Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 390)

Chapter 4 Using Markers 55
I
Markers in clips and sequences are visually different.
 Clip markers appear on individual clips in the Viewer and Timeline and are colored
pink. You can add these markers in the Viewer or in the Timeline.
 Sequence markers appear both in the Timeline ruler and in the Canvas scrubber bar
and are colored green. You can add these markers in the Canvas or in the Timeline.
Types of Markers
There are several kinds of markers that you can add in Final Cut Pro:
 Note marker: This is the default marker that is created when you add a marker to a
clip or sequence.
 Chapter marker: These markers are automatically translated into DVD chapter
markers in applications such as DVD Studio Pro. A chapter marker is distinguished by
the text <CHAPTER> appearing in the Comment field of its Edit Marker window.
 Compression marker: You should add compression markers when there is an abrupt
change from one frame to the next, such as before and after each transition, and at
each cut in your sequence. These markers can help to compress that section more
smoothly. A compression marker is distinguished by the text <COMPRESSION>
appearing in the Comment field of its Edit Marker window in Final Cut Pro.
When you export your movie to an MPEG format, such as MPEG-2 for DVD,
Final Cut Pro automatically adds an MPEG I-frame where these compression markers
are located for better-quality encoding. I-frames, also known as reference or key
frames, contain the complete image of the current frame, without reference to
frames that precede or follow it.
For more information, see Volume IV, Chapter 16, “Exporting Sequences for DVD.”
Green sequence markers
Pink clip markers