Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
All Transitions and Filters can also be accessed from the Effects menu at the
top of the screen. Simply scroll down to Video Transitions or Video Filters and
select the effect you want. If you wish to use a Transition make sure the
Scrubber Bar in the Timeline is positioned where the Transition is to be
applied. If you choose a Filter, first highlight the clip in the Timeline and then
choose the Filter from the Effects menu. Whether you choose to access the
effects from the Effects menu or from the Effects tab in the Browser comes
down to personal preference. The result will be the same.
Compositing
Compositing is where all the fancy stuff happens: flying titles, moving boxes,
multi-layered dissolve sequences, transparent backgrounds - all the elements
that 'dress up' a video production and make it more than cuts, dissolves, basic
transitions and filters. As mentioned earlier, compositing encompasses
everything that involves more than one layer of video.
Video filters, transitions and generators can all be applied to any video track,
or several individual video tracks at a time, however, it is the 'stacking' or
'layering' of tracks of video that builds a composited sequence.
In on-line linear suites layering of video was done on a vision mixer in combination
with a DVE (digital video effects). In the film world an optical printer was used.
Pieces of film were sandwiched together (called
bi-packing) and this was then exposed to several
passes of light to achieve complex effects. Inside
of Final Cut Pro the tracks are layered in
hierarchical order with the tracks closest to the
top having priority over those below.
For those who have no idea what a DVE is -
this refers to a stand-alone box used in
television production for creating special
effects. DVEs became popular in the late 1970s
and 1980s and have been used all the way
through to the present. DVEs have been seen
as providing the video equivalent to the optical
