The waveform monitor shows the relative levels of brightness and saturation in your footage, reading from left to right. Zero percent at the bottom is absolute black, and 100 percent at the top is absolute white. Remember that many Mini DV cameras can shoot over that 100 percent white level, which is fine for the internet but not for broadcast TV.

The waveform monitor shows the specific grayscale value of each pixel in the image, from left to right. So, if you have a black background on the left of the screen, all the pixels in that vicinity will be in the lower part of the monitor on the left. If a bright white object takes up a majority of the right side of the image, the majority of the pixels on the right of the waveform monitor will be toward the top of the monitor at the right.

This monitor shows only specific grayscale value for each pixel in the image. You cannot use the scope to identify specific features, as the waveform has no concept of a pixel being in a particular spot in an image.

The vectorscope looks like one of those World War II radar monitors with a crosshatch and circles radiating from the center. This monitor gives us information on color saturation and hue. It looks like a standard color wheel, with six squares called targets indicating the primary colors of red, green and blue and the secondary colors of yellow, cyan and magenta. The distance from the center of the circle towards the box represents saturation. When a color projects past its target box, it is oversaturated for television. Use a color correction filter or the broadcast-safe filter to bring color back into safe range.

The waveform monitor and the vectorscope are the main two video scopes, but there are two more that could be of assistance.

The first is the histogram, which shows you the relative strength of the luminance value in your image, from 0% or absolute black on the left to 109% or super-white on the right. The height of your peaks, valleys and spikes tells you the number of pixels at that luminance value.

This tool is good for checking exposure levels or comparing the contrast of two images. A low-contrast clip will have a big gathering of pixels in the center of the graph (bell curve shape), far from extreme white or black, whereas a high-contrast clip with be evenly distributed with possible spikes on the far right or left.

The parade scope is similar to the waveform monitor, in that it shows us the saturation of the image, but this scope separates the red, green and blue elements, putting them one right after the other in a "parade."

You can isolate and adjust individual primary colors. You can also use this scope to compare and contrast the colors of two different clips adjacent to each other. If you shoot an insert or B roll in a different location, you may try to match the RGB levels a bit to make them more compatible.

This is a quick jog through four very important tools for the intermediate or advanced editor: waveform monitor, vectorscope, histogram and RGB parade scope.

Don't expect that you know everything there is to know about these scopes from these few paragraphs. To expand your knowledge, find the scopes in your editing system, begin to notice how they work and further research their uses. There are many good, free online tutorials on how to use the scopes specifically for your editing software. Many of these tutorials will also show you how to use effects - such as color correctors, proc amps and more - along with the scopes.

Contributing editor Morgan Paar is a nomadic producer, shooter and editor currently teaching high school video production.