The Best of the Best Top Animation Software for All Users for 2024

The Best of the Best Top Animation Software for All Users for 2024

Charlotte Lv12

The Best of the Best: Top Animation Software for All Users

Top 8 Best Animation Maker for Beginners and Pros

author avatar

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Having plenty of free animation makers in the market, you must be in a dilemma to decide the best one for you. We believe that there is one animation creator for everyone to suit their specific needs, irrespective of your level of proficiency in animation.

Only you can figure out which one is the best animated profile picture maker for you. When you choose the right software tool for your animation work, the results will always come outstanding.

We have featured a meticulously picked list of animation maker software applications to ease off your burden. Go ahead and explore your creative streak with the best animation creator.


Part 1: Best Animation Software for Beginners

1. Maya

Price: Free for 30 days. $205/monthly. $1620/1 year. $4375/3 years

Maya is one among the leading 3D animation, simulation, modeling and rendering software application empowered with exceptional toolset. You can use it to make animation, motion graphics, environments, character creation, as well as virtual reality to name a few.

Key Features:

  • Arnold RenderView integrated with Maya enables you to experience real-time changes in scenes that include lighting, camera, or materials.
  • The Motion Graphics toolset uses instanced objects and instantly creates complex procedural effects and animations.
  • Using the MASH toolset you can add new nodes consisting of signal, curve, world, placer, etc. along with existing node updates.

Support: Win, Mac, Linux.

Maya

2. Photoshop

Price: $20.99/month.

Because of its influential drawing efficiencies Photoshop has been considered as a mighty tool for creating animations. It renders Disney-style animation due to its frame by frame animation techniques.

You can utilize the onion skinning process for incredible animation experience using the ‘Timeline’ feature (with frame by frame approach).

Key Features:

  • It supports a varied range of QuickTime video formats, image sequence formats, and color mode and bit depth for animation.
  • With the help of the Timeline panel, you can make animation frames, where the configuration of layers is represented by a single frame.
  • In Photoshop the opacity, styles, position represents the layer properties and a gradual change in them gives you the feeling of transformation or movement in animations. It results in automatic modification and addition of multiple frames in a series among two existing frames.

Support: Win, Mac.

Photoshop

3. Adobe Animate

Price: $20.99/month.

Adobe Animate is a brilliant tool to make animations with interactive vectors that you can use in games, web as well as on apps and make banners and cartoons movable. Infographics and tutorials become lively with this tool and you can share them on numerous platforms as well using mobile, computer or TV.

Key Features:

  • Use the tilt and pressure sensitive vector brushes to draw and sketch characters and with frame by frame animation make them talk, walk and blink.
  • Design and develop interfaces, start screens, game environment and player sprites to get the best interactive web-based content.
  • You can export your work to WebGL, HTML5 Canvas, Flash/Adobe AIRetc.

Support: Win, Mac.

Animate

4. Moho

Price: Free for 30 days. $399.99/lifetime

Moho is a complete animation tool dedicated to digital artists and professionals which was used to make movies like Song of the Sea and The Breadwinner (both were nominated for OSCAR).

Key Features:

  • Having smart warp, this tool enables you to shape, bend, animate, and twist assets including vectors and images and is compatible with Smart Bones.
  • Using the realistic motion blur feature you can manage the number of frames and how they blend to moving objects or characters for creating amazing results.
  • The vector Bezier handles allow you to have more control on designing and make exceptional line bends having minimal points and perfectly optimized to sync with animation.

Support: Win, Mac.

Moho

Part 2: Best Animation Software for Pros

1. Autodesk motion builder

Price: Free for 30 days. $1855/1 year. $5010/3 years

Autodesk motion builder is one of the coolest animation creators that allow 3D character animation. The highly interactive and responsive environment enables you for capturing, editing, and then playing back complicated character animations. Directors or animators, all of them love the results of Autodesk motion builder.

Key Features:

  • The real-time 3D engine builds human movements.
  • It manipulates motion capture data with production-proven tools that allow motion capture editing.
  • It can interact with other 3D applications through the interoperable FBX data exchange and software development kit.

Support: Win, Mac.

motion builder

2. Blender

Price: Free

Blender is an open source 3D animation creator available free of cost. Talk about modeling, animation, rigging, rendering, simulation, motion tracking, compositing, video editing, or game creation.

Key Features:

  • Industry standard libraries are available in the simulation tool, such as MantaFlow and bullet.
  • The modeling toolset in Blender can not only do modeling, but also does retopology, sculpting, curves as well.
  • The animation toolset enables you to synchronize sound, automates walk-cycle, edits the pose of characters, impart independent movements with Non Linear Animation as well.

Support: Win, Mac, Linux.

Blender

3. Vyond

Price: $299/1 year. $649/1 year. $999/1 year

Vyond is a flexible animation creator that customizes the animated characters with various hues of color and efficiently showcasing the diversity of their race. There are options to slide scales and offer a flexible environment for animating objects and characters alike.

Key Features:

  • Create any character around you or recreate yourself, with the amazing character creator tool.
  • For voiceover narration you just need to give a voice track and the characters can also auto-lip-sync when you give them a voice.
  • There are numerous industries and occupations that you can incorporate in your animation to keep the audience engaged.

Support: Win, Mac.

GoAnimate

4. After Effects

Price: $20.99/month

Cinematic intros, movie titles, as well as transitions can easily be created using this tool. It enables you to make it rain or start a fire, animate a character, or logo, and a lot more. It is compatible with other Adobe apps, such as Adobe Dynamic Link, Photoshop CC, Audition CC, Illustrator CC, as well as Team Projects.

Key Features:

  • Creating visual effects or motion graphics for TV, film, web, and videos is easy for designers, animators, and compositors with After Effects.
  • Using the animation presets you can slide, spin, or swipe texts for animated credits, titles, etc.
  • Cartoon, logos, or shapes your key-frames can make all of them moving with amazing background music.

Support: Win, Mac.

After Effects

Final Verdict

Apart from the best animation software for beginners mentioned here, you can make use of Wondershare Filmora to create breathtaking videos. This powerful video editing tool can help you make one of the best videos using features such as precision speed control, frame by frame preview, color tuning, noise removal, and 4K editing support etc.

author avatar

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Having plenty of free animation makers in the market, you must be in a dilemma to decide the best one for you. We believe that there is one animation creator for everyone to suit their specific needs, irrespective of your level of proficiency in animation.

Only you can figure out which one is the best animated profile picture maker for you. When you choose the right software tool for your animation work, the results will always come outstanding.

We have featured a meticulously picked list of animation maker software applications to ease off your burden. Go ahead and explore your creative streak with the best animation creator.


Part 1: Best Animation Software for Beginners

1. Maya

Price: Free for 30 days. $205/monthly. $1620/1 year. $4375/3 years

Maya is one among the leading 3D animation, simulation, modeling and rendering software application empowered with exceptional toolset. You can use it to make animation, motion graphics, environments, character creation, as well as virtual reality to name a few.

Key Features:

  • Arnold RenderView integrated with Maya enables you to experience real-time changes in scenes that include lighting, camera, or materials.
  • The Motion Graphics toolset uses instanced objects and instantly creates complex procedural effects and animations.
  • Using the MASH toolset you can add new nodes consisting of signal, curve, world, placer, etc. along with existing node updates.

Support: Win, Mac, Linux.

Maya

2. Photoshop

Price: $20.99/month.

Because of its influential drawing efficiencies Photoshop has been considered as a mighty tool for creating animations. It renders Disney-style animation due to its frame by frame animation techniques.

You can utilize the onion skinning process for incredible animation experience using the ‘Timeline’ feature (with frame by frame approach).

Key Features:

  • It supports a varied range of QuickTime video formats, image sequence formats, and color mode and bit depth for animation.
  • With the help of the Timeline panel, you can make animation frames, where the configuration of layers is represented by a single frame.
  • In Photoshop the opacity, styles, position represents the layer properties and a gradual change in them gives you the feeling of transformation or movement in animations. It results in automatic modification and addition of multiple frames in a series among two existing frames.

Support: Win, Mac.

Photoshop

3. Adobe Animate

Price: $20.99/month.

Adobe Animate is a brilliant tool to make animations with interactive vectors that you can use in games, web as well as on apps and make banners and cartoons movable. Infographics and tutorials become lively with this tool and you can share them on numerous platforms as well using mobile, computer or TV.

Key Features:

  • Use the tilt and pressure sensitive vector brushes to draw and sketch characters and with frame by frame animation make them talk, walk and blink.
  • Design and develop interfaces, start screens, game environment and player sprites to get the best interactive web-based content.
  • You can export your work to WebGL, HTML5 Canvas, Flash/Adobe AIRetc.

Support: Win, Mac.

Animate

4. Moho

Price: Free for 30 days. $399.99/lifetime

Moho is a complete animation tool dedicated to digital artists and professionals which was used to make movies like Song of the Sea and The Breadwinner (both were nominated for OSCAR).

Key Features:

  • Having smart warp, this tool enables you to shape, bend, animate, and twist assets including vectors and images and is compatible with Smart Bones.
  • Using the realistic motion blur feature you can manage the number of frames and how they blend to moving objects or characters for creating amazing results.
  • The vector Bezier handles allow you to have more control on designing and make exceptional line bends having minimal points and perfectly optimized to sync with animation.

Support: Win, Mac.

Moho

Part 2: Best Animation Software for Pros

1. Autodesk motion builder

Price: Free for 30 days. $1855/1 year. $5010/3 years

Autodesk motion builder is one of the coolest animation creators that allow 3D character animation. The highly interactive and responsive environment enables you for capturing, editing, and then playing back complicated character animations. Directors or animators, all of them love the results of Autodesk motion builder.

Key Features:

  • The real-time 3D engine builds human movements.
  • It manipulates motion capture data with production-proven tools that allow motion capture editing.
  • It can interact with other 3D applications through the interoperable FBX data exchange and software development kit.

Support: Win, Mac.

motion builder

2. Blender

Price: Free

Blender is an open source 3D animation creator available free of cost. Talk about modeling, animation, rigging, rendering, simulation, motion tracking, compositing, video editing, or game creation.

Key Features:

  • Industry standard libraries are available in the simulation tool, such as MantaFlow and bullet.
  • The modeling toolset in Blender can not only do modeling, but also does retopology, sculpting, curves as well.
  • The animation toolset enables you to synchronize sound, automates walk-cycle, edits the pose of characters, impart independent movements with Non Linear Animation as well.

Support: Win, Mac, Linux.

Blender

3. Vyond

Price: $299/1 year. $649/1 year. $999/1 year

Vyond is a flexible animation creator that customizes the animated characters with various hues of color and efficiently showcasing the diversity of their race. There are options to slide scales and offer a flexible environment for animating objects and characters alike.

Key Features:

  • Create any character around you or recreate yourself, with the amazing character creator tool.
  • For voiceover narration you just need to give a voice track and the characters can also auto-lip-sync when you give them a voice.
  • There are numerous industries and occupations that you can incorporate in your animation to keep the audience engaged.

Support: Win, Mac.

GoAnimate

4. After Effects

Price: $20.99/month

Cinematic intros, movie titles, as well as transitions can easily be created using this tool. It enables you to make it rain or start a fire, animate a character, or logo, and a lot more. It is compatible with other Adobe apps, such as Adobe Dynamic Link, Photoshop CC, Audition CC, Illustrator CC, as well as Team Projects.

Key Features:

  • Creating visual effects or motion graphics for TV, film, web, and videos is easy for designers, animators, and compositors with After Effects.
  • Using the animation presets you can slide, spin, or swipe texts for animated credits, titles, etc.
  • Cartoon, logos, or shapes your key-frames can make all of them moving with amazing background music.

Support: Win, Mac.

