Monitor Canvas and Viewer with FCP Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope
by Philip Hodgetts
Creator the Intelligent Assistant Knowledge tools
- DV Companion (for Apple's Final Cut Pro)
- After Effects Companion
- Media 100 Companion
Article Focus: Everyone knows that it's impossible to monitor the video waveform and vector levels from the timeline with the Final Cut Pro Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope! We know that it's not possible in any NLE! Right?....Wrong, In this excerpt from the DV Companion for Apple Final Cut Pro, Philip Hodgetts shows us the impossible. For additional information go to the IntelligentAssistance website.
Technique
Monitor Canvas and Viewer with FCP Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope
In theory, the Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope are only able to monitor incoming video and audio during Log and Capture. However, it is possible to use them to monitor the Waveform and Vectorscop values from the Viewer or Canvas.
IMPORTANT: This is not officially supported by Apple but can cause no harm. There is no substitute for external monitoring of the outputs of the video device, but this Technique has proven accurate as long as windows are correctly aligned. This Technique has not been tested with any HDTV settings and may not work.
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Set the Canvas or Viewer Windows to display at 50%.
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Set the Log & Capture window to the small display size and open the Log & Capture Window.
Tactic - How2 Change the size of the Log & Capture Window
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Select the Clip Settings Tab and open the Waveform Monitor and Vectorscop window.
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Position the Waveform & Vectorscope window conveniently on the screen. Setting it over the Timeline will generally work.
Tip: If the window disappears behind other windows during this Technique, you can bring it back to the front by choosing the Windows menu and selecting Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope.
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Position the Canvas or Viewer so the image area of the Viewer or Canvas is exactly over the image area of the Log and Capture Window. It is important to get the two image areas aligned exactly so that the correlation of image and waveform location is correct.
The Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope will now display the waveform & vectors of the image in the Canvas or Viewer window.
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You can spot check along the duration of the Viewer Clip or Timeline by dragging the Playhead to a new location.
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Preview playback of DV Footage (and perhaps other codecs as well) by pressing Option+P on the Keyboard. Option+P will always play forward at the fastest rate that the processor can deliver, which is full frame rate for rendered DV footage.
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To view the waveform and vectors of a Clip in a Viewer, set the Viewer display and window to 50%. Position the Viewer window so the image area of the Viewer precisely aligns with the image area of the Log and Capture window.
Philip says: "You can use this Technique to preview the levels and vectors of colors in gradients, mattes and text created with a Final Cut Pro by first positioning the Viewer over the Log and Capture window with the Waveform monitor and Vectorscoope displayed. As you use the Generator controls you can immediately check that hue, saturation and levels are within Television safe."
An excerpt from the DV Companion - The Intelligent Assistant for Final Cut Pro
