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“Timeline panels” on page 136

Using the J, K, and L keys to shuttle video

You can quickly and accurately move through frames in a sequence using the J, K, and L keys. The J key always moves the current-time indicator in reverse and the L key always moves it forward. The K key is a modifier and stop playback key. Press J to move backward at normal speed, press J and K to move backward slowly, or press K and tap the J key to move back a frame at a time. The K and L keys work in the same way to move forward. For more information about using the J, K, and L keys for playback, see this video by Richard Harrington on the Creative Cow website.

If you require more finely tuned control with the J, K, and L keys, particularly to hear audio better, do the following:

•After shuttling forward with the K and L keys, press Shift+L to play forward slightly faster. Press Shift+L again to play faster.

•After shuttling in reverse with the J and K keys, press Shift+J to play in reverse slightly faster. Press Shift+J again to play faster in reverse.

•You can press Shift+L and Shift+J up to five times to fine-tune the speed of playback.

If you are playing back too quickly, press the opposite keyboard shortcut to slow playback. For example, if you were playing back too quickly forward, press Shift+J to slow playback down by one increment.

Match a frame with its source

While editing in a Timeline panel, you can find the source frame for any frame in a sequence clip and display it in the Source Monitor. Also, you can find the source frame for any frame in a nested sequence, display it in the Source Monitor, and jump to its location in the source sequence.

1 Click the header of the track where the sequence clip is located, to target the track.

If more than one track is targeted, Premiere Pro will match the frame in the highest targeted track.

2 In a Timeline panel, position the current-time indicator over the desired frame in a clip.

Note: If the source clip for the frame in the sequence clip is already open in the Source Monitor or listed in the Source menu, the Source Monitor will display the last frame you viewed in the clip. To match the frame, close the clip in the Source Monitor before typing the Match Frame or Reveal Nested Sequence keyboard shortcut.

3 Do one of the following:

•For a clip in a standard sequence, type the keyboard shortcut for Match Frame, M by default. In Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 and later, you can also choose Sequence > Match Frame.

•For a clip in a nested sequence, type the keyboard shortcut for Reveal Nested Sequence, Shift-T by default.

Using the Waveform monitors and vectorscope

Premiere Pro has a vectorscope and waveform monitors (YC Waveform, YCbCr Parade, and RGB Parade) to help you output a video program that meets broadcast standards and also assist you in making adjustments based on aesthetic considerations, such as color corrections.

For decades, video production and duplication facilities have used waveform monitors and vectorscopes to accurately evaluate video levels—specifically, color and brightness.

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A vectorscope measures the chrominance (color components) of a video signal, including hue and saturation. A vectorscope maps a video’s color information onto a circular chart.

The traditional waveform monitor is useful in measuring the brightness, or luminance component, of a video signal. In Premiere Pro, the waveform monitors can also display chrominance information. The waveform monitor works something like a graph. The horizontal axis of the graph corresponds to the video image from left to right. Vertically, the waveform displays the luminance levels, and optionally, the chrominance levels.

Andrew Devis shows hot to find and understand the Vectorscope in Premiere Pro in this video tutorial on the Creative Cow website.

Andrew Devis shows hot to find and understand the YC Waveform Monitor in Premiere Pro in this video tutorial on the Creative Cow website.

Jeff Sengstack explains how to work with the YC Waveform Monitor and the Vectorscope in his article, “Streamlining Color Correction in Premiere Pro” on the Pro Video Coalition website.

Maxim Jago introduces the Waveform Monitor for color adjustments in Adobe Premire Pro in this video on the video2brain website.

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Vectorscope on Premiere Pro Wikia

View a scope

You can view a vectorscope, YC waveform, YCbCr Parade, and an RGB Parade scope either individually or grouped in the Reference Monitor, Program Monitor, or Source Monitor.

1 Depending on whether you want to view a scope for a master clip or sequence clip, do one of the following:

•Double-click the clip in the Project panel.

