On-screen Controls

On-screen controls allow the direct manipulation of certain parameters through the Canvas. Video applications differ in how they allow you to access on-screen controls.

Even within the same video application, the technique for making these controls visible may vary from one type of plug-in to another. This document helps you access on-screen controls in all supported video applications.

To access on-screen controls in Final Cut Pro, make sure the clip is selected and the playhead is positioned somewhere within the in and out points of your clip:

A selected clip with playhead positioned within its in/out points

The above is enough to display on-screen controls for Generators, Titles and Transitions. When working with Effects applied to a clip, an extra step is required. Since multiple effects may be applied to the same clip, make sure the effect you wish to configure is selected in the parameter inspector:

A yellow outline denotes the currently selected effect, whose on-screen controls are displayed in the Canvas

Effects are also known in video applications as filters. Contrary to Generators and Transitions, multiple filters can be applied to the same clip, in a stack.

To access on-screen controls in Motion you must follow different approaches for Filters and Generators.

When working with Filters, select the effect layer in your timeline:

Selecting the filter layer (in purple) applied to a clip

When the filter layer is selected, any custom on-screen controls for that plug-in are displayed in the Canvas:

A labeled, on-screen point parameter as it appears in the Canvas

When working with Generators, select the clip in your timeline :

Generator

By default, Motion does not display custom on-screen controls for Generators, even when selected in the timeline. Your next step is to right-click on the Generator’s output in the Canvas and select the Control command from the contextual menu:

A contextual menu lets you switch between various set of on-screen controls available

Upon selecting the Control option, any on-screen controls available with the plug-in become visible in the Canvas.

To access on-screen controls in Premiere Pro, make sure the clip is selected and the playhead is positioned somewhere within the in and out points of your clip:

A selected clip with playhead positioned within its in/out points

Since multiple plug-ins may be applied to the same clip, make sure the effect you wish to configure is selected in the Effect Controls panel. Click the effect title to highlight it:

An effect with its name highlighed to enable on-screen configuration

When the effect title is highlighed, Premiere Pro displays any on-screen controls available for that plug-in:

The on-screen control for a point parameter, displayed at its exact coordinate within the frame.

To access on-screen controls in After Effects, select the layer the plug-in has been applied to and position the playhead within its in and out points.

Since multiple filters may be applied to the same clip, make sure the effect you wish to configure is selected in the Effect Controls panel. Click the effect title to highlight it:

Highlighting a filter to display it on-screen controls

As soon as the filter is highlighed in the inspector, After Effects will display its on-screen controls in the Canvas.