Glossary

16-bit

A standard bit depth for digital audio recording and playback.

16 x 9

The standard display aspect ratio of a high-definition television set.

32-bit

A four-channel image with each channel 8 bits deep. Typically, a CGI image with red, green, blue, and alpha channels.

4 x 3

The standard display aspect ratio of a standard video home television set.

8-bit

For video, a bit depth at which color is sampled. 8-bit color is common with DV and other standard-definition digital formats. Some high-definition acquisition formats can also record in 8-bit, but usually record in 10-bit.

Action safe

The area inside a border that is five percent smaller than the overall size of the video frame. Most of the time, anything in your video image that's outside of this border will not be displayed on a video screen.

Add Edit

Working like the Razor Blade tool, adds an edit point to all clips in the Timeline at the current position of the playhead.

A/D converter box

Equipment that changes an analog signal into a digital signal.

AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format)

Apple's native uncompressed audio file format created for the Macintosh computer, commonly used for the storage and transmission of digitally sampled sound.

Alpha channel

An image channel in addition to the R, G, and B color channels that is used to store transparency information for compositing. In Final Cut Pro, black represents 100 percent transparent, and white represents 100 percent opaque.

Ambience

A type of sound that includes background room noise, traffic noise, and atmospheric sound effects.

Analog

A signal that consists of a continuously varying voltage level, measured on a Waveform Monitor, which represents video and audio information. Analog signals must be converted to digital signals (digitized or captured) for use in Final Cut Pro. VHS and Beta SP are both analog tape formats.

Anamorphic

An image shot in a widescreen format and then squeezed into 4 x 3 frame size. When played back in Final Cut Pro, the image is played wide screen.

Anchor point

In the Motion tab, the point that is used to center changes to a clip when using motion effects. A clip's anchor point does not have to be at its center.

Animation

The process of changing any number of variables such as color, audio levels, or other effects over time using keyframes.

Aspect ratio

The ratio of the width of an image to its height on any viewing screen. Standard TV has an aspect ratio of 4:3; HDTV's is 16:9.

Attributes

All of the unique settings that have been applied to either audio or video clips.

Audio meters

A graphic display of the audio level (loudness) of a clip or sequence. Used to set incoming and outgoing audio levels and to check for audio distortion and signal strength.

Audio mixing

The process of adjusting the volume levels of all audio clips in an edited sequence, including the production audio, music, sound effects, voice-overs, and additional background ambience, to turn all of these sounds into a harmonious whole.

Audio sample rate

The rate or frequency at which a sound is sampled to digitize it. 48 kHz is the standard sampling rate for digital audio; CD audio is sampled at 44.1 kHz.

Audio waveform

A graphical representation of the amplitude (loudness) of a sound over a period of time.

Autosave Vault

A function to automatically save backup copies of all your FCP open projects at regular intervals. It must be turned on, and you can specify the intervals.

AVI

A PC-compatible standard for digital video no longer officially supported by Microsoft but still frequently used. AVI supports fewer codecs than QuickTime.

Axis

An imaginary straight line (horizontal, vertical, 3D diagonal) along which an object can move or rotate in space.

Backtiming

Using In and Out points in the Viewer and only an Out point in the Timeline, the two Out points will align, and the rest of the clip will appear before or to the left of this point.

Batch capture

Capturing multiple clips and or sequences with a single command.

Batch export

The ability to export multiple clips and or sequences with a single command by being able to stack them up in a queue. It is particularly useful when exporting will take a lot of time.

Bars and tone

A series of vertical bars of specific colors and an audio tone that are used to calibrate the audio and video signals coming from a videotape or camera to ensure consistent appearance and sound on different TV monitors.

Bezier handle

The "control handles" attached to a Bezier curve on a motion path that allow you to change the shape of the curve.

Bin

A file folder in the Browser window used to keep media clips grouped and organized. Derived from film editing where strips of film were hung over a cloth bin for sorting during the editing process.

Black level

The measurement of the black portion of the video signal. In analog television, this should not go below 7.5 IRE units. In digital television, black may be 0 units.

B-roll

A term used to describe alternate footage that intercuts with the primary soundtrack used in a program to help tell the story, or to cover flaws. B-roll is usually referred to as cutaway shots.

Blue screen

A solid blue background placed behind a subject and photographed so that later the subject can be extracted and composited onto another image.

Broadcast safe

The range of color that can be broadcast free of distortion, according to the NTSC standards, with maximum allowable video at 100 IRE units and digital black at 0 IRE, or analog black at 7.5 IRE units. FCP has a Broadcast Safe color-correction filter that provides a fast method of dealing with clips that have luminance and chrominance levels exceeding the broadcast limits for video.

Browser

An interface window that is a central storage area where you organize and access all of the source material used in your project.

Cache

A special high-speed memory area that the computer uses to store information that it can retrieve much faster than from main memory.

Canvas

The window in which you can view your edited sequence.

Capture

The process of digitizing media in the computer.

