Apple Final Cut Pro 6 - Manual (Page 1961)

478 Glossary
VITC Stands for vertical interval timecode. Timecode that is written into the video signal
on the source tapes as they’re being recorded. You can view this timecode as a series of
changing, flickering white dots and line segments in one of the scan lines above the
active picture on a monitor in underscan or pulse-cross modes. When viewed normally,
the line containing the timecode is off the top of the screen. Because it’s part of the
video signal, VITC timecode can’t be changed on your original tapes without also
replacing the video signal. Compare with LTC.
Voice Over tool Allows you to record audio in Final Cut Pro while simultaneously
playing back a specified section of a sequence from the Timeline. Audio can be
recorded using any Mac OS X Core Audio-compatible device, such as a USB audio
capture device, PCI audio card, or the built-in microphone on a DV camcorder.
VTR Abbreviation for videotape recorder. Generally refers to professional equipment
used for recording video from various sources.
VU meter Short for Volume Unit meter. An analog meter for monitoring audio levels.
WAVE An audio file format based on the general-purpose RIFF format developed by
Microsoft and IBM. WAVE files contain “chunks” identified by a four-letter code. For
example, WAVE files store audio samples in a “data” chunk, and format information such as
sample rate is stored in a “fmt “ chunk. WAVE files typically store uncompressed audio using
pulse-code modulation (PCM), but it is also possible to store compressed audio samples.
Waveform Monitor A window in Final Cut Pro that displays the relative levels of
brightness and saturation in the clip currently being examined. Spikes or drops in the
displayed waveforms make it easy to see where the hot spots or dark areas are in
your picture.
white balance To make adjustments to a video signal being recorded in order to
reproduce white as true white. For example, if the white in a shot is too yellow
because of incandescent lighting, white balancing adds enough blue to make the
white appear neutral.
white level An analog video signal’s amplitude for the lightest white in a picture,
represented by IRE units.
widescreen Any movie presentation that has an aspect ratio wider than 4:3. In movie
theaters, 1.85 is considered standard and 2.40 is considered widescreen. For video, 4:3 is
considered standard and 16:9 (which is almost the same aspect ratio as 1.85) is
considered widescreen. See 16:9.