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.
