. Here is a link. Mercalli V5 SAL

So I connected with Mercalli and obtained a trial desktop version. The first pass did OK, but the footage wasn't useable still. So I tried to run the "fixed" footage through in a progression of advanced fix attempts, thinking each output would get slightly better and eventually get something useable out of the process. This did not result in anything that compelled me to make the purchase as most of the clips I tried still had the horrible wobble. Lesson learned, never fly without perfect and pristine blades, ensure everything is fully calibrated, and the gimbal is in perfect working order. I still salvaged some footage where the vibrations were not as imposing or the parts of clips where the rolling shutter wasn't too distorted, like in this video I just posted:

 

[herein2021]

So I connected with Mercalli and obtained a trial desktop version. The first pass did OK, but the footage wasn't useable still. So I tried to run the "fixed" footage through in a progression of advanced fix attempts, thinking each output would get slightly better and eventually get something useable out of the process. This did not result in anything that compelled me to make the purchase as most of the clips I tried still had the horrible wobble. Lesson learned, never fly without perfect and pristine blades, ensure everything is fully calibrated, and the gimbal is in perfect working order. I still salvaged some footage where the vibrations were not as imposing or the parts of clips where the rolling shutter wasn't too distorted, like in this video I just posted:

Sounds like Mercalli hasn't improved that much since when I tried it years ago; I had a feeling the footage was not salvageable. Back in the day there was no solution since it was the gimbal bushings themselves so I used to shoot everything in 60FPS so that I could slow down the footage by 50% to try to salvage some of the footage in between the jello.

But yes.....you have reached the right conclusion; the only real way to fix this issue is to do everything possible to keep it from happening in the first place. I use extreme care with the props, stay well away from anything that can damage them, and immediately put the gimbal protector on the gimbal once it has landed to protect the gimbal and bushings. It looks like you still got some great footage though.