Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 1216)

Chapter 20 Color Correcting Clips 429
II
Learning to Read the Vectorscope
The Vectorscope shows you the overall distribution of color in your image against a
circular scale. The video image is represented by a series of connected points that all fall
somewhere within this scale. The angle around the scale represents the hue displayed,
with targets indicating the primary colors of red, green, and blue and the secondary
colors of yellow, cyan, and magenta. The distance from the center of the scale to the
outer ring represents the saturation of the color being displayed. The center of the scale
represents zero saturation, while the outer ring represents maximum saturation.
The Vectorscope is useful for seeing, at a glance, the hue and intensity of the various
colors in your image. Once you learn to identify the colors in your clips on the graph in
the Vectorscope, you will be better able to match two images as closely as possible
because you can see where they vary. For example, the image above has points of
intense red and areas of vivid blue, which you can spot immediately on the
Vectorscope. The underwater image below contains predominantly blues, which
present an entirely different profile on the Vectorscope. While this is an extreme
comparison, by looking at various images and studying how the Vectorscope changes
you’ll learn how to spot the information you’re looking for.
Red of clothing
Blue of background
Distribution of blues