After Effects

Final Verdict

Apart from the best animation software for beginners mentioned here, you can make use of Wondershare Filmora to create breathtaking videos. This powerful video editing tool can help you make one of the best videos using features such as precision speed control, frame by frame preview, color tuning, noise removal, and 4K editing support etc.

author avatar

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Having plenty of free animation makers in the market, you must be in a dilemma to decide the best one for you. We believe that there is one animation creator for everyone to suit their specific needs, irrespective of your level of proficiency in animation.

Only you can figure out which one is the best animated profile picture maker for you. When you choose the right software tool for your animation work, the results will always come outstanding.

We have featured a meticulously picked list of animation maker software applications to ease off your burden. Go ahead and explore your creative streak with the best animation creator.


Part 1: Best Animation Software for Beginners

1. Maya

Price: Free for 30 days. $205/monthly. $1620/1 year. $4375/3 years

Maya is one among the leading 3D animation, simulation, modeling and rendering software application empowered with exceptional toolset. You can use it to make animation, motion graphics, environments, character creation, as well as virtual reality to name a few.

Key Features:

  • Arnold RenderView integrated with Maya enables you to experience real-time changes in scenes that include lighting, camera, or materials.
  • The Motion Graphics toolset uses instanced objects and instantly creates complex procedural effects and animations.
  • Using the MASH toolset you can add new nodes consisting of signal, curve, world, placer, etc. along with existing node updates.

Support: Win, Mac, Linux.

Maya

2. Photoshop

Price: $20.99/month.

Because of its influential drawing efficiencies Photoshop has been considered as a mighty tool for creating animations. It renders Disney-style animation due to its frame by frame animation techniques.

You can utilize the onion skinning process for incredible animation experience using the ‘Timeline’ feature (with frame by frame approach).

Key Features:

  • It supports a varied range of QuickTime video formats, image sequence formats, and color mode and bit depth for animation.
  • With the help of the Timeline panel, you can make animation frames, where the configuration of layers is represented by a single frame.
  • In Photoshop the opacity, styles, position represents the layer properties and a gradual change in them gives you the feeling of transformation or movement in animations. It results in automatic modification and addition of multiple frames in a series among two existing frames.

Support: Win, Mac.

Photoshop

3. Adobe Animate

Price: $20.99/month.

Adobe Animate is a brilliant tool to make animations with interactive vectors that you can use in games, web as well as on apps and make banners and cartoons movable. Infographics and tutorials become lively with this tool and you can share them on numerous platforms as well using mobile, computer or TV.

Key Features:

  • Use the tilt and pressure sensitive vector brushes to draw and sketch characters and with frame by frame animation make them talk, walk and blink.
  • Design and develop interfaces, start screens, game environment and player sprites to get the best interactive web-based content.
  • You can export your work to WebGL, HTML5 Canvas, Flash/Adobe AIRetc.

Support: Win, Mac.

Animate

4. Moho

Price: Free for 30 days. $399.99/lifetime

Moho is a complete animation tool dedicated to digital artists and professionals which was used to make movies like Song of the Sea and The Breadwinner (both were nominated for OSCAR).

Key Features:

  • Having smart warp, this tool enables you to shape, bend, animate, and twist assets including vectors and images and is compatible with Smart Bones.
  • Using the realistic motion blur feature you can manage the number of frames and how they blend to moving objects or characters for creating amazing results.
  • The vector Bezier handles allow you to have more control on designing and make exceptional line bends having minimal points and perfectly optimized to sync with animation.

Support: Win, Mac.

Moho

Part 2: Best Animation Software for Pros

1. Autodesk motion builder

Price: Free for 30 days. $1855/1 year. $5010/3 years

Autodesk motion builder is one of the coolest animation creators that allow 3D character animation. The highly interactive and responsive environment enables you for capturing, editing, and then playing back complicated character animations. Directors or animators, all of them love the results of Autodesk motion builder.

Key Features:

  • The real-time 3D engine builds human movements.
  • It manipulates motion capture data with production-proven tools that allow motion capture editing.
  • It can interact with other 3D applications through the interoperable FBX data exchange and software development kit.

Support: Win, Mac.

motion builder

2. Blender

Price: Free

Blender is an open source 3D animation creator available free of cost. Talk about modeling, animation, rigging, rendering, simulation, motion tracking, compositing, video editing, or game creation.

Key Features:

  • Industry standard libraries are available in the simulation tool, such as MantaFlow and bullet.
  • The modeling toolset in Blender can not only do modeling, but also does retopology, sculpting, curves as well.
  • The animation toolset enables you to synchronize sound, automates walk-cycle, edits the pose of characters, impart independent movements with Non Linear Animation as well.

Support: Win, Mac, Linux.

Blender

3. Vyond

Price: $299/1 year. $649/1 year. $999/1 year

Vyond is a flexible animation creator that customizes the animated characters with various hues of color and efficiently showcasing the diversity of their race. There are options to slide scales and offer a flexible environment for animating objects and characters alike.

Key Features:

  • Create any character around you or recreate yourself, with the amazing character creator tool.
  • For voiceover narration you just need to give a voice track and the characters can also auto-lip-sync when you give them a voice.
  • There are numerous industries and occupations that you can incorporate in your animation to keep the audience engaged.

Support: Win, Mac.

GoAnimate

4. After Effects

Price: $20.99/month

Cinematic intros, movie titles, as well as transitions can easily be created using this tool. It enables you to make it rain or start a fire, animate a character, or logo, and a lot more. It is compatible with other Adobe apps, such as Adobe Dynamic Link, Photoshop CC, Audition CC, Illustrator CC, as well as Team Projects.

Key Features:

  • Creating visual effects or motion graphics for TV, film, web, and videos is easy for designers, animators, and compositors with After Effects.
  • Using the animation presets you can slide, spin, or swipe texts for animated credits, titles, etc.
  • Cartoon, logos, or shapes your key-frames can make all of them moving with amazing background music.

Support: Win, Mac.

After Effects

Final Verdict

Apart from the best animation software for beginners mentioned here, you can make use of Wondershare Filmora to create breathtaking videos. This powerful video editing tool can help you make one of the best videos using features such as precision speed control, frame by frame preview, color tuning, noise removal, and 4K editing support etc.

author avatar

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Having plenty of free animation makers in the market, you must be in a dilemma to decide the best one for you. We believe that there is one animation creator for everyone to suit their specific needs, irrespective of your level of proficiency in animation.

Only you can figure out which one is the best animated profile picture maker for you. When you choose the right software tool for your animation work, the results will always come outstanding.

We have featured a meticulously picked list of animation maker software applications to ease off your burden. Go ahead and explore your creative streak with the best animation creator.


Part 1: Best Animation Software for Beginners

1. Maya

Price: Free for 30 days. $205/monthly. $1620/1 year. $4375/3 years

Maya is one among the leading 3D animation, simulation, modeling and rendering software application empowered with exceptional toolset. You can use it to make animation, motion graphics, environments, character creation, as well as virtual reality to name a few.

Key Features:

  • Arnold RenderView integrated with Maya enables you to experience real-time changes in scenes that include lighting, camera, or materials.
  • The Motion Graphics toolset uses instanced objects and instantly creates complex procedural effects and animations.
  • Using the MASH toolset you can add new nodes consisting of signal, curve, world, placer, etc. along with existing node updates.

Support: Win, Mac, Linux.

Maya

2. Photoshop

Price: $20.99/month.

Because of its influential drawing efficiencies Photoshop has been considered as a mighty tool for creating animations. It renders Disney-style animation due to its frame by frame animation techniques.

You can utilize the onion skinning process for incredible animation experience using the ‘Timeline’ feature (with frame by frame approach).

Key Features:

  • It supports a varied range of QuickTime video formats, image sequence formats, and color mode and bit depth for animation.
  • With the help of the Timeline panel, you can make animation frames, where the configuration of layers is represented by a single frame.
  • In Photoshop the opacity, styles, position represents the layer properties and a gradual change in them gives you the feeling of transformation or movement in animations. It results in automatic modification and addition of multiple frames in a series among two existing frames.

Support: Win, Mac.

Photoshop

3. Adobe Animate

Price: $20.99/month.

Adobe Animate is a brilliant tool to make animations with interactive vectors that you can use in games, web as well as on apps and make banners and cartoons movable. Infographics and tutorials become lively with this tool and you can share them on numerous platforms as well using mobile, computer or TV.

Key Features:

  • Use the tilt and pressure sensitive vector brushes to draw and sketch characters and with frame by frame animation make them talk, walk and blink.
  • Design and develop interfaces, start screens, game environment and player sprites to get the best interactive web-based content.
  • You can export your work to WebGL, HTML5 Canvas, Flash/Adobe AIRetc.

Support: Win, Mac.

Animate

4. Moho

Price: Free for 30 days. $399.99/lifetime

Moho is a complete animation tool dedicated to digital artists and professionals which was used to make movies like Song of the Sea and The Breadwinner (both were nominated for OSCAR).

Key Features:

  • Having smart warp, this tool enables you to shape, bend, animate, and twist assets including vectors and images and is compatible with Smart Bones.
  • Using the realistic motion blur feature you can manage the number of frames and how they blend to moving objects or characters for creating amazing results.
  • The vector Bezier handles allow you to have more control on designing and make exceptional line bends having minimal points and perfectly optimized to sync with animation.

Support: Win, Mac.

Moho

Part 2: Best Animation Software for Pros

1. Autodesk motion builder

Price: Free for 30 days. $1855/1 year. $5010/3 years

Autodesk motion builder is one of the coolest animation creators that allow 3D character animation. The highly interactive and responsive environment enables you for capturing, editing, and then playing back complicated character animations. Directors or animators, all of them love the results of Autodesk motion builder.

Key Features:

  • The real-time 3D engine builds human movements.
  • It manipulates motion capture data with production-proven tools that allow motion capture editing.
  • It can interact with other 3D applications through the interoperable FBX data exchange and software development kit.

Support: Win, Mac.

motion builder

2. Blender

Price: Free

Blender is an open source 3D animation creator available free of cost. Talk about modeling, animation, rigging, rendering, simulation, motion tracking, compositing, video editing, or game creation.

Key Features:

  • Industry standard libraries are available in the simulation tool, such as MantaFlow and bullet.
  • The modeling toolset in Blender can not only do modeling, but also does retopology, sculpting, curves as well.
  • The animation toolset enables you to synchronize sound, automates walk-cycle, edits the pose of characters, impart independent movements with Non Linear Animation as well.

Support: Win, Mac, Linux.

Blender

3. Vyond

Price: $299/1 year. $649/1 year. $999/1 year

Vyond is a flexible animation creator that customizes the animated characters with various hues of color and efficiently showcasing the diversity of their race. There are options to slide scales and offer a flexible environment for animating objects and characters alike.

Key Features:

  • Create any character around you or recreate yourself, with the amazing character creator tool.
  • For voiceover narration you just need to give a voice track and the characters can also auto-lip-sync when you give them a voice.
  • There are numerous industries and occupations that you can incorporate in your animation to keep the audience engaged.

Support: Win, Mac.

GoAnimate

4. After Effects

Price: $20.99/month

Cinematic intros, movie titles, as well as transitions can easily be created using this tool. It enables you to make it rain or start a fire, animate a character, or logo, and a lot more. It is compatible with other Adobe apps, such as Adobe Dynamic Link, Photoshop CC, Audition CC, Illustrator CC, as well as Team Projects.

Key Features:

  • Creating visual effects or motion graphics for TV, film, web, and videos is easy for designers, animators, and compositors with After Effects.
  • Using the animation presets you can slide, spin, or swipe texts for animated credits, titles, etc.
  • Cartoon, logos, or shapes your key-frames can make all of them moving with amazing background music.

Support: Win, Mac.

