Stabilization & Motion Tracking in Alight Motion Guide 2026
Smooth, dynamic visuals are the backbone of modern video editing, whether you’re a social media creator, a mobile editor, or just someone looking to improve your video content. Alight Motion offers powerful features for stabilization and motion tracking, two techniques that will make your edits stand out. This simple guide will walk you through both, step by step, so you can confidently add professional polish to your videos.
What Is Motion Tracking In Alight Motion?
Motion tracking in Alight Motion is a feature that lets you follow or “track” the movement of objects in your footage. Once you set up motion tracking, you can attach text, graphics, emojis, or other effects to moving elements, ensuring they follow the subject smoothly across the screen. It’s ideal for animated titles, effects that follow a dancer’s hands, or highlighting a moving object during sports or action clips.
What Is Stabilization?
Stabilization reduces unwanted shakes, jitters, or camera movement in your video. If you shot something handheld or if your footage came out a bit shaky, stabilization can help smooth things out, making the video look more professional and easier to watch.
How Stabilization & Motion Tracking in Alight Motion Works
- Stabilization: Uses built-in algorithms to analyze the movement and minimize shake.
- Motion Tracking: Uses keyframes to map an object’s path, allowing you to sync additional layers so they follow the movement accurately.
Both features use Alight Motion’s intuitive timeline and layer system, making them accessible for beginners but powerful enough for advanced editors.
Start a New Project
- Open the Alight Motion app on your device.
- Tap the “+” button to begin a new project.
- Import your video or footage to the timeline.
- Set your project settings, resolution, frame rate, aspect ratio.
Stabilize the Footage
- Select your video layer within the timeline.
- Tap Effects, then browse for “Stabilization” in the effect list.
- Add the Stabilization effect to your clip.
- Adjust sliders for intensity and smoothness, test different settings to see what looks best.
- Preview your video; repeat if necessary until the footage appears steady.
- Parent Tip: Stabilization works especially well for vlogs, action moments, or any scene shot without a tripod.
Parent Tip: Stabilization works especially well for vlogs, action moments, or any scene shot without a tripod.
Start Motion Tracking
- Select the object you want to track in your video layer.
- Tap “+” and choose the item to attach, this could be text, a graphic, sticker, or another video/image layer.
- Go to the timeline, scrub to the beginning of the clip.
- Tap the “keyframe” icon (“diamond shape” on the timeline controls).
- As the object moves, add keyframes at different points, updating the position of your attached layer to follow the motion.
- Alight Motion will interpolate the movement between keyframes, creating a smooth track.
Example: Track a moving soccer ball and attach animated text or effects that follow the ball’s path dynamically.
Attach Keyframes and Layers
- Layer your effects or objects above the original video.
- Use keyframes to precisely sync movements with your chosen subject.
- Fine-tune with scale, rotation, or opacity keyframes for advanced edits.
- Preview to ensure everything is locked correctly and the attached layers move naturally.
Pro Tip: For best results, zoom in on the timeline for finer control when placing keyframes.
Export Video
- When you’re satisfied with stabilization and motion tracking, tap Export.
- Choose your preferred format (MP4 for high-quality video or GIF for shorter animations).
- Select the resolution and frame rate that match your platform, 1080p for YouTube, vertical for Instagram/TikTok.
- Save or share directly from the app.
