Render Control Tab
New sequences are created with the settings in the Render Control tab of the User
Preferences window. Once a sequence is created, you can change render control
options by selecting the sequence, and then choosing Sequence > Settings.
These settings allow you to enable and disable different processor-intensive effects in
Final Cut Pro, such as filters, motion blending, and motion blur. This is useful if you
want to speed up processing by not rendering all effects during playback, but you
don’t want to remove or individually disable these effects in the sequences of your
project. These settings affect real-time playback, rendering, video output, and
QuickTime output.
Render and playback
settings
Additional render
settings
Chapter 27
Sequence Settings and Presets
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IV
Render and Playback Settings
 Filters: If this option is not selected, all filters are ignored during playback, improving
real-time performance.
 Frame Blending for Speed: If this option is selected, clips with speed adjustments are
processed with frame blending. Frame blending makes slow-motion video smoother
by synthesizing in-between frames. This requires more processing power, so you can
turn it off when you are working on a rough cut.
 Motion Blur: If this option is not selected, motion blur is ignored for all clips in
your sequence.
Render Settings
 Frame Rate: You can use this pop-up menu to reduce the frame rate of rendered
segments of a sequence, dramatically speeding up rendering but lowering playback
quality. For example, if you’re editing at 29.97 fps, and you choose 50 percent in the
Frame Rate pop-up menu, rendered effects in your sequence play back at 15 frames
per second.
 Resolution: Choose a percentage from this pop-up menu to reduce the resolution of
rendered effects, speeding up rendering but lowering playback quality. For example,
if you’re editing with a frame size of 720 x 480, choosing 50 percent lowers the
resolution of rendered effects to a noninterlaced 360 x 240. Rendered effects are
still full-frame, but they have lower resolution.
 Codec: This pop-up menu affects rendering of native HDV and XDCAM HD
sequences. Choose whether render files are created in the native codec of your
sequence segments or using the Apple ProRes 422 codec. Because Final Cut Pro
supports mixed-format sequences, you can play back the entire sequence, including
the Apple ProRes 422 codec render files, in real time.
∏
Tip: You can control many of these settings by assigning keyboard shortcuts or
adding buttons to the button bar using the Keyboard Layout window. For more
information on using the Keyboard Layout window, see Volume I, Chapter 10,
“Customizing the Interface.”
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Part IV
Settings and Preferences