Center point

Defines a clip's location in the X/Y coordinate space in the Motion tab of the Canvas.

Chroma

The color information contained in a video signal consisting of hue (the color itself) and saturation (intensity).

Clip

Media files that may consist of video, audio, graphics, or any similar content that can be imported into Final Cut Pro.

Clipping

Distortion occurring during the playback or recording of digital audio due to an overly loud level.

Close-up

Framing a subject so that it fills the frame. Usually used for dramatic storytelling.

Codec

Short for compression/decompression. A program used to compress and decompress data such as audio and video files.

Color balance

Refers to the overall mix of red, green, and blue for the highlights (brightest), midtones, and shadow (darkest) areas in a clip. The color balance of these three areas can be adjusted using the Color Corrector 3-way filter.

Color correction

A process in which the color of clips used in an edited program is evened out so that all shots in a given scene match.

Color depth

The possible range of colors that can be used in a movie or image. In computer graphics, there are usually four choices: grayscale, 8-bit, 16-bit, and 24-bit. Higher color depths provide a wider range of colors but also require more disk space for a given image size. Broadcast video is generally 24-bit, with 8 bits of color information per channel.

Color matte

A clip containing solid color created as a generated item in the effects.

Composite Mode

One of the options in the Modify menu that offers many different methods of combining two or more images.

Compositing

The process of combining two or more video or electronic images into a single frame. This term can also describe the process of creating various video effects.

Compression

The process by which video, graphics, and audio files are reduced in size. The reduction in the size of a video file through the removal of redundant image data is referred to as a lossy compression scheme. A lossless compression scheme uses a mathematical process and reduces the file size by consolidating the redundant information without discarding it. See also codec.

Compression marker

A marker placed in a Final Cut movie that will flag DVD Studio Pro to stop so an I-frame can be changed.

Contrast

The difference between the lightest and darkest values in an image. High-contrast images have a large range of values from the darkest shadow to the lightest highlight. Low-contrast images have a more narrow range of values, resulting in a "flatter" look.

Crop tool

A tool used to slice a specified amount from the total frame size of a clip. You can crop the top, left, right, and bottom of a clip independently.

Cross fade

A transition between two audio clips where one sound is faded out while the other is faded in. Used to make the transition between two audio cuts less noticeable.

Cut

The simplest type of edit where one clip ends and the next begins without any transition.

Cutaway

A shot that is related to the current subject and occurs in the same time frame; for instance, an interviewer's reaction to what is being said in an interview or a shot to cover a technically bad moment.

Data rate

The speed at which data can be transferred, often described in megabytes per second (MB/sec). The higher a video file's data rate, the higher quality it will be, but it will require more system resources (processor speed, hard disk space, and performance). Some codecs allow you to specify a maximum data rate for a movie during capture.

Decibel (dB)

A unit of measure for the loudness of audio.

Decompression

The process of creating a viewable image for playback from a compressed video, graphics, or audio file. Compare with compression.

De-interlace filter

Used to convert video frames composed of two interlaced fields into a single unified frame; for example, to create a still image of an object moving at high speed.

Desaturate

To remove color from a clip. 100 percent desaturation results in a grayscale image.

Device control

A cable that allows Final Cut Pro to control a video deck or camera. Three protocols are used most frequently to control video devices: serial device control via the RS-422 and RS-232 protocols, and FireWire for DV camcorders and decks.

Digital

Data that is stored or transmitted as a sequence of ones and zeros.

Digital video

Video that has been captured, manipulated, and stored using a digital format, which can be easily imported into your computer. Digital video can come in many different formats such as Digital-8, DVC Pro, DVCAM, or DV.

Digitize

To convert an analog video signal into a digital video format. A method of capturing video. See also capture.

Dissolve

A transition between two video clips where the first one fades down at the same time the second one fades up.

Distort

An option in the Tool palette that allows you to change the shape of an image by moving any of its four corners independently of the others.

Dock

A strip on the Desktop where you can store the program alias icons that you use most frequently.

Drop frame timecode

A type of timecode that skips ahead in time by two frame numbers each minute, except for minutes ending in "0" (10, 20, 30, and so on). Although timecode numbers are skipped, actual video frames are not skipped. Drop frame timecode is a reference to real time.

Drop shadow

An effect that creates an artificial shadow behind an image or text.

Dub

Making a copy of an analog tape to the same type of format.

Duration

The length of a clip or a sequence from its In to its Out point, or the length of time that it takes that piece of video to play.

DV

A standard for a specific digital video format created by a consortium of camcorder vendors, which uses Motion JPEG video at a 720 x 480 resolution at 29.97 frames per second (NTSC) or 720 x 546 resolution at 25 fps (PAL), stored at a bit rate of 25 MB per second at a compression of 4:1:1.

DVD

A disc that is the size of a CD, but uses higher-density storage methods to significantly increase its capacity. Usually used for video distribution, DVD-ROM discs can also be used to store computer data.

DVD marker

A location indicator that can be seen in DVD Studio Pro used to mark a chapter.

