This generator lets you preview sections of your footage that fit within a different (smaller) frame size than the native size of your sequence, by rendering a customizable overlay over existing footage. The overlay can be used to add hints to your footage before a conversion from 16:9 to 4:3; to preview how your PAL content will look at NTSC resolution if no re-scaling is applied; to identify portions of the original HD frame to be preserved when down-sampling for DVD adaptation.
Effect Parameters
Presets
Presets contain a snapshot of the plug-in parameters. The Presets control lets you choose among one of the presets built into the plug-in, save current parameter values to a preset file, or load an existing preset file from disk.
A preset file saved to disk via the "Save As" button can be loaded from another instance of the same plug-in by clicking the "Open" button. Presets generated in one host can also be loaded from the same plug-in when used in a different host.
Frame Overlay
This popup menu lets you choose one of many predefined frame sizes to be used for the overlay. Choose the "Use Custom Size" option if you want to specify your own frame size via the "Custom Width" and "Custom Height" sliders.
Custom Width
The width of the inner frame, used when the value of the previous parameter is "Use Custom Size".
Custom Height
The height of the inner frame, used when the value of the previous parameter is "Use Custom Size".
Move Left/Right
Allows you to re-position the inner frame left/right within the native frame.
Move Left/Right
Allows you to re-position the inner frame up/down within the native frame.
In Range Color
The color used to identify the inner frame. This color is ignored unless the value of the "In Range Opacity" slider is set to a value higher than zero.
In Range Opacity
The opacity (also known as alpha component) of the color used to draw the inner frame size. By default this parameter is set to zero, to allow you to view existing footage "through" the overlay.
Out of Range Color
The color used to identify the outer (excluded) frame. This color is ignored when the value of the "Out of Range Opacity" slider is set to zero.
Out of Range Opacity
The opacity (also known as alpha component) of the color used to draw the outer (excluded) frame.
Display Status
Enable this parameter to view the current sizes of the original frame, as well as the overlay.
Frame Scale Factor
This parameter is only visible in Final Cut Pro 5.1.x, due to a bug specific to that host. Its value should always be left at 1.0. On all other hosts, this parameter is hidden.
Correct for Aspect Ratio
Scales the image to its natural display aspect ratio before the effect is applied. This parameter guarantees that geometric features in the effect appear undistorted when the footage is viewed at its display aspect ratio.
This parameter should be enabled for most footage whose display aspect ratio differs from the native aspect ratio of the codec, e.g. NTSC DV frames recorded at 720x480 pixels and displayed at 4:3 (640x480 pixels), or HDV frames recorded at 1440x1080 and displayed at 16:9 (1920x1080 pixels).
Disable this option if you have already taken steps to adjust the frame aspect ratio and/or notice that this parameter is causing unwanted distortion in your footage rather than preventing it.