Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 1082)

Which View Should You Use?
There are several view and background options you can specify that make it easier to
work with composited layers in your sequence, specifically in the Canvas. For more
information, see
“Canvas Basics.”
• Image+Wireframe: Use this option when adjusting motion effects directly in the Canvas.
• Wireframe: This option is useful if you’re working on high-resolution clips and you want
to make a lot of changes quickly, without having to wait for your image to update. The
Wireframe option is also useful for quickly previewing motion you’ve created using
keyframes (discussed in
“Animating Motion Effects Using Keyframes” ).
• RGB and Alpha views: You can view your sequence in the Canvas with RGB, Alpha, or
Alpha+RGB enabled. When compositing, you may want to look at the alpha channel
of your clip, which defines areas of transparency and can change if various filters are
applied. This can show you which areas of your frame are solid or transparent so you
can make sure the clip is properly set up.
• Background options: When working with clips that have an alpha channel, or with a
series of small clips that you’re compositing against a blank background, you can choose
different backgrounds to make it easier to see which areas of your composition are
transparent or in the background. For example, translucent clips or generated text may
be more visible if you choose a background that emphasizes them, such as checkerboard
1 or 2.
Manipulating Images in the Canvas
When a clip is selected in the Timeline or Canvas (and you are in a wireframe mode), there
are handles attached to the clip that allow you to perform different geometrical
manipulations. A number at the center of the selected clip shows which track the clip is
in. Shown below are the different handles on a selected clip in the Canvas.
Center handle (the
number indicates that
this clip is in track V4)
Rotational handle
Scale/Distort handle
1082 Chapter 66 Changing Motion Parameters