Dynamic range

The difference, in decibels, between the loudest and softest parts of a recording.

Easy Setup

Preset audio/video settings, including capture, sequence, device control, and output settings.

Edit point

(1) Defines what part of a clip you want to use in an edited sequence. Edit points include In points, which specify the beginning of a section of a clip or sequence, and Out points, which specify the end of a section of a clip or sequence. (2) The point in the Timeline of an edited sequence where the Out point of one clip meets the In point of the next clip.

Edit to Tape

The command that lets you perform frame-accurate Insert and Assemble edits to tape.

EDL

A text file that uses the source timecode of clips to sequentially list all of the edits that make up a sequence. EDLs are used to move a project from one editing application to another, or to coordinate the assembly of a program in a tape-based online editing facility.

Effects

A general term used to describe all of Final Cut Pro's capabilities that go beyond cuts-only editing. See filters, generators, and transitions.

Export

A menu option that allows you to move files or media out of Final Cut Pro to a variety of destinations via a variety of codecs; lets you translate the current file format into a number of different formats.

Extend edit

An edit in which the edit point is moved to the position of the playhead in the Timeline.

Fade

An effect in which the picture gradually transitions to black.

Faders

In the Audio Mixer, vertical sliders used to adjust the audio levels of clips at the position of the playhead.

Favorite

A customized effect that is used frequently. You can create favorites from most of the effects in Final Cut Pro.

Field

Half of an interlaced video frame consisting of the odd or the even scan lines.

Field Dominance

The choice of whether field one or field two will be displayed on the monitor first. The default should be Lower (even) for DV and Targa captures.

Filters

Effects you can apply to video and audio clips or group of clips that change some aspect of the clip content.

Finishing

The process of fine tuning the sequence audio and video levels and preparing the sequence for output to tape or other destination, such as the Web or DVD. Finishing may also involve recapturing offline resolution clips at an uncompressed resolution.

FireWire

Apple's trademark name for the IEEE 1394 standard used to connect external hard drives and cameras to computers. It provides a fast interface to move large video and audio files to the computer's hard drive.

Fit to Fill edit

An edit in which a clip is inserted into a sequence such that its duration matches a predetermined amount of specified track space.

Frame

A single still image from either video or film. For video, each frame is made up of two interlaced fields (see interlaced video).

Frame blending

A process of inserting blended frames in place of frames that have been duplicated in clips with slow motion, to make them play back more smoothly.

Framing

Composing a shot for the best presentation of the subject, taking into consideration the size of the subject in the frame and how it is centered.

Frequency

The number of times a sound or signal vibrates each second, measured in cycles per second, or hertz.

Gain

In video, the level of white in a video picture; in audio, the loudness of an audio signal.

Gamma

A curve that describes how the middle tones of an image appear. Gamma is a nonlinear function often confused with "brightness" or "contrast." Changing the value of the gamma affects middle tones while leaving the whites and blacks of the image unaltered. Gamma adjustment is often used to compensate for differences between Macintosh and Windows video cards and displays.

Gap

Locations in a sequence where there is no media on any track. When output to video, gaps in an edited sequence appear as black sections.

Generators

Clips that are synthesized by Final Cut Pro. Generators can be used as different kinds of backgrounds, titles, and elements for visual design.

Gradient

A generated image that changes smoothly from one color to another across the image. The change can occur in several ways: horizontally, vertically, radially, and so on.

Green screen

A solid green background placed behind a subject and photographed so that later the subject can be extracted and composited into another image.

Handles

Extra frames of unused video or audio that are on either side of the In and Out points in an edit.

Head

The beginning of a clip.

Histogram

A window that displays the relative strength of all luminance values in a video frame, from black to super-white. It is useful for comparing two clips in order to match their brightness values more closely.

Hue

A specific color or pigment, such as red.

Icon

An onscreen symbol that represents a program or file.

Import File

The menu option that allows you to bring one or more media files into an FCP project.

Import Folder

The menu option that allows you to import a folder of media files into an FCP project.

Incoming clip

The clip that is on the right-hand side, or B-side, of a transition or cut point.

In point

The edit point entered either in the Viewer, Canvas, or Timeline that determines where an edit will begin.

Insert edit

To insert a clip into an existing sequence into the Timeline, which automatically moves the other clips (or remaining frames of a clip) to the right to make room for it. An Insert edit does not replace existing material.

Interlaced video

A video scanning method that first scans the odd picture lines (field 1) and then scans the even picture lines (field 2), which merges them together into one single frame of video. Used in standard-definition video.

IRE

A unit of measurement for luminance in an analog signal established by the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE).

Jog

To move forward or backward through your video one frame at a time.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)

A popular image file format that lets you create highly compressed graphics files. The amount of compression used can vary. Less compression results in a higher-quality image.

Jump cut

A cut in which an abrupt change occurs between two shots.

Keyframe

A point at which a filter, motion effect, or audio level changes value. There must be at least two keyframes representing two different values to see a change.

