Lesson 7: Applying Transitions Apple Pro Training Series 2nd Edition, Final Cut Pro X Instructor: Sam Edsall

Transitions to Refine Edits Changes the look of your video Changes the sound of your audio Edit to edit Smooth an abrupt audio or video edit Convey a passage of time Create a certain visual style When

Transitions to Refine Edits Dissolves Help move a story seamlessly from one clip to the next without calling attention to themselves Best for stories Wipes, pushes, 3D effects Draw attention to themselves Best for promos and advertisements What kind

Transitions to Refine Edits Dipping to black Also known as kissing black Used to signify a change in time or place Such as the next shot being the next morning End of show and commercial Caution Do not use dip to black if you are not signifying a change in time or place Confuses the viewer What kind

Create a New Project Make sure your external drive is booted and on your desktop. Choose File > Open Library > LESSON 7 If you dont see LESSON 7 choose Other and then select LESSON 7

Cuts vs. Dissolves Select the Delicious Peace_CUTS project. Play the project -- no transitions yet for video or audio. Now open Delicious Peace_Trans and see how it looks with transitions.

Duplicating a Project Control click the Delicious Peace_CUTS project and Duplicated it. Rename the duplicate Delicious Peace_Backup and open this project in the timeline.

Applying Transitions Drag the transition to the edit point Select the edit point, then apply the transition with a few mouse clicks Select the edit point and use the shortcut Command T A couple of ways

Applying Transitions In the timeline zoom into and play the first 2 clips BUMPER_Delicious and map of Africa Select the edit point between the two clips. Choose Edit > Add Cross Dissolve Play the new dissolve transition.

Transition Icon Gray transition icon between the the two clips Faint diagonal line appears over the edit point The project may be shortened by one second depending on settings Transition icon is the same for all transitions regardless of type The Transition Icon

Transition Mechanics Default transition is one second How it works FCP will use available media beyond the edit point (handles) to do the transition No change to project duration FCP will overlap the clips for the duration of the transition Project duration shortened by the length of the duration Two ways

Transition Mechanics Indicated the need to render the transition so it can play in real time FCP automatically begins a background render as you continue to work A render clip is added to the Events / Render Files folder The orange bar

Applying Transitions Use a keyboard shortcut: Select the edit point between coffee plant and coffee buds Press Command T Play the transition. Press Command Z to undo the transition for now.

Transition Mechanics When you add a transition, FCP uses the extra content (handles) before and after the edit point to do the transition effect If handles are not available, FCP will ask you if overlapping the clips is OK Transition Handles

Anatomy of a Transition Double-click this edit point again to open the Precision Editor. With one of the edges still selected press Command T to add a cross-dissolve.

Anatomy of a Transition Notice how the outgoing clip starts out as completely opaque then dims to nothing. The incoming clip starts at nothing and becomes completely opaque.

Transitions without Handles If the clips do not have enough media outside the edit point (handles) then Overlapping the edit point is the only option When this doesnt work

When Transition without Duration Change doesnt Work Play the clips between woman picks beans and man picks beans Click the left edit between them, then click the right edge. -- Yellow bracket = media handles -- Red bracket = no media handles

When Transition without Duration Change doesnt Work Press Command T Dialogue box appears informing you you dont have enough media handles and offered the alternative Create Create Transition. Note where the project currently ends, then click Create Transition Notice that the project shortened by one second.

A Word of Caution If you add a full overlap transition, your project will be shortened by the default transition length Total duration of your project shortens If you delete the transition, the project will STILL be as short If you decide you dont want the transition, then Command Z to undo it or after you delete the transition, trim the edit points to their original length Full Overlap Transitions

Adding a Transition to Both Ends of a Clip Instead of selecting an edit point, select the clip When you press Command T, both ends of the clip will get the default transition Add two transitions at once

Double Whammies In the timeline find the man roasts beans clip and select it. Press Command T The default transition is added to both sides of the clip. -- note the transitions used only available media and are shorter than 1 second.