After Effects

Final Verdict

Apart from the best animation software for beginners mentioned here, you can make use of Wondershare Filmora to create breathtaking videos. This powerful video editing tool can help you make one of the best videos using features such as precision speed control, frame by frame preview, color tuning, noise removal, and 4K editing support etc.

author avatar

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Get a Grip on Your Footage: 3 Ways to Stabilize Video in AE

Stabilize Shaky Videos After Recording Easily

Wondershare Filmora is one of the most popular video editing software among YouTubers , which provides the video stabilization tool to remove shake from videos within one-click. Download and have a try now.

Try It Free Try It Free

Video content is becoming increasingly popular; with the proliferation of online content, practically every product now needs its mini-documentary or video clip. Experienced filmmakers and VFX artists used to be the only ones who could get smooth footage. Those days, however, are over.

Adobe After Effects is an excellent tool for smoothing out video footage, in addition to being a great blending and motion animation software; although it’s usually preferable to maintain your film as seamless as possible on location, it’s not the end of the world if you take a seat to edit your video and decide it’s too shaky. In truth, there are several options available to you. In After Effects, there are three options for stabilizing footage. What are they – and how to use After Effects to stabilize footage? Let’s find out!

In this article

01 Stabilize Video with Built-in Warp Stabilizer in AE

02 Stabilize Shaky Video with Track Motion Feature in AE

03 Using Stabilization Plugins for Smoother Video in AE

Part 1: Stabilize Video with Built-in Warp Stabilizer in AE

The Warp Stabilizer effect is a new technique to cope with unsteady video. In this part, I will show you how to apply Warp Stabilizer to a layer, adjust the effect’s essential parameters, and demonstrate how they work briefly.

Step 1: The Warp Stabilizer is the most excellent built-in choice for After Effects. This may be found under the Distort tools section of the Effects & Presets panel. You may also go to the effects tab and look for “Warp“ in the search box.

after effects effects presets pane

Step 2: When you’ve identified Warp Stabilizer, you’ll have to add it to the layer you want to stabilize. You may accomplish this in one of three different ways. You may either drag and drop the filter into the chosen layer in the composing window, place it on the desired layer in the timeline, or double-tap on the effect while selecting your choice footage layer.

after effects warp stabilizer vfx

Step 3: Once you apply the warp stabilizer, it will start immediately. So now, all you have to do is lay back and let the stabilizer do its job.

(Note: The procedure should take no more than a few minutes, and a blue bar will appear across your composition window, indicating that the warp stabilizer is evaluating the film. The composition panel would then display an orange bar, indicating that the effect is applied).

Step 4: After stabilization, use the spacebar to begin a RAM peek. Choose the layer you added to and click to display the drop-down menu or go to the Effects Control panel whenever you need to tweak the stabilizing effect.

Part 2: Stabilize Shaky Video with Track Motion Feature in AE

Using Stabilize Motion feature to stabilize video is an old-school heritage function from the era of the Creative Suite, it will still be there in After Effects presently and performs admirably.

Step 1: The tracker panel is most likely open by default in your edition of After Effects, but if it isn’t, go to Window in the top menu to open it. Once you’ve arrived here, scroll to the bottom until you locate Tracker and double-check that it has a checkbox beside it.

after effects tracker pane

Step 2: Select Stabilize Motion from the drop-down menu whenever the tracker panel is open. You’ll see that a tracker box appears in your Layer Panel once you’ve done this.

(Note: You’ll need to identify a proper location in your film for the tracker to operate at this stage. We’re monitoring a vehicle using a camera operator’s drone in the instance below).

after effects tracker track motion

Step 3: Let’s press the Play button on the tracker panel once we’ve set up the tracker box. The tracker box should adhere to the location or item you chose when you do this.

(Note: When your tracking points start to go astray, use the Pause button, personally modify the tracking point, and then push play to resume the journey).

adobe effects track motion effects

Step 4: When the tracker is done and satisfied with the results, click Edit target to verify that the tracking data is transferred to the correct layer. Then proceed to the bottom of the page and click the Apply option.

(Note A dialogue window with choices for applying them. Usually, you’ll want to choose X and Y here).

edit target track motion feature

Hit the spacebar to evaluate how well the stabilize motion tracker performed now when you’re back in the composition window. When you’re not pleased with the outcomes, you might have to go back to try again. Although this approach is best used for photos with a clear point of focus that doesn’t go out of frame, it could still be helpful in some situations.

Part 3: Using Stabilization Plugins for Smoother Video in AE

As a graphic and motion designer, animator, or 3D artist, After Effects plugins may completely change the way you operate. Since it can handle so much right out of the box, Adobe After Effects CC is already a go-to motion graphic and compositing program for many artists.

However, as with any good program, third-party plugins could only help you take your work to the next level by adding new features or streamlining your process.

It should be unsurprising that After Effects has many plugins for a program that is over 30 years old. Here are the best stabilization plugins for smoother video in AE:

1. Orb

Orb is focused on generating realistic planets and includes a range of unique features to make planetary creation easy. It utilizes a similar 3D engine to Video Copilot’s great Element 3D plugin, and it employs a similar 3D engine to Video Copilot’s outstanding Element 3D plugin.

You would believe that making planets in 3D is simple —create a circle, add textures, and you’re done! Getting a world to ‘look’ properly, on the other hand, might be more complicated than it appears.

For example, how can the line between night and day be altered in a model of a populated planet such that cities may be visible at night but not during the day?

Although Orb doesn’t work for every planetary picture, this would function for 90% of them and is a helpful previs tool. This is particularly true when used in conjunction with other After Effects plugins or paired with a 3D lens from a 3D program, which may be brought into After Effects with background plates for things like spacecraft.

2. Depth of Field Generator PRO (DOF PRO)

Richard Rosenman’s renowned Photoshop depth of field generator plugin, DOF PRO (Depth of Field Generator PRO), is now downloadable for After Effects. DOF PRO has become the industry’s professional option for an unprecedented and complex depth of field effects rapidly and effectively as a post-process.

This is thanks to almost a decade of discovery and application since the first launch in 2005. DOF PRO’s cutting-edge characteristics offer new and advanced technologies not found anywhere else, resulting in one of the industry’s most potent and sophisticated depth of field processors.

Capability for chromatic and achromatic aberration, focal plane bokeh distinction, astigmatism and vignetting effects, bespoke aperture maps, and noise recovery are among the advanced features.

There will also be compatibility with the alpha channel and transparency, 32-bit floating-point color, correct aperture displays, and an iris array display. A feature comparison between the plugin and After Effects’ Camera Lens Blur effect can be found here.

3. ReelSteady

ReelSteady for After Effects is a recent addition to the stabilization marketplace. ReelSteady is similar to After Effects’ warp stabilizer plugin. However, the stabilization in ReelSteady is far superior.

ReelSteady also has several other features that make it ideal for creating next-level tunes. Users may design filters to block off specific sections of your frame. This is useful for removing a subject that travels around the frame a lot.

In terms of performance, the After Effects plugin is pretty similar to the warp stabilizer but with a few more features. To begin with, ReelSteady includes a built-in rolling shutter repair tool that operates in tandem with its built-in stabilizer.

The ReelSteady effect is a two-pass effect. For instance, after the effect has been executed for the first time, you will likely wish to level out certain places. You’ll successfully isolate specific parts in the effect to “iron out” sections of the footage.

You would like to record your film at a more excellent resolution than your expected outcome to get the most out of ReelSteady. If you wish to output your video in 4K, you might capture it in 4.6K or 5K. You’ll have some leeway for ReelSteady to work its magic.

ReelSteady’s sole flaw is its high price ($399). ReelSteady is not available in After Effects, unlike some of the other choices on this list. ReelSteady, on the other hand, is the way to go if you would like the smoothest footage imaginable.

Conclusion

Shaky video footage would be the last thing any video creator wants unless it’s done intentionally for artistic or creative reasons. As a result, they employ methods and equipment to keep the camera safe from any undesired movement.

However, occasionally those tools aren’t available, and the outcome is questionable. That is why we decided to compile this article to add to the knowledge of our readers how they can use After Effects to stabilize videos to enhance their video content!

Try It Free Try It Free

Video content is becoming increasingly popular; with the proliferation of online content, practically every product now needs its mini-documentary or video clip. Experienced filmmakers and VFX artists used to be the only ones who could get smooth footage. Those days, however, are over.

Adobe After Effects is an excellent tool for smoothing out video footage, in addition to being a great blending and motion animation software; although it’s usually preferable to maintain your film as seamless as possible on location, it’s not the end of the world if you take a seat to edit your video and decide it’s too shaky. In truth, there are several options available to you. In After Effects, there are three options for stabilizing footage. What are they – and how to use After Effects to stabilize footage? Let’s find out!

In this article

01 Stabilize Video with Built-in Warp Stabilizer in AE

02 Stabilize Shaky Video with Track Motion Feature in AE

03 Using Stabilization Plugins for Smoother Video in AE

Part 1: Stabilize Video with Built-in Warp Stabilizer in AE

The Warp Stabilizer effect is a new technique to cope with unsteady video. In this part, I will show you how to apply Warp Stabilizer to a layer, adjust the effect’s essential parameters, and demonstrate how they work briefly.

Step 1: The Warp Stabilizer is the most excellent built-in choice for After Effects. This may be found under the Distort tools section of the Effects & Presets panel. You may also go to the effects tab and look for “Warp“ in the search box.

after effects effects presets pane

Step 2: When you’ve identified Warp Stabilizer, you’ll have to add it to the layer you want to stabilize. You may accomplish this in one of three different ways. You may either drag and drop the filter into the chosen layer in the composing window, place it on the desired layer in the timeline, or double-tap on the effect while selecting your choice footage layer.

after effects warp stabilizer vfx

Step 3: Once you apply the warp stabilizer, it will start immediately. So now, all you have to do is lay back and let the stabilizer do its job.

(Note: The procedure should take no more than a few minutes, and a blue bar will appear across your composition window, indicating that the warp stabilizer is evaluating the film. The composition panel would then display an orange bar, indicating that the effect is applied).

Step 4: After stabilization, use the spacebar to begin a RAM peek. Choose the layer you added to and click to display the drop-down menu or go to the Effects Control panel whenever you need to tweak the stabilizing effect.

Part 2: Stabilize Shaky Video with Track Motion Feature in AE

Using Stabilize Motion feature to stabilize video is an old-school heritage function from the era of the Creative Suite, it will still be there in After Effects presently and performs admirably.

Step 1: The tracker panel is most likely open by default in your edition of After Effects, but if it isn’t, go to Window in the top menu to open it. Once you’ve arrived here, scroll to the bottom until you locate Tracker and double-check that it has a checkbox beside it.

after effects tracker pane

Step 2: Select Stabilize Motion from the drop-down menu whenever the tracker panel is open. You’ll see that a tracker box appears in your Layer Panel once you’ve done this.

(Note: You’ll need to identify a proper location in your film for the tracker to operate at this stage. We’re monitoring a vehicle using a camera operator’s drone in the instance below).

after effects tracker track motion

Step 3: Let’s press the Play button on the tracker panel once we’ve set up the tracker box. The tracker box should adhere to the location or item you chose when you do this.

(Note: When your tracking points start to go astray, use the Pause button, personally modify the tracking point, and then push play to resume the journey).

adobe effects track motion effects

Step 4: When the tracker is done and satisfied with the results, click Edit target to verify that the tracking data is transferred to the correct layer. Then proceed to the bottom of the page and click the Apply option.

(Note A dialogue window with choices for applying them. Usually, you’ll want to choose X and Y here).

edit target track motion feature

Hit the spacebar to evaluate how well the stabilize motion tracker performed now when you’re back in the composition window. When you’re not pleased with the outcomes, you might have to go back to try again. Although this approach is best used for photos with a clear point of focus that doesn’t go out of frame, it could still be helpful in some situations.

