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Remove rolling shutter distortion with AI-powered stabilisation tools.
Learn how to fix rolling shutter effects in your videos using AI-powered features in Adobe Creative Cloud apps. Stabilise, smooth, and sharpen shaky footage with ease.
What is rolling shutter distortion, and why does it happen?
The rolling shutter effect appears when a camera records different parts of a frame at slightly different times. Most digital cameras, especially those using CMOS sensors, scan images line by line from top to bottom (or side to side), rather than capturing the entire frame at once.
This can lead to visible distortion in fast-moving scenes such as skewed vertical lines, jello-like motion, or warped edges. It’s most common in handheld footage, drone shots, or smartphone video, especially when captured on a rolling shutter camera without in-body stabilisation.
For creators, vloggers, videographers and YouTubers, these issues can be particularly noticeable in content that relies on movement or dynamic framing. Handheld walk-and-talk videos, action sequences, travel vlogs and aerial shots can all suffer if rolling shutter is left uncorrected, potentially affecting the overall viewing experience.
Understanding what rolling shutter is in a camera helps diagnose these issues early. When they do occur, Adobe’s AI features provide fast, effective solutions.
Step-by-step method to stabilise rolling shutter distortion.
Even with the right shutter speed and lighting, rolling shutter distortion can still affect DSLR and mobile footage. Thankfully, Adobe Premiere Pro makes it easy to correct with built-in AI support.
The Rolling Shutter Repair effect automatically analyses your footage to reduce warping, skew, and wobble caused by sensor readout delay. Here’s how to use it:
- Search for Rolling Shutter Repair in the Effects panel
- Drag it onto your clip
- Use Rolling Shutter Rate to control the intensity of the correction
- Choose the correct Scan Direction based on how your camera processes each frame (typically top-to-bottom or left-to-right)
- Export your stabilised footage in the desired format and resolution, then share it directly to platforms such as YouTube or social media for a polished, professional look. Tip: For the best results, match your export settings to your sequence settings to avoid additional processing or quality loss
From fast-paced sports footage to travel vlogs and event videos, Premiere Pro’s features and AI-driven correction tools help you achieve smooth, distortion-free results with minimal effort.
Use Warp Stabilizer to fix rolling shutter alongside shaky footage.
If your clip has both rolling shutter distortion and overall instability, combine Rolling Shutter Repair with Warp Stabilizer for even better results.
To apply it:
- Add Warp Stabilizer from the Effects panel
- In Effect Controls, set the Result to Smooth Motion
- Enable Rolling Shutter Ripple to reduce horizontal distortion caused by camera movement
- Choose Subspace Warp as the Method for more detailed correction
Premiere Pro will apply frame-by-frame adjustments to stabilise and de-skew the footage, correcting visual issues without sacrificing image clarity.
When to fix rolling shutter and when to leave it alone.
AI features give you the flexibility to correct distortion when needed, but not every clip requires it.
Fix rolling shutter when:
- Vertical lines appear bent or warped
- Subjects stretch or wobble during fast motion
- Drone or handheld footage shows horizontal rolling
Consider leaving it if:
- The motion blur looks natural and not distorted
- Cropping from correction affects framing too much
- The effect is used intentionally for a stylised look
With Adobe’s AI-powered options, you can tailor the correction to your footage and preserve the integrity of your shot.
Why AI tools make rolling shutter correction easier than ever.
Correcting rolling shutter used to be a time-intensive task, often requiring complex tracking, manual keyframes, or third-party plugins. Today, Adobe’s built-in AI capabilities remove that barrier.
With tools like Rolling Shutter Repair and Warp Stabilizer, creators no longer need to choose between quality and efficiency. These features automatically analyse each frame, detect distortion patterns, and apply precise corrections in just a few clicks — all while giving you full control to fine-tune results.
Practical use cases include:
- Wedding videographers capturing fast-moving dance scenes in low light
- Drone operators filming sweeping landscape shots or action sequences
- Short-form creators producing cinematic reels or YouTube Shorts videos
- Event filmmakers covering sports, concerts or live performances with unpredictable movement
Whether you're editing on a deadline or refining footage for a professional project, Adobe Creative Cloud’s AI video-editing features help restore clean, stable motion without slowing down your workflow.
Frequently asked questions.
Can rolling shutter issues occur even with high-end cameras?
What’s the difference between global shutter and rolling shutter?
Can I stabilise smartphone footage in Premiere Pro?
Can I batch apply rolling shutter correction to multiple clips?
Does Warp Stabilizer fix rolling shutter distortion?
Does Rolling Shutter Repair reduce video quality or sharpness?
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