Wed 1 Aug 2007
When you want to embed animation and graphics into moving images in a believeable way, you have two main choices. Either use a computer controlled camera rig, or buy horribly expensive software. Until Andersson Technologies came along.
Their software, SynthEyes, will set you back only USD 399 and runs on both Mac and Windows. Not too long ago they released a new version with many improvements. One of the improvements is a stabilizer that promises to do a correct stabilization of your footage. According to their website:
The hallmark of incorrect stabilization is that, though the point of interest remains stable, the corners of the image appear to be doing some very strange things, moving in and out. This is the result of 2-D stabilization, or 3-D stabilization with an incorrect field of view.
They then explain why
The underlying problem is that 2-D stabilization changes the image in a way that no real camera can. When you shift an image, it is not the same as pointing a real camera in a different direction
and explaines more about how they solve it.
The software has been used in a long list of movies, commercials and tv-programs all over the world. If you need to place a building into footage shot from a helicopter or any other moving images, I think you should have a closer look at this. You do not need to get a mortgage to buy it!
