Visual QuickStart Guide [Electronic resources] : Final Cut Express HD for Mac OS X

Lisa Brenneis

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Adding Transition Effects

You can add transitions along with clips as you assemble your sequence by performing one of the two transition edit types available in the Canvas edit overlay, or you can apply transitions to edit points after you have assembled your sequence. Once you've applied transitions, you can go back and modify them as you refine your cut.

Final Cut Express displays transitions as overlays within a single Timeline trackan efficient use of screen real estate (Figure 13.1 ). You can adjust a transition directly in the Timeline window, or you can make more complex adjustments in the Transition Editor. The following procedures for adding a transition to a sequence are performed in the Timeline.

Figure 13.1. Transitions appear as overlays within a single Timeline track. The dark gray diagonal shading on the transition's Timeline icon indicates the transition's direction, alignment, and speed.

FCE Protocol: Transitions

Because transitions are created by overlapping material from two adjacent clips, each source clip must have enough additional frames to span half of the transition's duration. If a source clip is too short to create the transition at your specified duration, Final Cut Express will calculate and apply the transition with a shorter duration, or not apply it at all if you have no additional frames.
You can add transition effects as you edit a clip into a sequence, or you can add transitions to a previously edited sequence.
You can place a transition so that it is centered on the cut, starts at the cut, or ends at the cut.
When you use the Transition edit in the Canvas overlay to add a clip to your sequence, FCE always centers the transition on the cut between the two clips. If you want to add a transition that either starts or ends at the cut, add the transition after the clips are placed in the sequence.

To add a transition effect that's centered on a cut:

In the Timeline, select the edit point between two clips on the same Timeline track (Figure 13.2 ).

Figure 13.2. Selecting an edit point in the Timeline.

To add the transition effect,

do one of the following:

Choose Effects > Video Transitions; then select from the submenu's list of effects (Figure 13.3 ).

Figure 13.3. Choosing Cross Dissolve from the Effects menu.

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Drag a transition effect from the Effects tab in the Browser onto the cut, centering it over the cut.
To add the default transition, Control-click the edit point; then choose Add Transition from the shortcut menu.

The transition is applied to the selected edit point (Figure 13.4 ).

Figure 13.4. The Cross Dissolve transition is applied to the selected edit point in the Timeline.

Tip

You can change the alignment of an existing transition by Control-clicking the selected transition in the Timeline and then choosing a different alignment from the shortcut menu.

To add a transition effect that starts or ends at a cut:

Drag a transition effect from the Effects tab in the Browser onto the edit point in the Timeline, aligning it so that it starts or ends at the cut (Figure 13.5 ).

Figure 13.5. Dragging the transition from the Effects tab of the Browser to the edit point in the Timeline. This Dip to Color Dissolve transition is aligned to end at the cut, creating a fade-out.

Tips

Create a fade-to-black transition by dragging the Cross Dissolve transition from the Effects tab of the Browser to the final clip in your sequence, aligning it so that it ends at the cut.
To fade up from black, drag the Cross Dissolve transition onto the beginning of the first clip in your sequence, aligning it to start at the first frame of the sequence.

FCE Protocol: Saving Changes to Modified Transitions

When saving changes to a transition, remember that transitions follow the same protocols as clips and sequences. (For more information, review "FCE Protocol: Clips and Sequences" in Chapter 4.) Here's a summary of the main points:

When you add a transition to a sequence by dragging it from the Browser to the Timeline, a copy of the transition is inserted into the sequence.
You can open a transition from the Browser (outside a sequence) or from the Timeline (within a sequence).
If you modify a transition from the Browser before you insert the transition into a sequence, the transition that is placed in the sequence includes the changes made in the Browser.
Any changes you make to a transition from within a sequence are not made to the transition in the Browser. If you want to reuse a transition you've designed within a sequence, drag a copy of your revised transition from the Timeline back to the Browser.

To delete a transition from a sequence:

In the Timeline, select the transition; then press the Delete key.

To replace one transition with another:

In the Timeline, select the transition you are replacing (Figure 13.6 ).

Figure 13.6. Select the transition you want to replace.

Choose Effects > Video (or Audio) Transitions; then select a replacement transition from a submenu (Figure 13.7 ).

Figure 13.7. Choose a replacement transition from the Effects menu.

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To copy a transition and paste it in another location:

In the Timeline, select the transition you want to copy; then press Command-C.

Control-click the edit point where you want to paste the transition; then choose Paste from the shortcut menu (Figure 13.8 ).

Figure 13.8. Control-click the edit point; then choose Paste from the shortcut menu.

Tip

You can copy and apply a transition to another edit point in one stylish move. Select your desired transition and then hold down Option while dragging the transition to another edit point in the Timeline. This technique works with clips, too.