Part 3: Using Stabilization Plugins for Smoother Video in AE

As a graphic and motion designer, animator, or 3D artist, After Effects plugins may completely change the way you operate. Since it can handle so much right out of the box, Adobe After Effects CC is already a go-to motion graphic and compositing program for many artists.

However, as with any good program, third-party plugins could only help you take your work to the next level by adding new features or streamlining your process.

It should be unsurprising that After Effects has many plugins for a program that is over 30 years old. Here are the best stabilization plugins for smoother video in AE:

1. Orb

Orb is focused on generating realistic planets and includes a range of unique features to make planetary creation easy. It utilizes a similar 3D engine to Video Copilot’s great Element 3D plugin, and it employs a similar 3D engine to Video Copilot’s outstanding Element 3D plugin.

You would believe that making planets in 3D is simple —create a circle, add textures, and you’re done! Getting a world to ‘look’ properly, on the other hand, might be more complicated than it appears.

For example, how can the line between night and day be altered in a model of a populated planet such that cities may be visible at night but not during the day?

Although Orb doesn’t work for every planetary picture, this would function for 90% of them and is a helpful previs tool. This is particularly true when used in conjunction with other After Effects plugins or paired with a 3D lens from a 3D program, which may be brought into After Effects with background plates for things like spacecraft.

2. Depth of Field Generator PRO (DOF PRO)

Richard Rosenman’s renowned Photoshop depth of field generator plugin, DOF PRO (Depth of Field Generator PRO), is now downloadable for After Effects. DOF PRO has become the industry’s professional option for an unprecedented and complex depth of field effects rapidly and effectively as a post-process.

This is thanks to almost a decade of discovery and application since the first launch in 2005. DOF PRO’s cutting-edge characteristics offer new and advanced technologies not found anywhere else, resulting in one of the industry’s most potent and sophisticated depth of field processors.

Capability for chromatic and achromatic aberration, focal plane bokeh distinction, astigmatism and vignetting effects, bespoke aperture maps, and noise recovery are among the advanced features.

There will also be compatibility with the alpha channel and transparency, 32-bit floating-point color, correct aperture displays, and an iris array display. A feature comparison between the plugin and After Effects’ Camera Lens Blur effect can be found here.

3. ReelSteady

ReelSteady for After Effects is a recent addition to the stabilization marketplace. ReelSteady is similar to After Effects’ warp stabilizer plugin. However, the stabilization in ReelSteady is far superior.

ReelSteady also has several other features that make it ideal for creating next-level tunes. Users may design filters to block off specific sections of your frame. This is useful for removing a subject that travels around the frame a lot.

In terms of performance, the After Effects plugin is pretty similar to the warp stabilizer but with a few more features. To begin with, ReelSteady includes a built-in rolling shutter repair tool that operates in tandem with its built-in stabilizer.

The ReelSteady effect is a two-pass effect. For instance, after the effect has been executed for the first time, you will likely wish to level out certain places. You’ll successfully isolate specific parts in the effect to “iron out” sections of the footage.

You would like to record your film at a more excellent resolution than your expected outcome to get the most out of ReelSteady. If you wish to output your video in 4K, you might capture it in 4.6K or 5K. You’ll have some leeway for ReelSteady to work its magic.

ReelSteady’s sole flaw is its high price ($399). ReelSteady is not available in After Effects, unlike some of the other choices on this list. ReelSteady, on the other hand, is the way to go if you would like the smoothest footage imaginable.

Conclusion

Shaky video footage would be the last thing any video creator wants unless it’s done intentionally for artistic or creative reasons. As a result, they employ methods and equipment to keep the camera safe from any undesired movement.

However, occasionally those tools aren’t available, and the outcome is questionable. That is why we decided to compile this article to add to the knowledge of our readers how they can use After Effects to stabilize videos to enhance their video content!

Try It Free Try It Free

Video content is becoming increasingly popular; with the proliferation of online content, practically every product now needs its mini-documentary or video clip. Experienced filmmakers and VFX artists used to be the only ones who could get smooth footage. Those days, however, are over.

Adobe After Effects is an excellent tool for smoothing out video footage, in addition to being a great blending and motion animation software; although it’s usually preferable to maintain your film as seamless as possible on location, it’s not the end of the world if you take a seat to edit your video and decide it’s too shaky. In truth, there are several options available to you. In After Effects, there are three options for stabilizing footage. What are they – and how to use After Effects to stabilize footage? Let’s find out!

In this article

01 Stabilize Video with Built-in Warp Stabilizer in AE

02 Stabilize Shaky Video with Track Motion Feature in AE

03 Using Stabilization Plugins for Smoother Video in AE

Part 1: Stabilize Video with Built-in Warp Stabilizer in AE

The Warp Stabilizer effect is a new technique to cope with unsteady video. In this part, I will show you how to apply Warp Stabilizer to a layer, adjust the effect’s essential parameters, and demonstrate how they work briefly.

Step 1: The Warp Stabilizer is the most excellent built-in choice for After Effects. This may be found under the Distort tools section of the Effects & Presets panel. You may also go to the effects tab and look for “Warp“ in the search box.

after effects effects presets pane

Step 2: When you’ve identified Warp Stabilizer, you’ll have to add it to the layer you want to stabilize. You may accomplish this in one of three different ways. You may either drag and drop the filter into the chosen layer in the composing window, place it on the desired layer in the timeline, or double-tap on the effect while selecting your choice footage layer.

after effects warp stabilizer vfx

Step 3: Once you apply the warp stabilizer, it will start immediately. So now, all you have to do is lay back and let the stabilizer do its job.

(Note: The procedure should take no more than a few minutes, and a blue bar will appear across your composition window, indicating that the warp stabilizer is evaluating the film. The composition panel would then display an orange bar, indicating that the effect is applied).

Step 4: After stabilization, use the spacebar to begin a RAM peek. Choose the layer you added to and click to display the drop-down menu or go to the Effects Control panel whenever you need to tweak the stabilizing effect.

Part 2: Stabilize Shaky Video with Track Motion Feature in AE

Using Stabilize Motion feature to stabilize video is an old-school heritage function from the era of the Creative Suite, it will still be there in After Effects presently and performs admirably.

Step 1: The tracker panel is most likely open by default in your edition of After Effects, but if it isn’t, go to Window in the top menu to open it. Once you’ve arrived here, scroll to the bottom until you locate Tracker and double-check that it has a checkbox beside it.

after effects tracker pane

Step 2: Select Stabilize Motion from the drop-down menu whenever the tracker panel is open. You’ll see that a tracker box appears in your Layer Panel once you’ve done this.

(Note: You’ll need to identify a proper location in your film for the tracker to operate at this stage. We’re monitoring a vehicle using a camera operator’s drone in the instance below).

after effects tracker track motion

Step 3: Let’s press the Play button on the tracker panel once we’ve set up the tracker box. The tracker box should adhere to the location or item you chose when you do this.

(Note: When your tracking points start to go astray, use the Pause button, personally modify the tracking point, and then push play to resume the journey).

adobe effects track motion effects

Step 4: When the tracker is done and satisfied with the results, click Edit target to verify that the tracking data is transferred to the correct layer. Then proceed to the bottom of the page and click the Apply option.

(Note A dialogue window with choices for applying them. Usually, you’ll want to choose X and Y here).

edit target track motion feature

Hit the spacebar to evaluate how well the stabilize motion tracker performed now when you’re back in the composition window. When you’re not pleased with the outcomes, you might have to go back to try again. Although this approach is best used for photos with a clear point of focus that doesn’t go out of frame, it could still be helpful in some situations.

Part 3: Using Stabilization Plugins for Smoother Video in AE

As a graphic and motion designer, animator, or 3D artist, After Effects plugins may completely change the way you operate. Since it can handle so much right out of the box, Adobe After Effects CC is already a go-to motion graphic and compositing program for many artists.

However, as with any good program, third-party plugins could only help you take your work to the next level by adding new features or streamlining your process.

It should be unsurprising that After Effects has many plugins for a program that is over 30 years old. Here are the best stabilization plugins for smoother video in AE:

1. Orb

Orb is focused on generating realistic planets and includes a range of unique features to make planetary creation easy. It utilizes a similar 3D engine to Video Copilot’s great Element 3D plugin, and it employs a similar 3D engine to Video Copilot’s outstanding Element 3D plugin.

You would believe that making planets in 3D is simple —create a circle, add textures, and you’re done! Getting a world to ‘look’ properly, on the other hand, might be more complicated than it appears.

For example, how can the line between night and day be altered in a model of a populated planet such that cities may be visible at night but not during the day?

Although Orb doesn’t work for every planetary picture, this would function for 90% of them and is a helpful previs tool. This is particularly true when used in conjunction with other After Effects plugins or paired with a 3D lens from a 3D program, which may be brought into After Effects with background plates for things like spacecraft.

2. Depth of Field Generator PRO (DOF PRO)

Richard Rosenman’s renowned Photoshop depth of field generator plugin, DOF PRO (Depth of Field Generator PRO), is now downloadable for After Effects. DOF PRO has become the industry’s professional option for an unprecedented and complex depth of field effects rapidly and effectively as a post-process.

This is thanks to almost a decade of discovery and application since the first launch in 2005. DOF PRO’s cutting-edge characteristics offer new and advanced technologies not found anywhere else, resulting in one of the industry’s most potent and sophisticated depth of field processors.

Capability for chromatic and achromatic aberration, focal plane bokeh distinction, astigmatism and vignetting effects, bespoke aperture maps, and noise recovery are among the advanced features.

There will also be compatibility with the alpha channel and transparency, 32-bit floating-point color, correct aperture displays, and an iris array display. A feature comparison between the plugin and After Effects’ Camera Lens Blur effect can be found here.

3. ReelSteady

ReelSteady for After Effects is a recent addition to the stabilization marketplace. ReelSteady is similar to After Effects’ warp stabilizer plugin. However, the stabilization in ReelSteady is far superior.

ReelSteady also has several other features that make it ideal for creating next-level tunes. Users may design filters to block off specific sections of your frame. This is useful for removing a subject that travels around the frame a lot.

In terms of performance, the After Effects plugin is pretty similar to the warp stabilizer but with a few more features. To begin with, ReelSteady includes a built-in rolling shutter repair tool that operates in tandem with its built-in stabilizer.

The ReelSteady effect is a two-pass effect. For instance, after the effect has been executed for the first time, you will likely wish to level out certain places. You’ll successfully isolate specific parts in the effect to “iron out” sections of the footage.

You would like to record your film at a more excellent resolution than your expected outcome to get the most out of ReelSteady. If you wish to output your video in 4K, you might capture it in 4.6K or 5K. You’ll have some leeway for ReelSteady to work its magic.

ReelSteady’s sole flaw is its high price ($399). ReelSteady is not available in After Effects, unlike some of the other choices on this list. ReelSteady, on the other hand, is the way to go if you would like the smoothest footage imaginable.

Conclusion

Shaky video footage would be the last thing any video creator wants unless it’s done intentionally for artistic or creative reasons. As a result, they employ methods and equipment to keep the camera safe from any undesired movement.

However, occasionally those tools aren’t available, and the outcome is questionable. That is why we decided to compile this article to add to the knowledge of our readers how they can use After Effects to stabilize videos to enhance their video content!

Try It Free Try It Free

Video content is becoming increasingly popular; with the proliferation of online content, practically every product now needs its mini-documentary or video clip. Experienced filmmakers and VFX artists used to be the only ones who could get smooth footage. Those days, however, are over.

Adobe After Effects is an excellent tool for smoothing out video footage, in addition to being a great blending and motion animation software; although it’s usually preferable to maintain your film as seamless as possible on location, it’s not the end of the world if you take a seat to edit your video and decide it’s too shaky. In truth, there are several options available to you. In After Effects, there are three options for stabilizing footage. What are they – and how to use After Effects to stabilize footage? Let’s find out!