•In a Timeline panel, position the current-time indicator in the sequence you want.

2(Optional) Choose Reference Monitor from the Window menu if you selected a clip in a Timeline panel.

3Choose any of the following from either the Reference Monitor, Program Monitor, or Source Monitor menu:

All Scopes Displays the Vectorscope, YC Waveform, YCbCr Parade, and RGB Parade scopes in one monitor.

Vectorscope Displays a vectorscope for viewing the chrominance in the video.

YC Waveform Displays a waveform monitor for viewing luminance and chrominance information.

YCbCr Parade Displays a scope with luminance (Y) and color difference (Cb and Cr) information.

RGB Parade Displays a scope showing the red, green, and blue components in the video.

Vect/YC Wave/YCbCr Parade Displays the Vectorscope, YC Waveform, and YCbCr Parade scope in one monitor.

Vect/YC Wave/RGB Parade Displays the Vectorscope, YC Waveform, and RGB Parade scope in one monitor.

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Vectorscope

The Vectorscope displays a circular chart, similar to a color wheel, that shows the video’s chrominance information. Saturation is measured from the center of the chart outward. Saturated, vivid colors produce a pattern some distance from the center of the chart, while a black-and-white image produces only a dot at the center of the chart. The particular color, or hue, of the image determines the direction (angle of the pattern). Small target boxes indicate where fully saturated magenta, blue, cyan, green, yellow, and red (present in a color bars test pattern) should appear. In NTSC video, chrominance levels should not exceed these target areas.

A B

Vectorscope

A. Target boxes B. Image profile

The Vectorscope has the following controls:

Intensity Adjusts the brightness of the pattern display. It does not affect the video output signal.

75% Default position. Use to check video input in which standard 75% intensity bars, like those in Premiere Pro, are used.

100% Shows the entire range of video signal chrominance. Use with video input containing 100% intensity bars.

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“Color Correction effects” on page 352

YC Waveform

The YC Waveform displays a graph showing the signal intensity in the video clip. The horizontal axis of the graph corresponds to the video image (from left to right) and the vertical axis is the signal intensity in units called IRE (named for the Institute of Radio Engineers).

The YC Waveform displays luminance information as a green waveform. Bright objects produce a waveform pattern (bright green areas) near the top of the graph; darker objects produce a waveform toward the bottom. For NTSC video in the United States, luminance levels should range from 7.5 to 100 IRE (sometimes referred to as the legal broadcast limit). Japan’s implementation of NTSC standards permits a luminance range from 0 to 100 IRE. Generally, luminance and chroma values should be about the same and distributed evenly across the 7.5 to 100 IRE range.

The YC Waveform also displays chrominance information as a blue waveform. The chrominance information is overlaid upon the luminance waveform.

You can specify whether the YC Waveform displays both luminance and chrominance information, or just luminance information. For a video on reading a waveform monitor, see www.adobe.com/go/vid0238.

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A

B C D

YC Waveform with the chroma control enabled

A. IRE units B. Luminance (green) waveform C. Chrominance (blue) waveform D. Range of signal components

The YC Waveform has the following controls:

Intensity Adjusts the brightness of the waveform display. It does not affect the video output signal.

Setup (7.5 IRE) Displays a waveform that approximates the final analog video output signal. Deselecting this option displays the digital video information.

Chroma Displays both chrominance in addition to luminance information. Deselecting this option displays only the luminance.

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Reading a waveform monitor

YCbCr Parade

The YCbCr Parade scope displays waveforms representing levels of the luminance and color difference channels in the video signal. The waveforms appear in a graph one after another.

The Intensity control adjusts the brightness of the waveforms. It does not affect the video output signal.

Note: Cb and Cr are the color difference channels in a digital video signal. Cb is blue minus luma and Cr is red minus luma. Y represents luma.

A

B C D E

YCbCr Parade scope

A. Values B. Y (luminance) waveform C. Cb waveform D. Cr waveform E. Range of signal components

Last updated 1/16/2012