Hello Scintilla_UK,
(Edit: I presume when you say that it makes the file massive that you are referring to the size of the Premiere Pro project file.)
This is a very negative side effect of the way Adobe have designed Warp Stabilizer in Premiere Pro.
I always recommend that users do not use Warp Stabilizer natively in Premiere Pro for this reason - particularly if you are working on long term projects.
One alternative is to use Dynamic Link and use the Warp Stabilizer in After After Effects (right click and "Replace with After Effects Composition"). This may seem slightly daunting, but it means simply applying one effect (warp stabilizer) to a composition in After Effects that is auto-created by the above right-click action.
This, comes with some caveats:
- After Effects needs to be installed
- You will be creating After Effects projects which are associated / necessary for the Premiere Pro project
Also, I recommend you first duplicate any clip in a timeline you wish to treat this way (Option-drag to another track) and keep this duplicate clip in the track (disabled) in case you need to refer back to original media at any point. Dynamic links and After Effects clips in Premiere Pro do not track this information (in spite of its obvious use).
Finally, on the plus side, the After Effects Warp stabilizer does offer slightly more control / nuance for stabilization (though it's often not great, it's an improvement over the Premiere Pro version).
R.