Apple Final Cut Express 4 - Manual (Page 813)

Chapter 52 Compositing and Layering 813
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These value ranges can be described as blacks, midrange values, or whites. These
regions are loosely illustrated by the chart below.
For example, the Multiply composite mode renders color values that fall into the white
areas of an image transparent, while the black areas of the image are left alone. All
midrange color values become translucent, with colors falling into the lighter end of the
scale becoming more transparent than the colors that fall into the darker end of the scale.
Important: Final Cut Express composite modes work in conjunction with a clip’s
Opacity parameter. The composite mode you select determines how the color values of
one clip interact with those in the clip beneath it. Additional changes made to a clip’s
opacity can lighten or intensify this effect.
Blacks Whites Midrange color values
Normal composite mode,
with the opacity of the
top clip at 50 percent