Keying

The process of dropping out a specific area of an image, such as its background, in order to composite it with another image. You can key out information in a clip based on brightness and darkness, or color.

Labels

Terms that appear in the Label column of the Browser such as "Best Take" and "Interview." Labels can also be assigned to clips and media to help distinguish and sort them. Each label has an associated color that is also applied to clips.

Letterbox

When widescreen video is displayed to fit within a standard 4 x 3 monitor, putting black at the top and bottom of the picture.

Lift edit

An edit function that leaves a gap when material is lifted from the Timeline.

Link

(1) To connect an audio clip and video clip together in the Timeline so that when one item is selected, moved, or trimmed, all other items linked to it are affected. (2) The connection between a clip and its associated source media file on disk. If you move source media files, change their names, or put them in the Trash, the links break and associated clips in your Final Cut Pro project become offline clips.

Linked selection

An option in the Timeline that, when enabled, maintains connections between linked clips. When linked selection is turned off, linked items behave as if they are not connected.

Lock Track control

The lock icon in the Timeline tracks control area, which locks and unlocks tracks. See locked track.

Locked track

A track whose contents cannot be moved or changed. Cross-hatched lines distinguish a locked track on the Timeline. You can lock or unlock tracks at any time by clicking the Lock Track control on the Timeline.

Log and Capture

The process of playing clips from a device and logging and capturing the clips you want to use in editing.

Log bin

A specific bin where all the logged or captured clips go when using the Log and Capture window.

logging

The process of entering detailed information including the In and Out points from your source material, log notes, and so on, in preparation to be captured.

Looping

A playback mode of repeatedly playing the same portion of a clip or sequence from an In point to an Out point.

Lower third

Lines of text used to identify a person, place, or thing in a clip.

Luma

Short for luminance. A value describing the brightness part of the video signal without color (chroma).

Luma Key

A filter used to key out a luminance value, creating a matte based on the brightest or darkest area of an image. See keying and matte.

Mark In

The process of indicating with a mark in the Timeline the first frame of a clip to be used.

Mark Out

The process of indicating with a mark in the Timeline the last frame of a clip to be used.

Markers

Location indicators that can be placed on a clip or in a sequence to help you find a specific place while you edit. Can be used to sync action between two clips, identify beats of music, mark a reference word from a narrator, and so on.

Marquee

When dragging the pointer over items in the Browser or Timeline, the dashed lines that create a rectangular area used to select items in that area.

Mark in Sync

Placing a marker that labels the audio from another source as being in sync with a selected video clip. This disables the normal out-of-sync warnings.

Mask

An image or clip used to define areas of transparency in another clip. Similar to an alpha channel.

Master clip

The status given to a clip when it is the first time that clip is used in a project. It is the clip from which other affiliate clips, such as sequence clips and subclips, are created.

Master shot

A single, long shot of some dramatic action from which shorter cuts such as close-ups and medium shots are taken in order to fill out the story.

Mastering mode

A mode in the Edit to Tape window that lets you output additional elements such as color bars and tone, a slate, and a countdown when you output your program to tape.

Match Frame

A command that looks at the clip in the Timeline at the playhead, and puts that clip's master into the Viewer. The position of the playhead in the Viewer matches that of the playhead in the Canvas, so both the Canvas and the Viewer will display the same frame, and the In and Out points of the clip in your sequence will be matched to those of the copy in the Viewer. In addition, all the original source material for this clip will also be displayed.

Matte

An effect, such as a widescreen matte or a garbage matte, that hides or reveals a part of a clip.

Media file

A generic term for captured or acquired elements such as QuickTime movies, sounds, and pictures.

Media Manager

A tool that helps you manage your projects, media files, and available disk space quickly and easily in Final Cut Pro without using the Finder.

Midtones

The middle brightness range of an image. Not the very brightest part, nor the very darkest part.

Mono audio

A single track of audio.

Motion Blur

An effect that blurs any clip with keyframed motion applied to it, similar to blurred motion recorded by a camera.

Motion path

A path that appears in the Canvas when Image+Wireframe mode is selected and a clip has Center keyframes applied to it.

MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group)

A group of compression standards for video and audio, which includes MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-3 (referred to as MP3), and MPEG-4.

Multicam editing

This feature lets you simultaneously play back and view shots from multiple sources and cut between them in real time.

Multiclip

A clip that allows you to group together multiple sources as separate angles and cut between them, up to 128 angles, of which 16 can be played back at a time.

Natural sound

The ambient sound that is used from the source videotape.

Nest

To place a sequence that is edited within another sequence.

Non-drop frame timecode

A type of timecode, in which frames are numbered sequentially. Non-drop frame timecode is off by 3 seconds and 18 frames per hour in comparison to actual elapsed time.

Noninterlaced video

The standard representation of images on a computer, also referred to as progressive scan. The monitor displays the image by drawing each line, continuously one after the other, from top to bottom.

Nonlinear editing (NLE)

A video editing process that uses computer hard disks to randomly access the media. It allows the editor to reorganize clips very quickly or make changes to sections without having to re-create the entire program.

