Which view should you use, Manipulating images in the canvas – Apple Final Cut Pro 6 User Manual
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Chapter 14
Changing Motion Parameters
275
II
Manipulating Images in the Canvas
When a clip is selected in the Timeline or Canvas (and you are in a wireframe mode),
there are handles attached to the clip that allow you to perform different geometrical
manipulations. A number at the center of the selected clip shows which track the clip is
on. Shown below are the different handles on a selected clip in the Canvas.
Which View Should You Use?
There are several view and background options you can specify that make it easier to
work with composited layers in your sequence, specifically in the Canvas. For more
information, see Volume I, Chapter 7, “Canvas Basics.”
 Image+Wireframe: Use this option when adjusting motion effects directly in
the Canvas.
 Wireframe: This option is useful if you’re working on high-resolution clips and you
want to make a lot of changes quickly, without having to wait for your image to
update. The Wireframe option is also useful for quickly previewing motion you’ve
created using keyframes (discussed in “
Animating Motion Effects Using Keyframes
 RGB and Alpha views: You can view your sequence in the Canvas with RGB, Alpha,
or Alpha+RGB enabled. When compositing, you may want to look at the alpha
channel of your clip, which defines areas of transparency and can change if various
filters are applied. This can show you which areas of your frame are solid or
transparent so you can make sure the clip is properly set up.
 Background options: When working with clips that have an alpha channel, or with a
series of small clips that you’re compositing against a blank background, you can
choose different backgrounds to make it easier to see which areas of your
composition are transparent or in the background. For example, translucent clips or
generated text may be more visible if you choose a background that emphasizes
them, such as checkerboard 1 or 2.
Center handle (the
number indicates that
this clip is on track V4)
Rotational handle
Scale/Distort handle