The application also stabilizes shaky shots

Jun 8, 2016 09:04 GMT  ·  By

Google has just released its Motion Stills app for iOS, and as its name suggests, the application comes with video stabilization technology specifically designed for turning Apple Live Photos into stable GIFs. It's available for free on the App Store, and it should work on devices running iOS 9.0 or later.

Live Photos are animated images that incorporate movements as well as sounds. When capturing a Live Photo, the camera snaps 15 seconds before and after the picture and then it plays it back using animation. The feature is available on Apple’s iPhones, and it allows users to share their Live Photos immediately after they were taken.

The application works as a virtual camera operator for Live Photos, and it allows users to freeze the background into a still image by removing shaky shots and making sure the image is stable.

It can also be used for creating sweeping cinematic pans. Edited content results in stable looping GIFs and movies that could be shared via messaging or on social media.

The feature could be introduced in Google Photos

Motion Stills also boasts the option to combine multiple clips into a movie montage right on the iPhone. It doesn’t require an Internet connection or sign-in with a Google account, which is quite nice.

Users will need to provide the application with access to Photos stored on the device, and it will automatically detect Live Photos taken with the camera.

Google has mentioned in the blog post that the algorithm uses linear programming to compute a virtual camera path so that videos are optimized.

The background becomes still, and the application creates cinematic pans to remove shakiness. Motion Stills automatically identifies optimal start and end points while also discarding blurry frames. Google has mentioned that it intends to integrate the feature into existing applications, like Google Photos, but it remains to be seen when the change will actually occur.

Google's Motion Stills app (5 Images)

Google's Motion Stills app
Google's Motion Stills app stabilized Live PhotosGoogle's Motion Stills app stabilizes shakiness
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