Nonsquare pixel

A pixel whose height is different than its width. An NTSC pixel is taller than it is wide, and a PAL pixel is wider than it is tall.

NTSC (National Television Systems Committee)

Standard of color TV broadcasting used mainly in North America, Mexico, and Japan, consisting of 525 lines per frame, 29.97 frames per second, and 720 x 486 pixels per frame (720 x 480 for DV).

Offline clip

Clips that appear in the Browser with a red slash through them. Clips may be offline because they haven't been captured yet, or because the media file has been moved to another location. To view these clips properly in your project, you must recapture them or reconnect them to their corresponding source files at their new locations on disk.

Offline editing

The process of editing a program at a lower resolution to save on equipment costs or to conserve hard disk space. When the edit is finished, the material can be recaptured at a higher quality, or an EDL can be generated for re-creating the edit on another system.

OMF (Open Media Framework)

OMF is an edit data interchange format.

On the fly

The process of setting an In or Out point as the clip is playing in the Viewer or on the Timeline.

Opacity

The degree to which an image is transparent, allowing images behind to show through.

Outgoing clip

The clip that is on the left-hand side of the cut point or the A-side of the transition.

Out of sync

When the audio of a track has been shifted horizontally in the Timeline from the video track causing it to no longer match the video track.

Out point

The edit point entered in the Viewer, Canvas, or Timeline where an edit will end.

Overlays

Icons or text that are displayed over the video in the Viewer and Canvas windows while the playhead is parked on a frame to provide information about that frame.

Overwrite edit

An edit where the clip being edited into a sequence replaces an existing clip. The duration of the sequence remains unchanged.

PAL (Phase Alternating Line)

The European color TV broadcasting standard consisting of 625 lines per frame, running at 25 frames per second, and 720 x 546 pixels per frame.

Pan

To move a camera left or right without changing its position.

Parade Scope

A modified Waveform Monitor that breaks out the red, green, and blue components of the image, showing them as three separate waveforms. Useful for comparing the relative levels of reds, greens, and blues between two clips, especially in a graphics situation.

Paste Attributes

The ability to copy attributes from one clip and transfer (paste) them to another clip of the same type.

Patch panel

The section of the Timeline containing the Audio, Source, Destination, Track Enabling, Locking, and Edit Select controls.

Peak

Short, loud bursts of sound that last a fraction of a second and can be viewed on a digital audiometer that displays the absolute volume of an audio signal as it plays.

Phase

An attribute of color perception, also known as hue.

PICT

The native still-image file format for Macintosh developed by Apple Computer. PICT files can contain both vector images and bitmap images, as well as text and an alpha channel.

Pixel

Short for "picture element," one dot in a video or still image.

Pixel aspect ratio

The width-to-height ratio for the pixels that compose an image. Pixels on computer screens and in high-definition video signals are square (1:1 ratio). Pixels in standard-definition video signals are nonsquare.

Playhead

A navigational element on the scrubber bar that shows you on what frame you are in the Timeline, Canvas, or Viewer. You drag the playhead to navigate through a sequence.

Post-production

The phase of film, video, and audio editing that begins after all the footage is shot.

Post-roll

The amount of time that a tape machine continues to roll after the Out point of an edit, typically between 2 and 5 seconds.

Poster frame

The representative still frame of a clip that is the Thumbnail image.

Pre-roll

A specified amount of time, usually 5 seconds, given to tape machines so they can synchronize themselves to the editing computer before previewing or performing an edit.

Preview

To play an edit to see how it will look without actually performing the edit itself.

Print to Video

A command in Final Cut Pro that lets you render your sequence and output it to videotape.

Proc amp (processing amplifier)

A specific piece of equipment that allows you to adjust video levels on output.

Project

In Final Cut Pro, the top-level file that holds all the media associated with a program, including sequences and clips of various kinds.

QuickTime

Apple's cross-platform multimedia technology. Widely used for editing, compositing, CD-ROM, Web video, and more.

QuickTime streaming

Apple's streaming media addition to the QuickTime architecture. Used for viewing QuickTime content in real time on the Web.

QuickView tool

Provides an alternate way of viewing your composition outside of the Canvas as you work. It takes advantage of Final Cut Pro's ability to cache frames of your sequence as you play it. This is useful for fast previews of complex composites and effects. It's also a good way to see how your final composite looks if you are zoomed into the Canvas while making adjustments.

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) drive

A method of providing nonlinear editors with many gigabytes of high-performance data storage by formatting a group of hard disks to act as a single drive volume.

Range check

Options that enable zebra striping to immediately warn you of areas of a clip's image that may stray outside of the broadcast legal range.

Razor Blade

An option on the Tool Palette that allows you to slice the clip into two separate edits to be manipulated individually and is also used as a quick way to trim frames off of a clip.

Real-time effects

Effects that can be applied to clips in an edited sequence and played back in real time, without requiring rendering first. Real-time effects can be played back using any qualified computer.

