Apple Final Cut Pro X (10.0.9) - Manual (Page 461)

Glossary 461
chroma key 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 the
purpose of compositing it 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 blue or green screening. See also alpha channel.
clip The term used to describe a video or audio asset, especially after it has been imported into
Final Cut Pro. Clips appear in the Event Browser, the Timeline, and the media browsers. Clips in
Final Cut Pro point to (link to) source media files stored on a disk. When you modify a clip, you
are not modifying the media file, just the clip’s information in Final Cut Pro. (This is known as
nondestructive editing.)
clipping Distortion occurring during the playback or recording of digital audio because of a
signal that exceeds the maximum sample value of 0 dBFS.
clip selection A selection of whole clips in the Event Browser or the Timeline. In contrast to a
range selection, a clip selection is limited to clip boundaries. You cannot adjust a clip selection to
include portions of clips. However, you can add or remove whole clips.
codec Short for compressor/decompressor, or encode/decode. A software component used to
translate video or audio from its current form to the digital compressed form in which it is
stored on a computer’s hard disk. DV, Photo JPEG, and Apple ProRes are common QuickTime
video codecs.
color balance Refers to the mix of red, green, and blue in a clip. In Final Cut Pro, you can adjust
the color balance of the highlights (bright areas), midtones, or shadows (dark areas) of your clip
using the Color Board.
color bars A standard color test signal displayed as columns, often accompanied by a reference
audio tone. Color bars are used to adjust the video signal of the incoming source to maintain
proper color from import through output.
Color Board The Color Board allows you to manually adjust a clip’s color properties. It contains
separate panes for adding or subtracting a color tint, controlling the intensity of the color, and
controlling the brightness of the video. In addition to an overall control, each pane has individual
controls for the highlight, midtone, and shadow areas of the image.
color cast An unwanted color tint in the image, usually caused by lighting issues.
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 correction is generally one of the last steps in
finishing an edited program. The color correction tools in Final Cut Pro give you precise control
over the look of every clip in your project by allowing you to adjust the color balance, black
levels, midtones, and white levels of individual clips.
color difference In video formats that store color information in the Y'CbCr color space, color
channels are derived by subtracting Y (luma) from the R (red) and B (blue) signals and are
sometimes referred to generally as B-Y and R-Y. See also Y'CbCr.
compositing A process in which two or more images are combined into a single frame. This
term can also describe the process of creating various video effects.