- Change the Size of Text in the Browser and Timeline
- Zooming the Timeline
- Zooming Faster
- The Two Fastest Ways to Zoom
- Vertical Movement
- Image Quality in the Viewer vs. the Canvas
- Monitor Your Video Full Screen
- Remove Scroll Bars for Better Playback
- Back to Square One
- iChat Theater
- Green Is Not Just for Stoplights
- Visibility Lights and the Arrow Keys
- More Visibility Shortcuts
- The Secrets of the Right-Pointing Arrow
- Displaying Audio or Video Clip Names
- Display a Filmstrip of Images in the Timeline
- Displaying Source or Auxiliary Timecode
- Display Field Interlacing
- Duplicating Browser Clips
- Sorting Browser Columns
- Sorting Out Multiple Issues
- A Faster Way to Move Columns
- Customize Browser Columns
- Searching Browser Columns
- Searching Effects
- Viewing Thumbnails in the Browser
- Display Images Instead of Names in the Browser
- Fancy Light Table Tricks
- More Browser Fun
- Browser Keyboard Shortcuts
- Hidden Tricks with Tabs
- Jumping Between Tabs
- Riddle Me a Riddle
- Selecting Multiple Clips
- Selecting an Edit Point
- Using Range Selection
- Get Moving with Timecode
- Locking Tracks
- Toggling Display Modes
- Scrolling the Timeline
- Scrubbing the Playhead
- Find the Missing Playhead
- Scrubbing Timeline Thumbnails
- Discover Project Properties
- Markers Got Spiffed Up
- Markers Can Be Moved!
- A Better Way to Move Between Markers
- Reading Clip Markers
- Using Markers to Log Footage
- Deleting Multiple Clip Markers
- Markers Have Default Colors
- Using Markers in Multiclips
- Option Means Opposite
- Other Option Key Tricks
- The Fastest Way to Find a Keyboard Shortcut
- I Feel the Need—for Speed!
- Create a Custom Keyboard Shortcut
- “A”—An Amazing Authority
- Wonderful, Wacky, W
- How to Remove a Button
- Creating a Custom Button
- Reset/Remove All Buttons in a Button Bar
- Additional Thoughts
Display Field Interlacing
By default, Final Cut Pro hides interlacing. Here’s how to turn it on.
Interlacing is a fact of life for NTSC, PAL, and some HD formats. The problem is that Final Cut Pro keeps it hidden—which is fine until you have a flicker problem or need to export a freeze frame. At that point, it would be great to see what the interlacing looks like.
Interlacing was invented back in the mid-1930s when TV was developed. It solved problems with video camera imaging and analog broadcast transmission. But, as we move into all-digital video editing, it drives us completely nuts.
An interlaced image displays every other video scan line (2-4-6-8...), then overlays it with the remaining scan lines (1-3-5-7-9...). The first field is called the even (or lower) field, because it contains all the even lines. The second field is called the odd (or upper) field, because, as you’ve probably guessed, it contains all the odd-numbered lines. They are shot and displayed a fraction of a second apart.
It’s that fraction of a second that causes the problem. If you have a rapidly moving object, this difference in time causes thin horizontal lines to radiate from all moving edges when you superimpose the earlier field on the later one.
To see interlacing, go to the rightmost of the three pop-up menus in the top center of the Viewer or Canvas and set the zoom percentage to 100%.
There’s nothing inherently wrong about interlacing—it’s a part of the video format. TV sets don’t show it at all. However, when viewing video on a computer monitor, interlacing can be very distracting, which is why Final Cut hides it in the first place.