What About the Audio? When two video clips are combined with a transition, the audio automatically does a cross fade Audio in a transition

The Transitions Browser A gallery of effects Many made in Motion Thumbnails allow you to preview the effect before you use it Skim over the transition to see how it works Transitions library

Prepare a Project for Transitions From the Library open the Zero to Hero project and duplicate it. Rename Zero to Hero Trans and load the project into the timeline.

Transitions Browser In the toolbar, click the Transitions Browser button. Transition categories are on the left Thumbnails of the transitions in that category are on the right Transitions Browser

Transitions Browser In the Category pane, click Dissolves. Move your pointer over the Cross Dissolve thumbnail to skim the transition, which appears in the Viewer. Then try out the Fade To Color transition.

Transitions Browser Click the All category again. In the lower-left corner click the Show/hide button to hide the categories pane.

Transitions Browser Search: In the search field, type comic to see the transitions related. Clear the search and type pan to see all the transitions that match your search criteria. Clear the search field again.

Applying a Transition Drag the transition to an edit point Select the edit point and double-click on the transition A couple of ways

Applying a Transition In the Zero to Hero project, select the edit point between army start and Tony Schumacher and (@47 seconds). Skim over the Letter X transition to preview it. To apply this transition, double click it in the Transitions Browser. Play it in the Timeline.

Applying a Transition Navigate the the 2nd edit point in the project, between crowd ots and crowd wide and select the edit point. From the Lights category, skim Lens Flare then double- click to apply it to that edit point. Play the clip.

Applying a Transition Select the edit point between the 6th and 7th clip Tony Pedregon and crash In the Replicator/Clones category, skim over Video Wall then double click to add it to the selected edit point. Play the edit.

Replacing a Transition Drag the new transition from the browser onto the timeline transition you wish to replace Select the old transition, then double- click the new one in the transition browser A couple of ways

Replacing a Transition In the Lights category drag the Bloom transition into the timeline and over the old Lens Flare transition between crowd ots and crowd wide When the pointer changes to a green circle with a plus sign, release the mouse.

Replacing a Transition Switch it back: Select the Bloom transition in the Timeline and double- click the Lens Flare transition in the browser to restore it.

Modifying a Transition Most transitions can be modified beyond just their duration Done though controls in the Timeline or onscreen controls directly in the Viewer A different look

Modifying a Transition Re-open the Delicious Peace Backup project we were working on into the Timeline. --clicking back on the history button in the timeline may work if you have not shut down FCP since you last worked on this project.

Modifying a Transition In the timeline select the 1st cross dissolve and hover the pointer over either edge of the transition When the Trim icon appears, drag the transition edge away from the center as far as possible.

Modifying a Transition The duration of the transition and the amount of duration change is indicated in the pop-up box If you see a red bracket you have reached the limit of the clips media and cant go any further Indicators

Set a Transition Duration Control click the transition and from the shortcut menu choose Change Duration or press Control D. When the Dashboard is highlighted in blue, type 45 and press Return. -- 45 frames or 1 seconds.

Modifying a Transition Set in Preferences Command and comma When you choose a clip or edit point and Command T, this will be the normal duration Set a default duration

Modifying a Transition Reload the Zero to Hero project we were last working on. Turn on the Timeline Index, select Clips on top. In the search field type letter X to select the the wipe transition used in this project.

Modifying a Transition Once you have the transition selected in the Timeline with your play head over the transition, controls for that effect are available in the Viewer Viewer onscreen controls

Modifying a Transition In the Viewer move your pointer to the circle and drag it to the center of Tonys nose. Play the transition.

Modifying a Transition In the Viewer move your pointer to the square at the end of the control line. Drag outward to the edges of the X more diffuse. Drag inward to reduce the blur and sharpen the transition and leave it at this setting.

Yellow Timeline Pins Controls that help you change the frames associated with the transition Moving the frames will change what you see in the transition Where did these come from?

Modifying a Transition In the Timeline Index search field, type wall to search for the Video Wall transition. Select it in the list, then select the transition. --notice the two yellow circles numbered 1 and 2.

