Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 1249)

This chapter covers the following:
• What Is a Generator Clip? (p. 1249)
• Different Ways to Use Generators in Your Sequence (p. 1249)
• Video and Audio Generators Available in Final Cut Pro (p. 1250)
• Creating and Adding Generators to Sequences (p. 1255)
Final Cut Pro can generate several types of clips for you to use in your sequences, including
bars and tone, placeholders, and backgrounds.
What Is a Generator Clip?
Generators behave the same as other clips, but their content is actually generated internally
in Final Cut Pro. Generators never refer to media files on the scratch disk, so they can
never be offline as can clips that refer to media files. Because generators are generated
by Final Cut Pro, their aspect ratio, dimensions, resolution, and codec are determined by
the sequence they are edited into (unlike video and audio clips, in which these
characteristics are based on the media files they refer to).
Different Ways to Use Generators in Your Sequence
In creating composites and other effects, you may find some of the Final Cut Pro generators
helpful. They allow you to very quickly add certain types of built-in clips by simply choosing
items from a menu. For example, by choosing a generator, you can:
• Add clips that have certain shapes to use as design elements, or as layers when creating
track matte effects
• Create colored and gradient background layer clips for composites
• Add a placeholder or black gap between two clips, called a slug
• Add standard SMPTE color bars and tone to use as a reference (for duplication or
broadcast purposes) or as an effect
• Create shape layers and use them to create track matte effects
1249
Using Generator Clips 73