1.5

Whenever rendering your project changes the codec, frame size, or both, you are presented
with a dialog when you send your project to Final Cut Pro that asks: “Change graded
Final Cut Pro sequence to match the QuickTime export codec?”
• If you click Yes to change the sequence settings to match the graded media rendered
by Color, then the codec used by the sequence sent to Final Cut Pro will be changed
from the one that was originally sent to Color. Also, the frame size of the sequence will
change to match the frame size of the rendered media.
• If you click No, the settings of the sequence that Color sends back to Final Cut Pro will
be identical to those of the sequence that was originally sent from Final Cut Pro to
Color, but the codec used by the clips won’t match that of the sequence, and the
rendered clips will have their scale and aspect ratio altered to fit the original frame size.
For a complete list of which codecs are supported by Color, see Compatible QuickTime
Codecs for Import.
For a list of the mastering codecs that Color supports for output, see Compatible QuickTime
Codecs for Output.
Rendering Mixed Format Sequences
If you edit together a mixed format sequence in Final Cut Pro—for example, combining
standard definition and high definition clips of differing formats—you can still send it to
Color, as long as each clip of media throughout the sequence is in a format that’s
compatible with Color.
When you render the finished project, how the final media is processed depends on the
format you’re rendering to:
• If you’re rendering QuickTime media to send back to Final Cut Pro: Each shot is individually
rendered with the same frame size, aspect ratio, and interlacing as the original media
file it’s linked to. Regardless of the project’s resolution preset, standard definition shots
are rendered as standard definition, high definition shots are rendered as high definition,
progressive frame shots are rendered progressive, and interlaced shots are rendered
interlaced. On the other hand, every shot in the project is rendered using the QuickTime
export codec that’s specified in the Project Settings tab of the Setup room, and if the
original frame size is a nonstandard high definition frame size, then it is changed to
the nearest full-raster frame size when rendered.
When you send the project back to Final Cut Pro, the Position, Scale, Aspect Ratio, and
Rotation parameters of each shot in the Pan & Scan tab of the Geometry room are
passed back to each clip’s corresponding Motion tab settings in Final Cut Pro, so that
all of the clips conform to the sequence settings as they did before. However, each
rendered media file in the project that was sent back to Final Cut Pro should have the
same frame size, aspect ratio, and interlacing as the original media files that were
originally sent to Color.
393Chapter 17 The Render Queue