Other windows

Sound level meters window

An additional window, the levels window can be brought up from the Window menu.
The levels window displays the output audio levels after all mixing is done.

Sound level meters appear in many locations. They can be toggled in the viewer and compositor windows with the level toggle. They appear in the patchbay when a track is expanded (See section The patchbay). They appear in the recording monitor when audio is being recorded.

The sound levels in the levels window, compositor, and viewer correspond to the final output levels before they are clipped to the soundcard range. In the record monitor they are the input values from the sound card. In the patchbay they are the sound levels for each track after all effects are processed and before down-mixing for the output.

Most of the time, audio levels have numerical markings in dB but in the patchbay there is not enough room.

The sound level is color coded as an extra means of determining the sound level. Even without numerical markings, the sound level color can distinguish between several ranges and overload. Look at the color codings in a meter with numerical markings to see what colors correspond to what sound level. Then for meters in the patchbay in expanded audio tracks, use the color codings to see if it is overloading.

Be aware that sound levels in Cinelerra can go above 0 dB. This allows not only seeing if a track is overloading but how much information is being lost by the overloading. Overloading by less than 3 dB is usually acceptable. While overloading is treated as positive numbers in Cinelerra, it is clipped to 0
when sent to a sound card or file.

The visible range of the sound level meters is configurable in Settings->Preferences->Interface (See section Interface).

Overlays window

The Overlays window can be brought up from the Window menu.
It allows you to toggle on and off various parts of the timeline display (plugin autos, mask keyframes, asset name, … ). Every option in the View menu is available here.
When parameters are selected, they are drawn on the timeline over the tracks they apply to.

• Show assets - It is On by default. By default, the video assets are visible on the timeline. As soon as you place a piece of video on a video track, small pictures appear in the timeline, representing the video contents. Also, a sound graph appears in the audio tracks. Drawing timeline takes resources. Disabling showing assets makes the program more responsive.
• Show titles - If enabled, the audio/video tracks will show the name of the source file at the top of the segment on the track.
• Show transitions - If enabled, transitions are shown on the MediaTracks as transition icons between two media segments.
• Fade - If enabled, the fade level is shown as a horizontal white line on audio & video tracks. The Fade line represents an amplitude envelope.
• Mute - If enabled, the blue line appears on audio & video tracks. Indicates if the track is muted (on top) or not (on bottom).
• Mode - If enabled, keyframes of blending modes are shown as icons on the tracks. This gives us some visual indicator that a current blend mode has been changed. Automatic keyframe mode should be enabled. Enable automatic keyframe mode by enabling the automatic keyframe toggle "Generate keyframes while tweaking".
• Pan - This refers to automatic audio track panning. If a user changes a position of the audio output among the speaker arrangement, an icon appears on the audio track. With the Pan autos you can influence the position of the audio track in the stereo panorama. Automatic keyframe mode should be enabled.
• Plugin Autos (Keyframes) - Plugin Autos refers to keyframing of plugins. Indicates changes on a plugin, shown on the plugin bar. If enabled, you should see a "key" symbol at every keframe location right at your plugin. Automatic keyframe mode should be enabled.
• Mask - If enabled, you should see a green symbol at every mask keframe location right at your video on the timeline. Automatic keyframe mode should be enabled.

The following toggles refer to the Camera and Projector automation lines. Camera and projector automation is represented by three parameters (curves): for X, Y, Z axes respectively.

• Camera X - the red line (X axis) - the horizontal translation of the track.
• Camera Y - the green line (Y axis) - the vertical translation of the track.
• Camera Z - the blue line (Z axis) - the zoom in/out translation of the track.
• Projector X - the red line (X axis) - the horizontal translation of the track.
• Projector Y - the green line (Y axis) - the vertical translation of the track.
• Projector Z - The blue line (Z axis) - the zoom in/out translation of the track.