Creating Colour Sources
 
 
 

The Colour Source tool generates a virtual source that contains one or more identical frames of a solid colour or SMPTE or PAL colour bars at 75% or 100% luminance. When you use the Colour Source tool to create a custom colour source, you can save that colour in the colour palettes. You can also use this tool to create frames composed of video noise. Noise clips are not virtual sources — each frame in the clip is unique.

To create a colour source or noise clip:

  1. With Video selected from the A/V Tools box, click Colour Source.

    The Colour Source controls appear.

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    (a) Source Type box  (b) Luminance box  (c) Frequency box  (d) Resolution button  (e) Frame Code Mode box  (f) Timecode field  

  2. From the Source Type box, select the type of frame you want to generate.
    Select: To generate frames of:
    Colour A solid colour.
    Noise Monochrome video noise.
    Colour Noise Colour video noise.
    SMPTE Bars SMPTE standard colour bars.
    PAL Bars PAL standard colour bars.
  3. From the Luminance box, select 75% or 100% luminance.
  4. From the Frame Code Mode box, select the framerate and drop frame mode for your colour source clip.
    Select: To generate frames of:
    60 fps 60 frames per second (used for NTSC video).
    59.94 fps NDF 59.94 frames per second Non Drop-Frame (standard rate for NTSC). If you use 59.94 fps NDF, its indicated timings will not accurately correspond with real time.
    59.94 fps DF 59.94 frames per second Drop-Frame (standard rate for NTSC). This times the video accurately with real time by dropping the extra frames in the count.
    50 fps 50 frames per second (standard for PAL).
    30 fps 30 frames per second (mimics a film camera's frame-by-frame image capture).
    29.97 fps NDF 29.97 frames per second Non Drop-Frame (frame rate for colour NTSC). If you use 29.97 fps NDF, its indicated timings will not accurately correspond with real time.
    29.97 fps DF 29.97 frames per second Drop-Frame (frame rate for colour NTSC). This times the video accurately with real time by dropping the extra frames in the count.
    25 fps 25 frames per second (good for LCD monitors or display formats that are not interlaced).
    24 fps 24 frames per second (used to transfer a video signal to film).
    23.976 fps 23.976 frames per second. This frame rate is used for NTSC DVD playback.
  5. In the Start field, specify the start time.
  6. In the Timecode field, specify the duration of the colour source that you want to generate.
  7. To generate audio with the clip, select the number of audio tracks from the Track box and then select a frequency from the Frequency box.
    NoteSelecting Silence will create audio tracks with a flat waveform.
  8. If the frame mode is set to Colour, select the colour for the frames using one of the following methods:
  9. By default, the result clip will have the same resolution as the project default resolution. To specify an alternative resolution, click Res.

    The Resolution controls appear.

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    (a)  Width and Height fields  (b) Resolution Presets box  (c) Bit Depth box  (d) Scan mode box  (e) Aspect Ratio Presets box  (f) Aspect Ratio field  

  10. Specify resolution settings for the result clip using the Resolution controls.
  11. Click Resolution to exit the Resolution menu.
  12. Select the destination for the generated clip.

Once you create a colour source or colour bar clip using the Colour Source controls, you can use it as a virtual source. See Virtual Sources.

NoteAudio settings and colour pots are saved from session to session. If you want to reset the options to the factory defaults, click Reset All in the Colour Source controls.

To save a custom colour:

  1. With Video selected from the A/V Tools box, click Colour Source.
  2. Click the Source colour pot to open the colour picker.

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    (a) Colour palettes  (b) Source colour pot  

  3. Set a custom colour.
  4. Click and hold in one of the colour palettes to store the custom colour.