In this article

01 Stabilize Video with Built-in Warp Stabilizer in AE

02 Stabilize Shaky Video with Track Motion Feature in AE

03 Using Stabilization Plugins for Smoother Video in AE

Part 1: Stabilize Video with Built-in Warp Stabilizer in AE

The Warp Stabilizer effect is a new technique to cope with unsteady video. In this part, I will show you how to apply Warp Stabilizer to a layer, adjust the effect’s essential parameters, and demonstrate how they work briefly.

Step 1: The Warp Stabilizer is the most excellent built-in choice for After Effects. This may be found under the Distort tools section of the Effects & Presets panel. You may also go to the effects tab and look for “Warp“ in the search box.

after effects effects presets pane

Step 2: When you’ve identified Warp Stabilizer, you’ll have to add it to the layer you want to stabilize. You may accomplish this in one of three different ways. You may either drag and drop the filter into the chosen layer in the composing window, place it on the desired layer in the timeline, or double-tap on the effect while selecting your choice footage layer.

after effects warp stabilizer vfx

Step 3: Once you apply the warp stabilizer, it will start immediately. So now, all you have to do is lay back and let the stabilizer do its job.

(Note: The procedure should take no more than a few minutes, and a blue bar will appear across your composition window, indicating that the warp stabilizer is evaluating the film. The composition panel would then display an orange bar, indicating that the effect is applied).

Step 4: After stabilization, use the spacebar to begin a RAM peek. Choose the layer you added to and click to display the drop-down menu or go to the Effects Control panel whenever you need to tweak the stabilizing effect.

Part 2: Stabilize Shaky Video with Track Motion Feature in AE

Using Stabilize Motion feature to stabilize video is an old-school heritage function from the era of the Creative Suite, it will still be there in After Effects presently and performs admirably.

Step 1: The tracker panel is most likely open by default in your edition of After Effects, but if it isn’t, go to Window in the top menu to open it. Once you’ve arrived here, scroll to the bottom until you locate Tracker and double-check that it has a checkbox beside it.

after effects tracker pane

Step 2: Select Stabilize Motion from the drop-down menu whenever the tracker panel is open. You’ll see that a tracker box appears in your Layer Panel once you’ve done this.

(Note: You’ll need to identify a proper location in your film for the tracker to operate at this stage. We’re monitoring a vehicle using a camera operator’s drone in the instance below).

after effects tracker track motion

Step 3: Let’s press the Play button on the tracker panel once we’ve set up the tracker box. The tracker box should adhere to the location or item you chose when you do this.

(Note: When your tracking points start to go astray, use the Pause button, personally modify the tracking point, and then push play to resume the journey).

adobe effects track motion effects

Step 4: When the tracker is done and satisfied with the results, click Edit target to verify that the tracking data is transferred to the correct layer. Then proceed to the bottom of the page and click the Apply option.

(Note A dialogue window with choices for applying them. Usually, you’ll want to choose X and Y here).

edit target track motion feature

Hit the spacebar to evaluate how well the stabilize motion tracker performed now when you’re back in the composition window. When you’re not pleased with the outcomes, you might have to go back to try again. Although this approach is best used for photos with a clear point of focus that doesn’t go out of frame, it could still be helpful in some situations.

Part 3: Using Stabilization Plugins for Smoother Video in AE

As a graphic and motion designer, animator, or 3D artist, After Effects plugins may completely change the way you operate. Since it can handle so much right out of the box, Adobe After Effects CC is already a go-to motion graphic and compositing program for many artists.

However, as with any good program, third-party plugins could only help you take your work to the next level by adding new features or streamlining your process.

It should be unsurprising that After Effects has many plugins for a program that is over 30 years old. Here are the best stabilization plugins for smoother video in AE:

1. Orb

Orb is focused on generating realistic planets and includes a range of unique features to make planetary creation easy. It utilizes a similar 3D engine to Video Copilot’s great Element 3D plugin, and it employs a similar 3D engine to Video Copilot’s outstanding Element 3D plugin.

You would believe that making planets in 3D is simple —create a circle, add textures, and you’re done! Getting a world to ‘look’ properly, on the other hand, might be more complicated than it appears.

For example, how can the line between night and day be altered in a model of a populated planet such that cities may be visible at night but not during the day?

Although Orb doesn’t work for every planetary picture, this would function for 90% of them and is a helpful previs tool. This is particularly true when used in conjunction with other After Effects plugins or paired with a 3D lens from a 3D program, which may be brought into After Effects with background plates for things like spacecraft.

2. Depth of Field Generator PRO (DOF PRO)

Richard Rosenman’s renowned Photoshop depth of field generator plugin, DOF PRO (Depth of Field Generator PRO), is now downloadable for After Effects. DOF PRO has become the industry’s professional option for an unprecedented and complex depth of field effects rapidly and effectively as a post-process.

This is thanks to almost a decade of discovery and application since the first launch in 2005. DOF PRO’s cutting-edge characteristics offer new and advanced technologies not found anywhere else, resulting in one of the industry’s most potent and sophisticated depth of field processors.

Capability for chromatic and achromatic aberration, focal plane bokeh distinction, astigmatism and vignetting effects, bespoke aperture maps, and noise recovery are among the advanced features.

There will also be compatibility with the alpha channel and transparency, 32-bit floating-point color, correct aperture displays, and an iris array display. A feature comparison between the plugin and After Effects’ Camera Lens Blur effect can be found here.

3. ReelSteady

ReelSteady for After Effects is a recent addition to the stabilization marketplace. ReelSteady is similar to After Effects’ warp stabilizer plugin. However, the stabilization in ReelSteady is far superior.

ReelSteady also has several other features that make it ideal for creating next-level tunes. Users may design filters to block off specific sections of your frame. This is useful for removing a subject that travels around the frame a lot.

In terms of performance, the After Effects plugin is pretty similar to the warp stabilizer but with a few more features. To begin with, ReelSteady includes a built-in rolling shutter repair tool that operates in tandem with its built-in stabilizer.

The ReelSteady effect is a two-pass effect. For instance, after the effect has been executed for the first time, you will likely wish to level out certain places. You’ll successfully isolate specific parts in the effect to “iron out” sections of the footage.

You would like to record your film at a more excellent resolution than your expected outcome to get the most out of ReelSteady. If you wish to output your video in 4K, you might capture it in 4.6K or 5K. You’ll have some leeway for ReelSteady to work its magic.

ReelSteady’s sole flaw is its high price ($399). ReelSteady is not available in After Effects, unlike some of the other choices on this list. ReelSteady, on the other hand, is the way to go if you would like the smoothest footage imaginable.

Conclusion

Shaky video footage would be the last thing any video creator wants unless it’s done intentionally for artistic or creative reasons. As a result, they employ methods and equipment to keep the camera safe from any undesired movement.

However, occasionally those tools aren’t available, and the outcome is questionable. That is why we decided to compile this article to add to the knowledge of our readers how they can use After Effects to stabilize videos to enhance their video content!

Discover the Best Free WMV Video Editing Solutions

Top 5 Best Free WMV Video Editors

author avatar

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding suitable video editing software is quite a difficult task. There are so many choices and at the present scenario, loads of tools come for free even. So, it is a natural trend for the people to incline for the free video editing tools rather than spending money on a tool, which offers nothing but almost the same features. Here is a list of top five free WMV video editing tools, which feature almost all sorts of casual video editing needs.


If you need a more professional video editing tool, Wondershare Filmora is highly recommended. It allows you to create Hollywood-like home movies with titles, effects and transitions from all regular videos, audios and photos. All the video editing tools including trim, split, crop, etc are provided. After editing videos, you can even use the software to share with family and friends, convert videos to different formats and burn DVD.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


Top 5 Best Free WMV Video Editors

1. Windows Movie Maker

Window Movie Maker is an easy-to-use video editing program developed by Microsoft. It supports various video formats including WMV, ASF, MPG, AVI, WMA, WAV and MP3. With it, you can easily combine photos with your video or can customize your video with preset video transition options as well as other video effects. However, the tool has a few limitations which make this piece of tool not suitable for professional video editing purposes.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easily-to-use interface;
  • Practical video editing options for beginners.

Cons:

  • Crashes a lot and cannot handle large files;
  • Various versions have been released, though differences are truly negligible.

2. Movica

Movica is a graphic or movie editor for Windows Media (.wmv), MPEG files and FLV movies. This program enables you to copy, paste and select or delete multiple portions from a video file. It’s easy-to-use and has keyboard shortcuts which makes the job of editing WMV much easily. However, it’s compiled as a 32-bit Windows and thus makes its major drawbacks from other users who are already using 64-bit Windows.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Lots of keyboard shortcuts to make editing easy.

Cons:

  • Doesn’t support 64-bit Windows;
  • Outdated interface.

3. VSDC Free Video Editor

VSDC Free Video Editor is an application designed for video editing. It supports various video formats including AVI, MPG, MOV, WMV, MKV, RM, SWF, and FLV files. It’s a complex application with plenty of functionality: drawing and selection tools, plenty of color and lighting corrections, some useful filters, transitions, audio effects and more. All of these allow you to add a personal touch to your video files.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Many useful options provided;
  • Can also be used as a video converter.

Cons:

  • Computer resources (CPU and RAM) are required at a high level;
  • Interface may look complex.

4. Video Toolbox

Video Toolbox is a free powerful online video editor. It enables you easily convert videos, add watermark text, cut videos, crop videos, merge several video files, demux video files and much more. It’s capable of processing video files up to 600 MB. Another feature is to analyze the video files and display detailed information about the codec, bit rate, frame rate, resolution, etc.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easy-to-use;
  • Powerful video conversion ability.

Cons:

  • Only provides simple video editing functions.

5. Cellsea

Cellsea is an another online video editor which supports various video formats including WMV, RM, 3GP, DIVX, FLV, AVI, MOV, MPG, VOB and MP4. With this free online video editing service, you can upload your videos, easily add effects, change video size, add sound or convert your video to another format and then share with your friends instantaneously.

top wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easily edit your videos online and share with others.

Cons:

  • Has file size limit.

author avatar

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding suitable video editing software is quite a difficult task. There are so many choices and at the present scenario, loads of tools come for free even. So, it is a natural trend for the people to incline for the free video editing tools rather than spending money on a tool, which offers nothing but almost the same features. Here is a list of top five free WMV video editing tools, which feature almost all sorts of casual video editing needs.


If you need a more professional video editing tool, Wondershare Filmora is highly recommended. It allows you to create Hollywood-like home movies with titles, effects and transitions from all regular videos, audios and photos. All the video editing tools including trim, split, crop, etc are provided. After editing videos, you can even use the software to share with family and friends, convert videos to different formats and burn DVD.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


Top 5 Best Free WMV Video Editors

1. Windows Movie Maker

Window Movie Maker is an easy-to-use video editing program developed by Microsoft. It supports various video formats including WMV, ASF, MPG, AVI, WMA, WAV and MP3. With it, you can easily combine photos with your video or can customize your video with preset video transition options as well as other video effects. However, the tool has a few limitations which make this piece of tool not suitable for professional video editing purposes.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easily-to-use interface;
  • Practical video editing options for beginners.

Cons:

  • Crashes a lot and cannot handle large files;
  • Various versions have been released, though differences are truly negligible.

2. Movica

Movica is a graphic or movie editor for Windows Media (.wmv), MPEG files and FLV movies. This program enables you to copy, paste and select or delete multiple portions from a video file. It’s easy-to-use and has keyboard shortcuts which makes the job of editing WMV much easily. However, it’s compiled as a 32-bit Windows and thus makes its major drawbacks from other users who are already using 64-bit Windows.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Lots of keyboard shortcuts to make editing easy.