Record monitor

A monitor that plays the previewed and finished versions of a project when it is printed to tape. A record monitor corresponds to the Canvas in Final Cut Pro.

Redo

To reverse an undo, which restores the last change made to a project.

Render

To process video and audio with any applied effects, such as transitions or filters. Effects that aren't real time must be rendered in order to play them back properly. Once rendered, your sequence can be played in real time.

Render file

The file produced by rendering a clip to disk. FCP places it in a separate hidden folder so it does not show up in the Browser, but is retrieved with the Timeline.

Render status bars

Two slim horizontal bars, in the Timeline ruler area, that indicate which parts of the sequence have been rendered at the current render quality. The top bar is for video, and the bottom for audio. Different colored bars indicate the real-time playback status of a given section of the Timeline.

Replace edit

Allows you to replace an existing shot in a sequence with a different shot of the same length.

RGB

An abbreviation for red, green, and blue, which are the three primary colors that make up a color image.

Ripple edit

An edit in which the start and end times of a range of clips on a track is adjusted when the duration of one of the clips is altered.

Roll edit

An edit that affects two clips that share an edit point. The Out point of the outgoing clip and the In point of the incoming clip both change, but the overall duration of the sequence stays the same.

Rotation

To rotate a clip around its anchor point without changing its shape.

RT Extreme

Real-time effects processing that scales with your system.

Ruler area

The measurement bar along the top of the Timeline, which represents the total duration of an edited sequence. Also displays the timecode corresponding to the location of clips in the Timeline. You can move the playhead on the ruler in order to navigate through clips in a sequence.

Sampling

The process during which analog audio is converted into digital information. The sampling rate of an audio stream specifies how many samples are captured. Higher sample rates yield higher-quality audio. Examples: 44.1 K, 48 K.

Saturation

The purity of color. As saturation is decreased, the color moves towards pastel then towards a white.

Scale

In the Motion tab of the Viewer, an adjustable value that changes the overall size of a clip. The proportion of the image may or may not be maintained.

Scratch disk

The hard drive that is designated as the destination to hold your captured media, rendered clips, and cache files.

Scrub

To move through a clip or sequence with the aid of the playhead. Scrubbing is used to find a particular point or frame or to hear the audio.

Scrubber bar

A bar below the Viewer and the Canvas that allows you to manually drag the playhead in either direction to playback.

SECAM (Séquentiel Couleur à Mémoire)

The French television standard for playback. Similar to PAL, the playback rate is 25 fps and the frame size is 720 x 546.

Selection tool

The default arrow-shaped pointer, which allows you to select items in the interface. For example, you use it to select a clip or edit point. You can choose the Selection tool by pressing the A key.

Sequence

An edited assembly of video, audio, or graphics clips. In Final Cut Pro, sequences can be up to four hours long and contain as many clips as you need to tell your story. A sequence can contain your entire edited program or be limited to a single scene.

Sequence clip

A clip that has been edited into a sequence.

Shuttle control

The slider control located at the bottom of the Viewer and the Canvas. This control is useful for continuous playback at different speeds, in fast and slow motion. It also shifts the pitch of audio as it plays at varying speeds.

Slate

A small clapboard that is placed in front of all cameras at the beginning of a scene, which identifies the scene with basic production information such as the take, date, and scene. A slate or clapper provides an audio/visual cue for synchronization of dual system recordings.

Slide edit

An edit in which an entire clip is moved, along with the edit points on its left and right. The duration of the clip being moved stays the same, but the clips to the left and to the right of it change in length to accommodate the new positioning of the clip. The overall duration of the sequence and of these three clips remains the same.

Slip edit

An edit in which the location of both In and Out points of a clip are changed at the same time, without changing the location or duration of the marked media. This is referred to as slipping because you slip a pair of In and Out points inside the available footage.

Slug

A solid black video frame that can be used to represent a video clip that has not yet been placed in the Timeline.

SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers)

The organization responsible for establishing various broadcast video standards like the SMPTE standard timecode for video playback.

Snapping

A setting in the Timeline that affects the movement of the playhead. When snapping is enabled, the playhead "snaps," or moves directly, to markers or edit points when it is moved close to them.

Solo

An audio monitoring feature in which one audio track from a group may be isolated for listening without having to remove it from the group.

SOT

Acronym for sound on tape.

Sound byte (SOT, sound on tape)

A short excerpt taken from an interview clip.

Split edit

An edit in which the video track or the audio track of a synchronized clip ends up being longer than the other; for example, the sound is longer than the video at the head of the clip, so it is heard before the video appears. Also referred to as an L-cut.

Spread

An audio control that allows you to adjust the amount of separation of stereo channels.

Square pixel

A pixel that has the same height as width. Computer monitors have square pixels, but NTSC and PAL video do not.

Static region

An area in a sequence in the Timeline that you lock so that it is visible even when you scroll to see other tracks. The static area can contain audio tracks, video tracks, or both.

