Track effects and source effects in Video by Zaweba

Most of the time an effect goes on a clip. That is fine until the same fix or style needs to appear in twenty places. Video by Zaweba offers two other homes for picture effects. A track effect, set in the track Inspector, applies to everything on that track. A source effect, set in the clip Inspector under Source effects, applies to a file wherever it is used in the project. Knowing where an effect should live saves a lot of repeated work and a lot of hunting later.

Track effects

A track effect belongs to the track rather than any clip. Whatever is placed on the track gets it, and if you add, trim or replace clips on that track, the effect carries on regardless.

That suits tracks with a clear job. A logo or watermark track can have a drop shadow so every logo stands out. A picture in picture track can have an outline and rounded crop so every inset window looks the same. A track used for B-roll might get a gentle film grain to match it to the main camera. Set it once and forget about it.

Source effects

A source effect belongs to the media file. Wherever that file appears on the timeline, in one place or fifty, the effect comes with it. Add new pieces of the file later and they already have it.

That is the right home for fixes to the footage itself. If one camera's file has a colour cast, a noise problem or needs a stabilising touch, a source effect corrects it everywhere at once. Long interview recordings cut into many small clips are the obvious case: one source effect fixes every soundbite.

How they combine with clip effects and adjustment layers

The four options form layers of responsibility. Source effects fix what is wrong with the file. Clip effects do something specific to one piece of the edit. Track effects give a whole track a role or style. Adjustment layers apply a change across all tracks below for a stretch of time.

A useful way to decide is to ask what the change is really about. If it is about the footage, use a source effect. If it is about one moment, use a clip effect. If it is about a kind of content that always lives on one track, use a track effect. If it is about a scene or section, use an adjustment layer.

The Effects tab is where you find effects for all of these, with search and badges, and you can apply one to a clip, a track or a source file from there.

Keeping track of where effects live

The convenience comes with one risk: an effect you can't find. If a clip looks different from how its own settings suggest, the change may be coming from somewhere else. Check the clip's Source effects, then the track Inspector, then look for an adjustment layer above it. Making that a habit saves a lot of confusion on a big project.

It also helps to keep each kind for its intended job. If you start putting creative looks in source effects, it becomes hard to tell fixes from style when you come back to the project months later.

Practical tips

Use source effects early, before you cut the footage into pieces, so every piece starts out corrected. Use track effects when you set up a project or series, as part of its structure. Leave clip effects for the moments that need them.

When a source effect is heavy, such as a strong stabilising effect, remember it runs everywhere the file is used. Check the badges in the Effects tab and use render previews from the Playback menu if playback slows.

Thinking about where effects live is one of those habits that separates a tidy project from a tangled one, and Video by Zaweba gives you the right places to put each kind.