NOTE: You can save up to 30 still frames. To review and select a specific saved frame, click the Frame Browser text button and select the image you want. When you switch to the Saved button at the top, you can save a frame from the timeline by clicking the Save Frame button. In either case, the Comparison Viewer is a fast way to compare how the clip you are currently grading “compares” to the clip before or after it. However, we can also use the Comparison Viewer with traditional color grading tools, such as the color wheels. (For this screenshot I applied Effects > Looks > Dry Heat to the left-hand clip.)
However, when doing color grading, that’s all you need.Īs an example, let’s say I want to give this scene the feeling of a memory or flashback. The Comparison Viewer only displays stills. Next edit: Displays the In of the in-coming clip that touches the timeline clip the playhead is in.Previous edit: Displays the Out of the out-going clip that touches the timeline clip the playhead is in.
Saved: Displays one of up to 30 still frames, captured from the timeline.Timeline: Displays either the Out of the clip before, or the In of the clip after, the timeline clip containing the playhead.There are four key buttons in this screen: (Footage courtesy of John Putch “Route 30, Too!” ( This displays the Comparison Viewer to the left of the Viewer. Select Window > Show in Workspace > Comparison Viewer (Shortcut: Control + Cmd + 6).
That’s where the Comparison Viewer comes in. Because I want to compare the flow from one shot to the next, it would be really helpful to see more than one clip on-screen as I’m grading. Here’s a dramatic scene that I want to color grade. This feature, which first appeared in FCP 10.4.4, is easy to overlook, but really helpful when you are doing color grading. As I was researching a recent webinar on all the new features in Final Cut Pro 10.5, I re-discovered the Comparison Viewer.