Waveform Monitor in Premiere Pro

Introduction

• Important tool for achieving correct exposure and color in videos.
• Various types: luma, RGB levels, chroma.

Accessing the Waveform Monitor

• Found under: Window > Lumetri Scopes.
• Focus on Waveform RGB for brightness of colors.
• Simplified view by selecting Luma (overall luminance).

Understanding the Waveform Monitor

X-Axis (Horizontal)

• Represents luminance of pixels from left to right.
• Demonstrated using a mask to show pixel information.

Y-Axis (Vertical)

• Indicates brightness/darkness in IRE (Institute of Radio Engineers).
• Scale from 0 to 100 IRE:
  • 0 IRE: Clipping black, no detail.
  • 100 IRE: Clipping white, no detail.
  • Values between 0 and 100: Detail and luminance present.

Practical Exercises

• Create new item: HD bars and tone to visualize IRE.
• Convert HD bars to black and white to illustrate IRE values.
  • Gray: Displays as 40 IRE.
  • White: Displays as 100 IRE.
  • Black: Displays as 0 IRE.

Applying Knowledge to Footage

• Example: Analyzing a garage door in footage:
  • Avoid brightening too much to retain detail (keep below 100 IRE).
  • Avoid underexposing (keep above 0 IRE) to retain detail.
• Importance of waveform monitor in controlling exposure.

Adjusting Exposure and Contrast

• Moving sliders affects luma values:
  • Raising/lowering exposure changes the image brightness.
  • Adjusting contrast expands/compresses luma values.
  • Understanding highlights vs whites adjustments.
  • Detecting body movement in the waveform monitor (dark pixels blocking bright).

Using an 18% Gray Card

• Helps achieve perfect exposure:
  • Expose gray card to 40 IRE.
  • Use zebras on cameras to indicate exposure level.
• Verify with waveform monitor in post-production.

Bitrate and Digital Values

• Y-Axis Measurements: Scale from 0 to 255 in 8-bit color.
• Understanding 8-bit vs 10-bit:
  • 8-bit: 256 values (0-255).
  • 10-bit: 1024 values (0-1023).

Color (Chroma) Waveform Monitor

• Switching to RGB waveform shows color levels.
• Hard stops from 0 to 100 IRE.
• Useful to see how adjustments affect different RGB values.

Viewing Modes

• Parade RGB: Easier to read than standard RGB waveform.
• YC (Luma and Chroma): Shows luma and chroma information together.

Recommendations

• Keep video signal within 7.5 to 100 IRE for broadcast safety.

Conclusion

• Final tips on color correction and using the waveform monitor.
• Invite for feedback and future video topic suggestions.