Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 1342)

Chapter 24 Rendering 555
III
Process Maximum White Pop-Up Menu
Final Cut Pro can process maximum white in one of two ways, depending on your
capture source. Many DV camcorders record video with whites that are brighter than
100 IRE, the level allowed by the CCIR 601 engineering standard for video. White levels
brighter than 100 IRE are called super-white.
When you use clips created in RGB color space (for example, imported graphics files,
Final Cut Pro generator clips such as the Text Generator, or QuickTime movie files that
use codecs in RGB color space), Final Cut Pro sets the maximum white values in these
imported clips to the white level specified by this pop-up menu. In this way, you can
make sure that the white levels of your graphics or generator clips match those of your
captured video.
This pop-up menu allows you to match RGB brightness to Y´C
B
C
R
clips using super-white.
It is available only if “Always Render in RGB” is not selected. The menu has two options:
 White: The maximum brightness of imported graphics or generators using the RGB
color space will be set to a digital level of 100 percent. If the exposure of your video
was carefully controlled during your shoot and you’re sure that the brightness of
your imported video clips is no more than 100 IRE, you should use this setting. As a
result, the brightest whites in your graphics or generators will be at 100 percent
when viewed in the Final Cut Pro Waveform Monitor. If you use the White setting, the
luma values of the graphics in your project will be broadcast legal, so it’s the
recommended mode for video destined for on-air broadcast.
 Super-White: The maximum brightness of imported graphics or generators using
RGB color space will be set to a digital level of 109 percent. This allows you to match
the super-white levels of clips from some DV camcorders with the maximum white
levels of your graphics or generator clips. As a result, the brightest white in your
graphics or generators will be mapped to 109 percent when viewed in the
Final Cut Pro Waveform Monitor. Using the Super-White option is important if you’re
trying to achieve a consistent look between RGB clips in your project and video clips
with super-white levels.
Important: While using the Super-White setting will match the super-white levels
recorded by some consumer camcorders, the output will not be broadcast-legal
because the luma levels will be too high according to the ITU-R BT. 601 standard for
video. In this case, if you have to output a tape for broadcast, you will need to correct
the white levels in your edited sequence, either by applying filters or by using
external hardware such as a proc amp.