Reading the Waveform Monitor
The Waveform monitor displays a visual representation of the luminance levels of a video image. Instead of using multi-colored pixels to make up a recognizable image as the Canvas window does, the Waveform monitor displays the luminance values of the video image in white waveforms, which are comprised of very small white dots, sometimes called 'traces'. The left hand side of the Waveform monitor has a scale that runs from 0% (black) at the bottom to 100% (white) at the top. The higher the placement of the waveforms in the monitor window, the brighter that part of the image is. When the waveforms go above the 'White 100%" line, called 'Superwhite', then the image is not Safe for Broadcast. We need to limit the white levels to 100%, whether with the Broadcast Safe filter and or Color Correction. The benefit of the Waveform monitor in this case, is to use it to determine luminance levels and adjust the brightness to minimize any clipping that might occur because the video was overexposed. When the waveforms fall in the middle of the scope, from top to bottom, they are displaying the mid-tones of the image. The bottom of the waveform monitor represents the black or shadow areas. So, when looking at the Waveform monitor, the higher the waveforms, the brighter the image. The lower the Waveforms, the darker the image.