How to Edit Shakiness out of a Video With iMovie

Your action-packed video can gain some smoothness with image stabilization.

You've shot some one-of-a-kind footage -- so what if it's shaky. With the use of the iMovie program from 2009 or later, you can perform image stabilization on the video, giving your once-bumpy footage a smooth, new look. Once you import your footage into iMovie, perform two functions to take out the shakiness.

Instructions

1. Open the movie you want to work with in iMovie.

2. Highlight the portion of the video you want to image stabilize. To do this, click on the beginning of the clip with your mouse and drag the yellow circle around the portion of the clip you want to use.

3. Click "File," followed by "Analyze Image for Stabilization." Wait for the clip to be analyzed. Depending on the length of the clip, this could take a long time.

4. Hover your mouse over the clip when it's done analyzing. Click on the flower-shaped icon that appears in the bottom-left corner of the clip window. Select "Clip Adjustments."

5. Click on the box next to "Stabilization" and click "Done." Your clip should now appear with less shaking when you play it.

References

• MacWorld; iMovie '09 image stabilization; Jason Snell; January 2009