Using Source Monitor and Program Monitor

The Source Monitor plays back individual clips. You can preview the clips in Source Monitor and add In and Out markers. You can prepare a sequence by inserting clips from Source Monitor. To add the clip to the timeline, hold (mouse down) on the video and drag it to the Timeline. Alternately, you can right-click and click Insert / Overwrite to bring clip to the timeline.

The Program Monitor displays the sequence of clips you are putting together. It shows your active sequence from a Timeline panel. 

Both Source Monitor and Program Monitor can be docked or undocked using the hamburger menu at the top of the panels. If you would like to learn more about Docking and Undocking panels, you can click here.

Each monitor features a time ruler and controls for playing back and cueing the current frame of a source clip. The Program Monitor includes a Freeze Frame button for capturing a still image from a single video frame.

Export Freeze Frame

You can export the freeze frames using the Export Freeze Frame feature. A dialog box opens when you select the Export Freeze Frame icon in the Program Monitor. You can export the frame or insert the frame in the movie.

Change magnification

The Source Monitor and Program Monitor automatically adjust the video size to fit the screen. You can zoom in to view the video in greater detail or zoom out to see more of the surrounding pasteboard area, which can be helpful for adjusting motion effects.

Playback Resolution

You can adjust the playback resolution by selecting the desired resolution from the Select Playback Resolution drop-down menu at the lower right button of the Source Monitor and Program Monitor. 

To enhance playback performance, the quality of playback at any resolution (Full, ½, and ¼) on the monitor is slightly lower than when the video is paused. This difference in quality may result in a minor change in image sharpness between playback and pause. Frames may appear slightly softer during playback than when paused at the default settings, even when both are set to full resolution. 

Compare edits to clips in the Program Monitor

Activate the Comparison View feature in the Program Monitor to compare changes in clips. Simply select the Comparison View icon at the lower right of the Program Monitor to enable it.

Features of Comparison view

• Side-by-Side Comparison: Display two frames simultaneously — one as the reference frame and the other as the current frame.
  
• Vertical and Horizontal Split: Toggle between side-by-side, horizontal, or vertical split views to compare frames.

By default, the side-by-side view shows the Before frame on the left and the After frame on the right. However, you can switch their positions by clicking the Swap Sides icon on the Program Monitor's right side.

If you use the vertical or horizontal split modes, you can drag the blue splitter across the image to do an onion-skinning comparison of the two shots.

Open a clip in the Source Monitor

Open the chosen clip in Source Monitor by clicking on the clip in Project Assets or Timeline.  The Source menu under the Source Monitor tab displays the open clips.

Use the Source Monitor and Program Monitor time controls

The Source Monitor has several controls for moving through time (or frames) in a clip. The Program Monitor contains similar controls for moving through a sequence.

Display the duration of a clip in the Source Monitor and sequence in the Program Monitor. Tick marks measure time using the video display format specified in the Project Settings dialog box. You can toggle the time rulers to display timecode in other formats. Each ruler also displays icons for its corresponding monitor’s markers and In and Out points. You can adjust the playhead, markers, and the In and Out points by dragging their icons in a time ruler.

Shows the location of the current frame in each monitor’s time ruler.

Show the timecode for the current frame. The current time displays are at the lower left of each monitor’s video. The Source Monitor shows the current time for the open clip. The Program Monitor shows the sequence’s current time. To move to a different time. Alternatively, click in the display and enter a new time, or place the pointer over the time display and drag left or right. To toggle display between full timecode and a frame count, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the current time in either monitor or a Timeline panel.

Show the duration of the open clip or sequence. The duration is the time difference between the In point and the Out point for the clip or sequence. When no In point is set, the starting time of the clip or of the sequence is substituted. When no Out point is set, the Source Monitor uses the ending time of the clip to calculate duration. The Program Monitor uses the ending time of the last clip in the sequence to calculate duration.

Zoom scroll bars correspond with the visible area of the time ruler in each monitor. You can drag the handles to change the width of the bar and change the scale of the time ruler below. Expanding the bar to its maximum width reveals the entire duration of the time ruler. Contracting the bar zooms in for a more detailed view of the ruler. Expanding and contracting the bar is centered on the playhead. By positioning the mouse over the bar, you can use the mouse wheel to contract and expand the bar. You can also scroll the mouse wheel in the areas outside the bars for the same expanding and contracting behavior. By dragging the center of the bar, you can scroll the visible part of a time ruler without changing its scale. 

View safe zones in the monitors

 Safe zone guides are for your reference and are not included in previews or export.

Nudge clips in Program Monitor

You can adjust the position of a selected object in the Program Monitor by moving it one frame at a time or by a larger frame offset, referred to as "nudging." In the Program Monitor, you can nudge an object forward, backward, up, or down. Nudging is exclusively available through keyboard shortcuts. To utilize the nudge controls, ensure you have selected the image, text, shape, or graphic layer in the Program Monitor. If the graphic layer is pinned, it will move accordingly when nudged. Each nudge movement can be undone individually using the undo action.