Cons:

  • Doesn’t support 64-bit Windows;
  • Outdated interface.

3. VSDC Free Video Editor

VSDC Free Video Editor is an application designed for video editing. It supports various video formats including AVI, MPG, MOV, WMV, MKV, RM, SWF, and FLV files. It’s a complex application with plenty of functionality: drawing and selection tools, plenty of color and lighting corrections, some useful filters, transitions, audio effects and more. All of these allow you to add a personal touch to your video files.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Many useful options provided;
  • Can also be used as a video converter.

Cons:

  • Computer resources (CPU and RAM) are required at a high level;
  • Interface may look complex.

4. Video Toolbox

Video Toolbox is a free powerful online video editor. It enables you easily convert videos, add watermark text, cut videos, crop videos, merge several video files, demux video files and much more. It’s capable of processing video files up to 600 MB. Another feature is to analyze the video files and display detailed information about the codec, bit rate, frame rate, resolution, etc.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easy-to-use;
  • Powerful video conversion ability.

Cons:

  • Only provides simple video editing functions.

5. Cellsea

Cellsea is an another online video editor which supports various video formats including WMV, RM, 3GP, DIVX, FLV, AVI, MOV, MPG, VOB and MP4. With this free online video editing service, you can upload your videos, easily add effects, change video size, add sound or convert your video to another format and then share with your friends instantaneously.

top wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easily edit your videos online and share with others.

Cons:

  • Has file size limit.

author avatar

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding suitable video editing software is quite a difficult task. There are so many choices and at the present scenario, loads of tools come for free even. So, it is a natural trend for the people to incline for the free video editing tools rather than spending money on a tool, which offers nothing but almost the same features. Here is a list of top five free WMV video editing tools, which feature almost all sorts of casual video editing needs.


If you need a more professional video editing tool, Wondershare Filmora is highly recommended. It allows you to create Hollywood-like home movies with titles, effects and transitions from all regular videos, audios and photos. All the video editing tools including trim, split, crop, etc are provided. After editing videos, you can even use the software to share with family and friends, convert videos to different formats and burn DVD.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


Top 5 Best Free WMV Video Editors

1. Windows Movie Maker

Window Movie Maker is an easy-to-use video editing program developed by Microsoft. It supports various video formats including WMV, ASF, MPG, AVI, WMA, WAV and MP3. With it, you can easily combine photos with your video or can customize your video with preset video transition options as well as other video effects. However, the tool has a few limitations which make this piece of tool not suitable for professional video editing purposes.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easily-to-use interface;
  • Practical video editing options for beginners.

Cons:

  • Crashes a lot and cannot handle large files;
  • Various versions have been released, though differences are truly negligible.

2. Movica

Movica is a graphic or movie editor for Windows Media (.wmv), MPEG files and FLV movies. This program enables you to copy, paste and select or delete multiple portions from a video file. It’s easy-to-use and has keyboard shortcuts which makes the job of editing WMV much easily. However, it’s compiled as a 32-bit Windows and thus makes its major drawbacks from other users who are already using 64-bit Windows.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Lots of keyboard shortcuts to make editing easy.

Cons:

  • Doesn’t support 64-bit Windows;
  • Outdated interface.

3. VSDC Free Video Editor

VSDC Free Video Editor is an application designed for video editing. It supports various video formats including AVI, MPG, MOV, WMV, MKV, RM, SWF, and FLV files. It’s a complex application with plenty of functionality: drawing and selection tools, plenty of color and lighting corrections, some useful filters, transitions, audio effects and more. All of these allow you to add a personal touch to your video files.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Many useful options provided;
  • Can also be used as a video converter.

Cons:

  • Computer resources (CPU and RAM) are required at a high level;
  • Interface may look complex.

4. Video Toolbox

Video Toolbox is a free powerful online video editor. It enables you easily convert videos, add watermark text, cut videos, crop videos, merge several video files, demux video files and much more. It’s capable of processing video files up to 600 MB. Another feature is to analyze the video files and display detailed information about the codec, bit rate, frame rate, resolution, etc.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easy-to-use;
  • Powerful video conversion ability.

Cons:

  • Only provides simple video editing functions.

5. Cellsea

Cellsea is an another online video editor which supports various video formats including WMV, RM, 3GP, DIVX, FLV, AVI, MOV, MPG, VOB and MP4. With this free online video editing service, you can upload your videos, easily add effects, change video size, add sound or convert your video to another format and then share with your friends instantaneously.

top wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easily edit your videos online and share with others.

Cons:

  • Has file size limit.

author avatar

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding suitable video editing software is quite a difficult task. There are so many choices and at the present scenario, loads of tools come for free even. So, it is a natural trend for the people to incline for the free video editing tools rather than spending money on a tool, which offers nothing but almost the same features. Here is a list of top five free WMV video editing tools, which feature almost all sorts of casual video editing needs.


If you need a more professional video editing tool, Wondershare Filmora is highly recommended. It allows you to create Hollywood-like home movies with titles, effects and transitions from all regular videos, audios and photos. All the video editing tools including trim, split, crop, etc are provided. After editing videos, you can even use the software to share with family and friends, convert videos to different formats and burn DVD.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


Top 5 Best Free WMV Video Editors

1. Windows Movie Maker

Window Movie Maker is an easy-to-use video editing program developed by Microsoft. It supports various video formats including WMV, ASF, MPG, AVI, WMA, WAV and MP3. With it, you can easily combine photos with your video or can customize your video with preset video transition options as well as other video effects. However, the tool has a few limitations which make this piece of tool not suitable for professional video editing purposes.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easily-to-use interface;
  • Practical video editing options for beginners.

Cons:

  • Crashes a lot and cannot handle large files;
  • Various versions have been released, though differences are truly negligible.

2. Movica

Movica is a graphic or movie editor for Windows Media (.wmv), MPEG files and FLV movies. This program enables you to copy, paste and select or delete multiple portions from a video file. It’s easy-to-use and has keyboard shortcuts which makes the job of editing WMV much easily. However, it’s compiled as a 32-bit Windows and thus makes its major drawbacks from other users who are already using 64-bit Windows.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Lots of keyboard shortcuts to make editing easy.

Cons:

  • Doesn’t support 64-bit Windows;
  • Outdated interface.

3. VSDC Free Video Editor

VSDC Free Video Editor is an application designed for video editing. It supports various video formats including AVI, MPG, MOV, WMV, MKV, RM, SWF, and FLV files. It’s a complex application with plenty of functionality: drawing and selection tools, plenty of color and lighting corrections, some useful filters, transitions, audio effects and more. All of these allow you to add a personal touch to your video files.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Many useful options provided;
  • Can also be used as a video converter.

Cons:

  • Computer resources (CPU and RAM) are required at a high level;
  • Interface may look complex.

4. Video Toolbox

Video Toolbox is a free powerful online video editor. It enables you easily convert videos, add watermark text, cut videos, crop videos, merge several video files, demux video files and much more. It’s capable of processing video files up to 600 MB. Another feature is to analyze the video files and display detailed information about the codec, bit rate, frame rate, resolution, etc.

free wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easy-to-use;
  • Powerful video conversion ability.

Cons:

  • Only provides simple video editing functions.

5. Cellsea

Cellsea is an another online video editor which supports various video formats including WMV, RM, 3GP, DIVX, FLV, AVI, MOV, MPG, VOB and MP4. With this free online video editing service, you can upload your videos, easily add effects, change video size, add sound or convert your video to another format and then share with your friends instantaneously.

top wmv video editor

Pros:

  • Easily edit your videos online and share with others.

Cons:

  • Has file size limit.

author avatar

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Final Cut Pro’s Masterpieces: 10 Must-Watch Movies

Top 10 Famous Movies Made By Final Cut Pro

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Developed as video editing software that has been developed by Apple, Final Cut Pro began life as software designed to made simple video editing accessible for video hobbyists and independent filmmakers. However, in recent years the capabilities of Final Cut Pro have evolved significantly and we are now seeing major Hollywood movies also being edited with this software.

Do you want to turn your own video into a Hollywood film-like video? Check this guide on How to make big-budget cinematic look video with Final Cut Pro.

You may also like: 8 Best Movie Trailer Template for After Effects

Top 10 Movies Made by Final Cut Pro

Let’s take a look at ten major movies that have been edited using Final Cut Pro.

Movie made by FCP - the social network

1. The Social Network (2010)

Based on the rise of the phenomenon that we now know as Facebook, The Social Network starred Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. The movie performed well at the box office and was also positively received by movie critics.

The film won an Academy Award for Best Editing, collected by Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall. They used Final Cut Pro to edit the film, and one of the things they really like about the software is the ability to do multiple timelines. Final Cut Pro was also used in this movie to enable face replacement in a number of scenes. Two of the key characters in the movie are twins, and so the scenes were filmed with actors (who weren’t twins) and then the editing software was used to create the illusion that they were twins. Digital matte paintings was another feature of this movie that relied on the functionality of Final Cut Pro.


Movie made by FCP - The girl with dragon tattoo

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

This was the US adaptation of the earlier Swedish film of the same name - based on the novel by Stieg Larsson. Starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the story is a crime thriller trying to uncover the secrets surrounding the disappearance of a young girl from a wealthy family.

One of the challenges with this movie was that there were a lot of invisible effects throughout the film. Final Cut Pro was used to achieve the shot stabilization and the visual enhancements - everything from matte painting to creating seasonal elements such as snow.


Movie made by FCP - John Carter

3. John Carter (2011)

A science fiction adventure, this film performed so badly at the box office that it caused major financial problems for its studio Disney.

The editing of the John Carter movie was a particular challenge as a lot of the action was shot twice during the troubled production. The editor Eric Zumbrunnen used Final Cut Pro to piece the various elements together. With a huge range of CGI and creature effects to deal with, the editing process on this movie was extremely complex. Final Cut Pro was used to create a lot of the background detail need to bring the green screen scenes to life.


Movie made by FCP - 500 days of summer

4. 500 Days of Summer (2009)

This was a cute, quirky romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.

Editing on the movie was by Alan Edward Bell in DVCPro HD format on Final Cut Pro. Because the storyline of the movie unfolds in a non-linear timeline, the workflow feature of Final Cut Pro made it easier to manage the sequencing of the different scenes. There were also 250 invisible effects which were created using Final Cut Pro’s editing features.


Movie made by FCP - wolverine

5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Continuing the X-Men franchise, this installment traces Wolverine’s childhood and the relationship with his brother. It didn’t really appeal to X-Men fans or movie critics.

Editing on the movie was by Nicolas De Toth and Megan Gill. There were a number of continuity glitches identified during the production of this movie but De Toth and Gill used Final Pro Cut to keep a consistent flow to the narrative. What is interesting about the editing on this movie is that all the cutting of the scenes required was done on Final Cut Pro 5, taking advantage of the software’s HD abilities and also the multi-clip features.


Movie made by FCP - burn after reading

6. Burn After Reading (2008)

A black comedy from the talented brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, they wrote, produced, edited, and directed the movie.

The Coen brothers used Final Cut Pro on this movie because it was simple and easy to use - they were blocking together the rough cuts as the scenes were being shot, and Final Cut Pro gave them the flexibility that they needed to edit quickly. On this movie most of the action was shot using Sony cameras but there were several scenes on which a RED camera was added when an additional camera was needed. Even though there is a significantly different workflow between the two types of camera, the RED material was able to be integrated smoothly with the Sony footage.


Movie made by FCP - No country for old man

7. No Country for Old Men (2007)

A neo-Western thriller from Coen brothers. They directed, wrote, and edited this production.

The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing for editor Roderick Jaynes (a pseudonym for Joel and Ethan Coen).

