Help me make the best out of crappy pictures?

So I'm making a movie for my friend who brought me like three hours of video footage shot in South Africa. For some reason, he used the front camera of an iphone 4 in an upright position throughout every single clip. The result looks awful in every single way. The sides are "cut off", the resolution is low and the picture is shaking like an earthquake.

I know that the rule of thumb is to get clear shots from the beginning and that I can never make the movie look good, but - I would appreciate every single tip from you guys to make it look somewhat BETTER!

Thanks

What your friend has is VVS (Vertical Video Syndrome). No known cure. Tell him to go back to South Africa and DO IT RIGHT!

Meanwhile, here is a helpful Public Service Announcement that you can show him:

Hahahhaahhahahahah!
I guess i'm screwed. unless I place three or four vertical clips next to each other like he did in the video you posted. We'll see how that goes.

Simon, that VVS video was great. Now I only have to get 100 people to watch it. :woohoo:

If the story is interesting enough it does not matter if the footage is vertical, horizontal, out of focus or in focus. Just make the best of what you got. If the footage is shaking let it shake and use it for your advantage. Tell a story.

Hey guys,

I'm finished with my work and though I might share it with you guys I zoomed in on all the vertical clips to fill out the screen. Turned out okay. You get used to the shaky camera. At least I have, haha.

Had a great laugh with Simon's VVS video.

I always thought vertical videos were to watch while you were lying down.

As for Atonsson's shaky camera syndrome (very common on Youtube), there is a fairly good stabilizer in FCPX.

I tried to watch that video; I used to live in South Africa and it was a very enjoyable time in my life so I am always interested in other peoples take on the country. But after five minutes I started skipping forward...and forward.

Your editing is good, and I think you did a stand-up job (har-har) with the footage you were presented with.

But having to watch that guy the whole time? Clearly you have a lot more patience than me; I hope you were payed well for your work.

Here is a guy who really knows how to film interesting holiday footage (video diary style too): check this video out from his trip to South Africa:

Love the vertical video video Simon....really loved, "The Thing" music in it!

That was a lot of fun, a very playful video. I particularly liked "I'm 70% sure that's the house, have to be careful not to get shot."

Some editors can pick up a few pointers from this guy's choppy style. We had someone else posting a travel video here not long ago. If you have to show someone packing, little snippets is all we need, not the whole thing.

Very enjoyable, thanks Simon.