# Cinematic-L1 Video Stabilization with a Log-Homography Model

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.08144 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.08144/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 16 Nov 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [GaVS: 3D-Grounded Video Stabilization via Temporally-Consistent Local Reconstruction and Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.23957/) (2025)
- [Multi-task Video Enhancement for Dental Interventions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.16236/) (2022)
- [Leveraging Synthetic Data to Learn Video Stabilization Under Adverse Conditions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.12763/) (2022)
- [SA-Homo: Scale Adaptive Homography Estimation for Scale Variation Scenarios](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.30408/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We present a method for stabilizing handheld video that simulates the camera motions cinematographers achieve with equipment like tripods, dollies, and Steadicams. We formulate a constrained convex optimization problem minimizing the ℓ1-norm of the first three derivatives of the stabilized motion. Our approach extends the work of Grundmann et al. [9] by solving with full homographies (rather than affinities) in order to correct perspective, preserving linearity by working in log-homography space. We also construct crop constraints that preserve field-of-view; model the problem as a quadratic (rather than linear) program to allow for an ℓ2 term encouraging fidelity to the original trajectory; and add constraints and objectives to reduce distortion. Furthermore, we propose new methods for handling salient objects via both inclusion constraints and centering objectives. Finally, we describe a windowing strategy to approximate the solution in linear time and bounded memory. Our method is computationally efficient, running at 300fps on an iPhone XS, and yields high-quality results, as we demonstrate with a collection of stabilized videos, quantitative and qualitative comparisons to [9] and other methods, and an ablation study.