Directing and editing a movie brings the two processes a lot closer together for the Coen brothers. An easy to use product such as Final Cut Pro ensures that they can construct the movie’s narrative using the timeline features of the product. This movie marked a chance in approach for the Coen brothers, who took advantage of the better resolution DVCPRO HD for their cutting process compared to earlier films that were cut at DV resolution.


Movie made by FCP - 300

8. 300 (2007)

Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, this is the fictionalized retelling of the Battle Termopylae - part of the Persian Wars. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie was filmed with a super-imposition chroma key technique to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book. Editing on the movie was by William Hoy.

To capture the graphic novel look and feel of the film’s images, editor Hoy used a number of the key Final Cut Pro features such as the adjustment layer and blending modes to create depth and mood. With the look and feel of this movie so dependent on the effects created, editor Hoy spent a lot of time debating what was being added visually to each shot and how this would impact the length and continuity of each scene.


Movie made by FCP - Sky Captain

9. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

With big name stars (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law), this was an unusual film that used digital artists to build multi-layered 2D and 3D backgrounds for live action footage, with hand-drawn storyboards recreated as computer-generated 3D animatics. Critically it was well received but didn’t set the box office alight.

Editing on the movie was by Sabrina Plisco.

Final Cut Pro was particularly critical to create a scene between two characters that was shot in a physical set (unlike the digital soundstage that was used for the rest of the movie). Final Cut Pro allowed the filmmakers to line up the animatics with the live onstage footage. One of the challenges with this movie is that the editors had to manually assign time-codes to each take - the clips were then rendered out and sorted so that they could be used on a Final Cut Pro SD workstation. This approach was also used to create the master off-line cut. Batch lists of the cuts were then imported into Final Cut Pro.


Movie made by FCP - Cold Moutain

10. Cold Mountain (2003)

This is an epic Civil War drama based on the novel by Charles Frazier. Starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger this was critically acclaimed and performed reasonably well at the box office.

The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing let by editor Walter Murch.

This was really seen as the breakthrough movie for the use of Final Cut Pro in Hollywood Movies. An entire book has been produced analysing how editor Murch used Final Cut Pro to edit the movie and analysis its impact on future cinema productions. Editor Murch believes that the use of Final Cut Pro on this movie indirected affected the ultimate creative outcome. In particular, the use of the DVD authoring capabilities on Final Cut Pro meant that the editing team was able to look at the material more often, sharing it with more people, and changing the way that they looked at certain scenes.


While Hollywood movies require editing tools of the highest order, the range of effects that you can achieve using Final Cut Pro is impressive - as well as the standard ripple, roll, slip, slide, scrub, razor blade and time remapping edit functions, Final Cut Pro also comes with a range of video transitions and a range of video and audio filters that will take your film project to the next level.

It is clear that Final Cut Pro is definitely now a star in the editing of Hollywood movies, it is time to make it a star in editing your movies as well.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Developed as video editing software that has been developed by Apple, Final Cut Pro began life as software designed to made simple video editing accessible for video hobbyists and independent filmmakers. However, in recent years the capabilities of Final Cut Pro have evolved significantly and we are now seeing major Hollywood movies also being edited with this software.

Do you want to turn your own video into a Hollywood film-like video? Check this guide on How to make big-budget cinematic look video with Final Cut Pro.

You may also like: 8 Best Movie Trailer Template for After Effects

Top 10 Movies Made by Final Cut Pro

Let’s take a look at ten major movies that have been edited using Final Cut Pro.

Movie made by FCP - the social network

1. The Social Network (2010)

Based on the rise of the phenomenon that we now know as Facebook, The Social Network starred Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. The movie performed well at the box office and was also positively received by movie critics.

The film won an Academy Award for Best Editing, collected by Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall. They used Final Cut Pro to edit the film, and one of the things they really like about the software is the ability to do multiple timelines. Final Cut Pro was also used in this movie to enable face replacement in a number of scenes. Two of the key characters in the movie are twins, and so the scenes were filmed with actors (who weren’t twins) and then the editing software was used to create the illusion that they were twins. Digital matte paintings was another feature of this movie that relied on the functionality of Final Cut Pro.


Movie made by FCP - The girl with dragon tattoo

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

This was the US adaptation of the earlier Swedish film of the same name - based on the novel by Stieg Larsson. Starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the story is a crime thriller trying to uncover the secrets surrounding the disappearance of a young girl from a wealthy family.

One of the challenges with this movie was that there were a lot of invisible effects throughout the film. Final Cut Pro was used to achieve the shot stabilization and the visual enhancements - everything from matte painting to creating seasonal elements such as snow.


Movie made by FCP - John Carter

3. John Carter (2011)

A science fiction adventure, this film performed so badly at the box office that it caused major financial problems for its studio Disney.

The editing of the John Carter movie was a particular challenge as a lot of the action was shot twice during the troubled production. The editor Eric Zumbrunnen used Final Cut Pro to piece the various elements together. With a huge range of CGI and creature effects to deal with, the editing process on this movie was extremely complex. Final Cut Pro was used to create a lot of the background detail need to bring the green screen scenes to life.


Movie made by FCP - 500 days of summer

4. 500 Days of Summer (2009)

This was a cute, quirky romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.

Editing on the movie was by Alan Edward Bell in DVCPro HD format on Final Cut Pro. Because the storyline of the movie unfolds in a non-linear timeline, the workflow feature of Final Cut Pro made it easier to manage the sequencing of the different scenes. There were also 250 invisible effects which were created using Final Cut Pro’s editing features.


Movie made by FCP - wolverine

5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Continuing the X-Men franchise, this installment traces Wolverine’s childhood and the relationship with his brother. It didn’t really appeal to X-Men fans or movie critics.

Editing on the movie was by Nicolas De Toth and Megan Gill. There were a number of continuity glitches identified during the production of this movie but De Toth and Gill used Final Pro Cut to keep a consistent flow to the narrative. What is interesting about the editing on this movie is that all the cutting of the scenes required was done on Final Cut Pro 5, taking advantage of the software’s HD abilities and also the multi-clip features.


Movie made by FCP - burn after reading

6. Burn After Reading (2008)

A black comedy from the talented brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, they wrote, produced, edited, and directed the movie.

The Coen brothers used Final Cut Pro on this movie because it was simple and easy to use - they were blocking together the rough cuts as the scenes were being shot, and Final Cut Pro gave them the flexibility that they needed to edit quickly. On this movie most of the action was shot using Sony cameras but there were several scenes on which a RED camera was added when an additional camera was needed. Even though there is a significantly different workflow between the two types of camera, the RED material was able to be integrated smoothly with the Sony footage.


Movie made by FCP - No country for old man

7. No Country for Old Men (2007)

A neo-Western thriller from Coen brothers. They directed, wrote, and edited this production.

The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing for editor Roderick Jaynes (a pseudonym for Joel and Ethan Coen).

Directing and editing a movie brings the two processes a lot closer together for the Coen brothers. An easy to use product such as Final Cut Pro ensures that they can construct the movie’s narrative using the timeline features of the product. This movie marked a chance in approach for the Coen brothers, who took advantage of the better resolution DVCPRO HD for their cutting process compared to earlier films that were cut at DV resolution.


Movie made by FCP - 300

8. 300 (2007)

Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, this is the fictionalized retelling of the Battle Termopylae - part of the Persian Wars. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie was filmed with a super-imposition chroma key technique to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book. Editing on the movie was by William Hoy.

To capture the graphic novel look and feel of the film’s images, editor Hoy used a number of the key Final Cut Pro features such as the adjustment layer and blending modes to create depth and mood. With the look and feel of this movie so dependent on the effects created, editor Hoy spent a lot of time debating what was being added visually to each shot and how this would impact the length and continuity of each scene.


Movie made by FCP - Sky Captain

9. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

With big name stars (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law), this was an unusual film that used digital artists to build multi-layered 2D and 3D backgrounds for live action footage, with hand-drawn storyboards recreated as computer-generated 3D animatics. Critically it was well received but didn’t set the box office alight.

Editing on the movie was by Sabrina Plisco.

Final Cut Pro was particularly critical to create a scene between two characters that was shot in a physical set (unlike the digital soundstage that was used for the rest of the movie). Final Cut Pro allowed the filmmakers to line up the animatics with the live onstage footage. One of the challenges with this movie is that the editors had to manually assign time-codes to each take - the clips were then rendered out and sorted so that they could be used on a Final Cut Pro SD workstation. This approach was also used to create the master off-line cut. Batch lists of the cuts were then imported into Final Cut Pro.


Movie made by FCP - Cold Moutain

10. Cold Mountain (2003)

This is an epic Civil War drama based on the novel by Charles Frazier. Starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger this was critically acclaimed and performed reasonably well at the box office.

The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing let by editor Walter Murch.

This was really seen as the breakthrough movie for the use of Final Cut Pro in Hollywood Movies. An entire book has been produced analysing how editor Murch used Final Cut Pro to edit the movie and analysis its impact on future cinema productions. Editor Murch believes that the use of Final Cut Pro on this movie indirected affected the ultimate creative outcome. In particular, the use of the DVD authoring capabilities on Final Cut Pro meant that the editing team was able to look at the material more often, sharing it with more people, and changing the way that they looked at certain scenes.


While Hollywood movies require editing tools of the highest order, the range of effects that you can achieve using Final Cut Pro is impressive - as well as the standard ripple, roll, slip, slide, scrub, razor blade and time remapping edit functions, Final Cut Pro also comes with a range of video transitions and a range of video and audio filters that will take your film project to the next level.

It is clear that Final Cut Pro is definitely now a star in the editing of Hollywood movies, it is time to make it a star in editing your movies as well.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Developed as video editing software that has been developed by Apple, Final Cut Pro began life as software designed to made simple video editing accessible for video hobbyists and independent filmmakers. However, in recent years the capabilities of Final Cut Pro have evolved significantly and we are now seeing major Hollywood movies also being edited with this software.

Do you want to turn your own video into a Hollywood film-like video? Check this guide on How to make big-budget cinematic look video with Final Cut Pro.

You may also like: 8 Best Movie Trailer Template for After Effects

Top 10 Movies Made by Final Cut Pro

Let’s take a look at ten major movies that have been edited using Final Cut Pro.

Movie made by FCP - the social network

1. The Social Network (2010)

Based on the rise of the phenomenon that we now know as Facebook, The Social Network starred Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. The movie performed well at the box office and was also positively received by movie critics.

The film won an Academy Award for Best Editing, collected by Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall. They used Final Cut Pro to edit the film, and one of the things they really like about the software is the ability to do multiple timelines. Final Cut Pro was also used in this movie to enable face replacement in a number of scenes. Two of the key characters in the movie are twins, and so the scenes were filmed with actors (who weren’t twins) and then the editing software was used to create the illusion that they were twins. Digital matte paintings was another feature of this movie that relied on the functionality of Final Cut Pro.


Movie made by FCP - The girl with dragon tattoo

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

This was the US adaptation of the earlier Swedish film of the same name - based on the novel by Stieg Larsson. Starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the story is a crime thriller trying to uncover the secrets surrounding the disappearance of a young girl from a wealthy family.

One of the challenges with this movie was that there were a lot of invisible effects throughout the film. Final Cut Pro was used to achieve the shot stabilization and the visual enhancements - everything from matte painting to creating seasonal elements such as snow.


Movie made by FCP - John Carter

3. John Carter (2011)

A science fiction adventure, this film performed so badly at the box office that it caused major financial problems for its studio Disney.

The editing of the John Carter movie was a particular challenge as a lot of the action was shot twice during the troubled production. The editor Eric Zumbrunnen used Final Cut Pro to piece the various elements together. With a huge range of CGI and creature effects to deal with, the editing process on this movie was extremely complex. Final Cut Pro was used to create a lot of the background detail need to bring the green screen scenes to life.