Stereo audio

Sound that is separated into two channels, one carrying the sounds for the right ear and one for the left ear. Stereo pairs are linked and are always edited together. Audio level changes are automatically made to both channels at the same time. A pair of audio items may have their stereo pairing enabled or disabled at any time.

Storyboard

A series of pictures that summarizes the content, action, and flow of a proposed project. When using the Browser in icon view, clips can be arranged visually, like a storyboard. When dragged as a group into the Timeline, the clips will be edited together in the order in which they appear in the Timeline, from left to right, and from the top line down to the bottom.

Straight cut

An edit in which both the video and audio tracks are cut together to the Timeline.

Streaming

The delivery of media over an intranet or over the Internet.

Subclip

A clip created to represent a section of a master clip. Subclips are saved as separate items within a bin in the Browser, but do not generate any additional media on the hard disk.

Superimpose edit

An edit in which an incoming clip is placed on top of a clip that's already in the Timeline at the position of the playhead. If no In or Out points are set in the Timeline and Canvas, the previously edited clip's In and Out points are used to define the duration of the incoming clip. Superimposed edits are used to overlay titles and text onto video, as well as to create other compositing effects.

Super-black

Black that is darker than the levels allowed by the CCIR 601 engineering standard for video. The CCIR 601 standard for black is 7.5 IRE in the United States, and 0 IRE for PAL and for NTSC in Japan.

Super-white

A value or degree of white that is brighter than the accepted normal value of 100 IRE allowed by the CCIR 601.

Sweetening

The process of creating a high-quality sound mix by polishing sound levels, rerecording bad sections of dialogue, and recording and adding narration, music, and sound effects.

Sync

The relationship between the image of a sound being made in a video clip (for example, a person talking) and the corresponding sound in an audio clip. Maintaining audio sync is critical when editing dialogue.

Tab

In Final Cut Pro, tabs delineate projects in the Browser, sequences in the Canvas and Timeline, and functions within the Viewer. You click a tab to open a project or go to a specified function window, such as Video, Audio, Filters, or Motion. Tabs can also be dragged out of the main window to create a separate window.

Tail

The end frames of a clip.

Target track

The yellow light that indicates which track is active.

Three-point editing

The process of creating an edit by setting just 3 edit points that determine source content, duration, and placement in the sequence. With 3 edit points selected, Final Cut Pro calculates the fourth one.

Thumbnails

The first frame of a clip, shown as a tiny picture for reference. In Final Cut Pro, the thumbnail is, by default, the first frame of a clip. You can change the frame used as that clip's thumbnail by using the Scrub Video tool.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)

A widely used bitmapped graphics file format that handles monochrome, grayscale, and 8- and 24-bit color. There are two types of TIFF images, one with an alpha channel and one without.

Tilt

To pivot the camera up and down, which causes the image to move up or down in the frame.

Timecode

A unique numbering system of electronic signals laid onto each frame of videotape that is used to identify specific frames of video. Each frame of video is labeled with hours, minutes, frames, and seconds (01:00:00:00). Timecode can be drop frame, non-drop frame, or time of day (TOD) timecode, or EBU (European Broadcast Union) for PAL projects.

Timecode gap

An area of tape with no timecode at all. Timecode gaps usually signify the end of all recorded material on a tape, but timecode gaps may occur due to the starting and stopping of the camera and tape deck during recording.

Timeline

A window in Final Cut Pro that displays a chronological view of an open sequence. Each sequence has its own tab in the Timeline. You can use the Timeline to edit and arrange a sequence. The order of the tracks in the Timeline determines the layering order when you combine multiple tracks of video. Changes you make to a sequence in the Timeline are seen when you play back that sequence in the Canvas.

Time remapping

The process of moving a frame in a clip to another time relative to the Timeline. All frames in that clip from the beginning of the clip to that keyframe are either sped up or slowed down to accommodate the new duration that's been specified.

Title safe

Part of the video image that is guaranteed to be visible on all televisions. The title safe area is the inner 80 percent of the screen. To prevent text in your video from being hidden by the edge of a TV set, you should restrict any titles or text to the title safe area.

Tool Bench

A window that contains interface elements that supplement information displayed in the Viewer and Canvas. The Tool Bench can contain up to three tabsQuickView, Video Scopes, and Voice Over.

Tool palette

A window in Final Cut Pro that contains tools for editing, zooming, cropping, and distorting items in the Timeline. All tools in the Tool palette can also be selected using keyboard shortcuts.

Tracks

Layers in the Timeline that contain the audio or video clips in a sequence. Also refers to the separate audio and video tracks on tape. Final Cut Pro allows up to 99 video and 99 audio tracks to be used in a single sequence.

Track Lock

An icon that indicates a track has been locked to prevent accidental change.

Track Visibility

A control in the track controls area of the Timeline that you click to turn track visibility on or off. Invisible tracks don't play in the Canvas or on an external monitor, nor will they be rendered or output to tape. When a track is invisible, it appears darkened in the Timeline, but its contents remain in your sequence and you can still edit them.

