Apple Final Cut Express HD - Manual (Page 1080)

1080 Glossary
black level An analog video signal’s voltage level for the color black, represented by
IRE units. Absolute black, or setup, is represented by 7.5 IRE for NTSC in the United
States and 0 IRE for NTSC in Japan and for PAL.
blue or green screening A special effects technique that allows you to derive an alpha
channel or matte from the blue or green background of a video clip in order to make it
transparent for purposes of compositing against other clips. Blue-screen technology is
what makes weather forecasters appear to be standing against an animated map,
when in reality they’re standing in front of a blue wall. Also known as chroma keying.
See also keying.
boosting The act of raising an audio level.
boundary Refers to either the In or Out point of a clip in the Timeline.
broadcast Refers to signals intended for delivery on television, as well as network
delivery to a wide audience. Broadcasters may have strict guidelines for the signal
quality of programs for air. Broadcast quality is a phrase often used when referring to
these guidelines.
broadcast legal Broadcast facilities have limits on the maximum values of luma and
chroma that are allowable for broadcast. If a video exceeds these limits, distortion can
appear, resulting in unacceptable transmission quality. You can use the
Final Cut Express HD video scopes and range-checking options to make sure that the
luma and chroma levels you set stay legal.
Browser The central storage area in Final Cut Express HD, where you organize all of the
source material used in your project. The Browser lists all elements—video and audio
clips, graphics clips, and sequences—in a project. Each project is represented by a tab
that contains that project’s file. You can further organize your media clips within a
project using bins, which are similar to folders.
calibrate To adjust a feature for accuracy.
Canvas In Final Cut Express HD, the Canvas is the equivalent of a record monitor in a
tape-to-tape editing system. It works with the Timeline, displaying the frame at the
position of the playhead in the Timeline and showing what your edited sequence looks
like when it is played. Changes you make to a sequence in the Timeline are seen when
you play back that sequence in the Canvas. If you modify clips in the Canvas, the changes
are stored with the clips in the Timeline. You can also use the Canvas to perform edits.
capture To move NTSC or PAL video or audio from tape to a digital format for use by
Final Cut Express HD. An older term for capturing is digitizing. Captured video clips
appear on the specified scratch disk as a series of QuickTime movie files. See also digitize.
center point Defines a clip’s location in the X/Y coordinate space in the Motion tab of
the Canvas.