Movie made by FCP - 500 days of summer

4. 500 Days of Summer (2009)

This was a cute, quirky romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.

Editing on the movie was by Alan Edward Bell in DVCPro HD format on Final Cut Pro. Because the storyline of the movie unfolds in a non-linear timeline, the workflow feature of Final Cut Pro made it easier to manage the sequencing of the different scenes. There were also 250 invisible effects which were created using Final Cut Pro’s editing features.


Movie made by FCP - wolverine

5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Continuing the X-Men franchise, this installment traces Wolverine’s childhood and the relationship with his brother. It didn’t really appeal to X-Men fans or movie critics.

Editing on the movie was by Nicolas De Toth and Megan Gill. There were a number of continuity glitches identified during the production of this movie but De Toth and Gill used Final Pro Cut to keep a consistent flow to the narrative. What is interesting about the editing on this movie is that all the cutting of the scenes required was done on Final Cut Pro 5, taking advantage of the software’s HD abilities and also the multi-clip features.


Movie made by FCP - burn after reading

6. Burn After Reading (2008)

A black comedy from the talented brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, they wrote, produced, edited, and directed the movie.

The Coen brothers used Final Cut Pro on this movie because it was simple and easy to use - they were blocking together the rough cuts as the scenes were being shot, and Final Cut Pro gave them the flexibility that they needed to edit quickly. On this movie most of the action was shot using Sony cameras but there were several scenes on which a RED camera was added when an additional camera was needed. Even though there is a significantly different workflow between the two types of camera, the RED material was able to be integrated smoothly with the Sony footage.


Movie made by FCP - No country for old man

7. No Country for Old Men (2007)

A neo-Western thriller from Coen brothers. They directed, wrote, and edited this production.

The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing for editor Roderick Jaynes (a pseudonym for Joel and Ethan Coen).

Directing and editing a movie brings the two processes a lot closer together for the Coen brothers. An easy to use product such as Final Cut Pro ensures that they can construct the movie’s narrative using the timeline features of the product. This movie marked a chance in approach for the Coen brothers, who took advantage of the better resolution DVCPRO HD for their cutting process compared to earlier films that were cut at DV resolution.


Movie made by FCP - 300

8. 300 (2007)

Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, this is the fictionalized retelling of the Battle Termopylae - part of the Persian Wars. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie was filmed with a super-imposition chroma key technique to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book. Editing on the movie was by William Hoy.

To capture the graphic novel look and feel of the film’s images, editor Hoy used a number of the key Final Cut Pro features such as the adjustment layer and blending modes to create depth and mood. With the look and feel of this movie so dependent on the effects created, editor Hoy spent a lot of time debating what was being added visually to each shot and how this would impact the length and continuity of each scene.


Movie made by FCP - Sky Captain

9. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

With big name stars (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law), this was an unusual film that used digital artists to build multi-layered 2D and 3D backgrounds for live action footage, with hand-drawn storyboards recreated as computer-generated 3D animatics. Critically it was well received but didn’t set the box office alight.

Editing on the movie was by Sabrina Plisco.

Final Cut Pro was particularly critical to create a scene between two characters that was shot in a physical set (unlike the digital soundstage that was used for the rest of the movie). Final Cut Pro allowed the filmmakers to line up the animatics with the live onstage footage. One of the challenges with this movie is that the editors had to manually assign time-codes to each take - the clips were then rendered out and sorted so that they could be used on a Final Cut Pro SD workstation. This approach was also used to create the master off-line cut. Batch lists of the cuts were then imported into Final Cut Pro.


Movie made by FCP - Cold Moutain

10. Cold Mountain (2003)

This is an epic Civil War drama based on the novel by Charles Frazier. Starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger this was critically acclaimed and performed reasonably well at the box office.

The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing let by editor Walter Murch.

This was really seen as the breakthrough movie for the use of Final Cut Pro in Hollywood Movies. An entire book has been produced analysing how editor Murch used Final Cut Pro to edit the movie and analysis its impact on future cinema productions. Editor Murch believes that the use of Final Cut Pro on this movie indirected affected the ultimate creative outcome. In particular, the use of the DVD authoring capabilities on Final Cut Pro meant that the editing team was able to look at the material more often, sharing it with more people, and changing the way that they looked at certain scenes.


While Hollywood movies require editing tools of the highest order, the range of effects that you can achieve using Final Cut Pro is impressive - as well as the standard ripple, roll, slip, slide, scrub, razor blade and time remapping edit functions, Final Cut Pro also comes with a range of video transitions and a range of video and audio filters that will take your film project to the next level.

It is clear that Final Cut Pro is definitely now a star in the editing of Hollywood movies, it is time to make it a star in editing your movies as well.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Developed as video editing software that has been developed by Apple, Final Cut Pro began life as software designed to made simple video editing accessible for video hobbyists and independent filmmakers. However, in recent years the capabilities of Final Cut Pro have evolved significantly and we are now seeing major Hollywood movies also being edited with this software.

Do you want to turn your own video into a Hollywood film-like video? Check this guide on How to make big-budget cinematic look video with Final Cut Pro.

You may also like: 8 Best Movie Trailer Template for After Effects

Top 10 Movies Made by Final Cut Pro

Let’s take a look at ten major movies that have been edited using Final Cut Pro.

Movie made by FCP - the social network

1. The Social Network (2010)

Based on the rise of the phenomenon that we now know as Facebook, The Social Network starred Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. The movie performed well at the box office and was also positively received by movie critics.

The film won an Academy Award for Best Editing, collected by Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall. They used Final Cut Pro to edit the film, and one of the things they really like about the software is the ability to do multiple timelines. Final Cut Pro was also used in this movie to enable face replacement in a number of scenes. Two of the key characters in the movie are twins, and so the scenes were filmed with actors (who weren’t twins) and then the editing software was used to create the illusion that they were twins. Digital matte paintings was another feature of this movie that relied on the functionality of Final Cut Pro.


Movie made by FCP - The girl with dragon tattoo

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

This was the US adaptation of the earlier Swedish film of the same name - based on the novel by Stieg Larsson. Starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the story is a crime thriller trying to uncover the secrets surrounding the disappearance of a young girl from a wealthy family.

One of the challenges with this movie was that there were a lot of invisible effects throughout the film. Final Cut Pro was used to achieve the shot stabilization and the visual enhancements - everything from matte painting to creating seasonal elements such as snow.


Movie made by FCP - John Carter

3. John Carter (2011)

A science fiction adventure, this film performed so badly at the box office that it caused major financial problems for its studio Disney.

The editing of the John Carter movie was a particular challenge as a lot of the action was shot twice during the troubled production. The editor Eric Zumbrunnen used Final Cut Pro to piece the various elements together. With a huge range of CGI and creature effects to deal with, the editing process on this movie was extremely complex. Final Cut Pro was used to create a lot of the background detail need to bring the green screen scenes to life.


Movie made by FCP - 500 days of summer

4. 500 Days of Summer (2009)

This was a cute, quirky romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.

Editing on the movie was by Alan Edward Bell in DVCPro HD format on Final Cut Pro. Because the storyline of the movie unfolds in a non-linear timeline, the workflow feature of Final Cut Pro made it easier to manage the sequencing of the different scenes. There were also 250 invisible effects which were created using Final Cut Pro’s editing features.


Movie made by FCP - wolverine

5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Continuing the X-Men franchise, this installment traces Wolverine’s childhood and the relationship with his brother. It didn’t really appeal to X-Men fans or movie critics.

Editing on the movie was by Nicolas De Toth and Megan Gill. There were a number of continuity glitches identified during the production of this movie but De Toth and Gill used Final Pro Cut to keep a consistent flow to the narrative. What is interesting about the editing on this movie is that all the cutting of the scenes required was done on Final Cut Pro 5, taking advantage of the software’s HD abilities and also the multi-clip features.


Movie made by FCP - burn after reading

6. Burn After Reading (2008)

A black comedy from the talented brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, they wrote, produced, edited, and directed the movie.

The Coen brothers used Final Cut Pro on this movie because it was simple and easy to use - they were blocking together the rough cuts as the scenes were being shot, and Final Cut Pro gave them the flexibility that they needed to edit quickly. On this movie most of the action was shot using Sony cameras but there were several scenes on which a RED camera was added when an additional camera was needed. Even though there is a significantly different workflow between the two types of camera, the RED material was able to be integrated smoothly with the Sony footage.


Movie made by FCP - No country for old man

7. No Country for Old Men (2007)

A neo-Western thriller from Coen brothers. They directed, wrote, and edited this production.

The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing for editor Roderick Jaynes (a pseudonym for Joel and Ethan Coen).

Directing and editing a movie brings the two processes a lot closer together for the Coen brothers. An easy to use product such as Final Cut Pro ensures that they can construct the movie’s narrative using the timeline features of the product. This movie marked a chance in approach for the Coen brothers, who took advantage of the better resolution DVCPRO HD for their cutting process compared to earlier films that were cut at DV resolution.


Movie made by FCP - 300

8. 300 (2007)

Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, this is the fictionalized retelling of the Battle Termopylae - part of the Persian Wars. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie was filmed with a super-imposition chroma key technique to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book. Editing on the movie was by William Hoy.

To capture the graphic novel look and feel of the film’s images, editor Hoy used a number of the key Final Cut Pro features such as the adjustment layer and blending modes to create depth and mood. With the look and feel of this movie so dependent on the effects created, editor Hoy spent a lot of time debating what was being added visually to each shot and how this would impact the length and continuity of each scene.


Movie made by FCP - Sky Captain

9. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

With big name stars (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law), this was an unusual film that used digital artists to build multi-layered 2D and 3D backgrounds for live action footage, with hand-drawn storyboards recreated as computer-generated 3D animatics. Critically it was well received but didn’t set the box office alight.

Editing on the movie was by Sabrina Plisco.

Final Cut Pro was particularly critical to create a scene between two characters that was shot in a physical set (unlike the digital soundstage that was used for the rest of the movie). Final Cut Pro allowed the filmmakers to line up the animatics with the live onstage footage. One of the challenges with this movie is that the editors had to manually assign time-codes to each take - the clips were then rendered out and sorted so that they could be used on a Final Cut Pro SD workstation. This approach was also used to create the master off-line cut. Batch lists of the cuts were then imported into Final Cut Pro.


Movie made by FCP - Cold Moutain

10. Cold Mountain (2003)

This is an epic Civil War drama based on the novel by Charles Frazier. Starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger this was critically acclaimed and performed reasonably well at the box office.

The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing let by editor Walter Murch.

This was really seen as the breakthrough movie for the use of Final Cut Pro in Hollywood Movies. An entire book has been produced analysing how editor Murch used Final Cut Pro to edit the movie and analysis its impact on future cinema productions. Editor Murch believes that the use of Final Cut Pro on this movie indirected affected the ultimate creative outcome. In particular, the use of the DVD authoring capabilities on Final Cut Pro meant that the editing team was able to look at the material more often, sharing it with more people, and changing the way that they looked at certain scenes.


While Hollywood movies require editing tools of the highest order, the range of effects that you can achieve using Final Cut Pro is impressive - as well as the standard ripple, roll, slip, slide, scrub, razor blade and time remapping edit functions, Final Cut Pro also comes with a range of video transitions and a range of video and audio filters that will take your film project to the next level.

It is clear that Final Cut Pro is definitely now a star in the editing of Hollywood movies, it is time to make it a star in editing your movies as well.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Also read:

  • Title: The Best of the Best Top Animation Software for All Users for 2024
  • Author: Charlotte
  • Created at : 2024-05-19 10:32:38
  • Updated at : 2024-05-20 10:32:38
  • Link: https://smart-video-creator.techidaily.com/the-best-of-the-best-top-animation-software-for-all-users-for-2024/
  • License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
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The Best of the Best Top Animation Software for All Users for 2024