Transition

A visual effect that is applied between two edits, such as a dissolve, wipe, or iris.

Transition Editor

A specialized editor that appears in the Viewer when you double-click a transition in the Timeline and is used to make detailed changes to a transition's timing and effects parameters.

Trim Edit window

A window in Final Cut Pro that displays both sides of an edit: the Out point of the outgoing clip on the left and the In point of the incoming clip on the right. You can use this window to adjust the edit point between two clips very precisely, frame by frame.

Trimming

To precisely add or subtract frames from the In or Out point of a clip. Trimming is used to fine-tune an edited sequence by carefully adjusting many edits in small ways.

Two-up display

A display in the Canvas that appears when using some type of trim or adjustment mode, such as Roll, Ripple, Slip, or Slide. Two individual frames appear to display either the frames being adjusted or the border frames.

Undo

A feature that allows you to cancel the last change made.

User Preferences

The area where you set up how you want to work with your media inside Final Cut Pro.

Variable speed

Dynamic alteration of the speed of a clip, alternating among a range of speeds, in forward or reverse motion.

Vectorscope

A window in Final Cut Pro that graphically displays the color components of a video signal, precisely showing the range of colors in a video signal and measuring their intensity and hue.

Video level

The measurement of the level (amplitude) of a video signal. It is measured using the Waveform Monitor in FCP.

Video scopes

Tools you can use to evaluate the color and brightness values of video clips in the Viewer, Canvas, or Timeline. Video scopes display an analysis of the video frame located at the current playhead position.

Video Scopes tab

A tab in the Tool Bench that contains the four Final Cut Pro Video scopes: Waveform Monitor, Vectorscope, Parade Scope, and Histogram.

Viewer

A window in Final Cut Pro that acts as a source monitor. You can use the Viewer to watch individual source clips and mark In and Out points in preparation for editing them into your sequence. You can also customize transitions, modify filters, and view and edit various effects. Clips from the current sequence in the Timeline can be opened in the Viewer to refine edits, effects, and audio volume.

Voice Over tool

Allows you to record audio in Final Cut Pro while simultaneously playing back a specified section of a sequence from the Timeline. Audio can be recorded using any Sound Manager-compatible device, such as a USB audio capture device, PCI audio card, or the built-in microphone on a DV camcorder.

VTR / VCR

Videotape recorder/Videocassette recorder. A tape machine used for recording pictures and sound on videotape.

VU meter (Volume Unit meter)

An analog meter for monitoring audio levels.

Waveform Monitor

A window in Final Cut Pro that displays the relative levels of brightness and saturation in the clip currently being examined. Spikes or drops in the displayed waveforms make it easy to see where the brightest or darkest areas are in your picture.

White balance

The reference to white that is made during recording. This reference can be changed within FCP to reset the white balance, correcting or improving it.

White level

An analog video signal's amplitude for the lightest white in a picture, represented by IRE units.

Wide-screen

An aspect ratio such as 16:9 or 2.35:1 that allows for a wider image, suitable for widescreen television or film projection.

Wide-screen matte filter

Adds a mask, blacking out the top and bottom of a 4 x 3 image, which creates a wide-screen image, such as 16:9.

Wipe

A type of transition that uses a moving edge to progressively erase the current clip to reveal the next clip.

Wireframe

A visual substitute for a clip that simply represents the outline of the clip's video frame. Clips in the Viewer and Canvas can be viewed in Wireframe mode.

Window burn

Visual timecode and keycode information superimposed onto video frames. It usually appears on a strip at the bottom or top of the frame, providing code information to the editor without obscuring any of the picture.

X axis

Refers to the x coordinate in Cartesian geometry. The x coordinate describes horizontal placement in motion effects.

Y axis

Refers to the y coordinate in Cartesian geometry. The y coordinate describes vertical placement in motion effects.

YcrCb

The color space in which digital video formats store data. Three components are stored for each pixelone for luminance (Y) and two for color information, Cr for the red portion of the color difference signal and Cb for the blue color difference signal.

YUV

The three-channel PAL video signal with one luminance (Y) and two chrominance color difference signals (UV). It is often misapplied to refer to NTSC video, which is YIQ.

Z axis

Refers to the z coordinate in Cartesian geometry. The z coordinate describes perpendicular placement in motion effects.

Zebra stripes

Animated diagonal "marching lines" that are superimposed over illegal areas or areas that are very near the broadcast legal limits in an image. Zebra stripes are enabled when you use Final Cut Pro's range-checking options.

Zoom

To change the view of your image or Timeline.

Zoom control

Used to zoom in or out while keeping the material in the waveform display area centered. Clicking to the right of the control zooms out to show more of the duration of your clip; clicking to the left zooms in to show more detail.

Zoom slider

The slider control that appears at the bottom of the Timeline. The Zoom slider allows you to navigate throughout the total duration of the currently displayed sequence; you can use the thumb tabs on the left and right of the slider to zoom in to and out of a sequence for a more detailed view.