Modifying a Transition Drag pin 1 to the left and onto the crowd ots clip and find the frame where the man with the binoculars has turned to face left. Drag pin 2 anywhere in the crowd wide clip. Play the transition.

Modifying a Transition Some parameters for a transition can only be changed in the Inspector Using the Inspector

Modifying a Transition Find the Letter X transition again in the project and select it. Click the Inspector button or press Command 4

Modifying a Transition Click the edge of the transition in the timeline and pull out so the duration in the Inspector indicates a duration of 1;00

Modifying a Transition Click the disclosure triangle next to Edge Treatment. From the Edge Type pop-up menu choose Solid Color. Drag the Border slider to choose an edge thickness. Play the transition.

Modifying a Transition Select the edit point between John Force and army prep, at @42 seconds. In the transitions browser, click the Movements category, then double-click to apply the Multi- flip transition. Skim to the midpoint in this transition and press M to set a marker.

Modifying a Transition In the Inspectors color section, click the black color well to open the Colors window. Click each color interface to see the various methods of making color choices. Choose the color wheel and select the magnifying glass and click on the green color in one of the John Force thumbnails.

Modifying a Transition Close the Colors window, and in the Transition Inspector, select Use Image Well. Click once in the Image Well. The Select Source Clip window appears. Click a frame in the crowd wide clip on the timeline and then click Apply Clip. Check the Use Image Well box

Transitions and Connected Clips Transitions can only be added to clips if they are on a story line Must be a storyline Not until the connected clips are turned into its own storyline What about connected clips?

Adding Transitions to Other Storylines and Compound Clips In the Library duplicate the Zero to Hero_Promo project to ZTH Promo Done and open it in the timeline.

Adding Transitions to New Storylines Zoom in on the three adjacent, connected clips at the end of the project from TS holds trophy through army start. Select the edit point between TS holds trophy and army prep and add the default transition Command T

Transitions & Connected Clips When you add a transition to a pair of connected clips, a storyline is first created to hold the two clips together with the transition What happened?

Changing the Default Transition Its up to you what the default transition is Normally a cross dissolve is the default, but you can change that What should Command T do?

Changing the Default Transition In the Transition browser, locate the Flash transition and preview the effect. Control click Flash and choose Make Default from the shortcut menu.

Changing the Default Transition Select the cross dissolve between TS holds trophy and army start and press Command T. Play the new transition.

Changing the Default Transition Select an edge between army prep and army start, and press Command T

Changing the Default Transition Select the TS holds trophy, and then Command click army start. Press Command T to add the Flash transition to the start and end of the storyline.

Changing the Transition Duration Select the transition and press Control D or Control click the transition to choose Change Duration Set your new time Faster or slower?

Changing the Transition Duration Click on the first transition, and Command click the other three transitions to add them to the selection. Control click any of the selected transitions and from the shortcut menu choose Change Duration.

Changing the Transition Duration Without clicking in the Dashboard, type 10 and press Return. The duration is now set for 10 frames (1/3 of a second). Check out your new transitions.

Tidy Up the Timeline Sometimes you can have connected clips to connected clips Yikes! What a pile! Get things in order Select the clips that can be on the same track and create a compound clip. Group em

Group Sparingly Too many compound clips can cause a project to load slowly or not at all FCPX forums frequently refer to this problem A word of warning

Tidy Up the Timeline Select the JF in car clip, and then press Command G to create a storyline for this clip.

Tidy Up the Timeline Select race start and then Command click the flame out and flame out smoke clips to add them to the selection. Control click any of these clips and from the shortcut menu choose New Compound Clip -- Shortcut Option G -- Now we need to name it

Tidy Up the Timeline In the Name field, enter Race_Flame Broll, and choose Zero to Hero as the Event if it not already selected. -- the new compound clip is added to the Event and on the Timeline

Make One Timeline Out of Several Clips Click Race_Flame Broll and Command click the storylines shelf of JF in car (not the clip). Select the compound clip and press Command G to create one storyline out of all these clips.

Add a Transition to the Secondary Timeline Select the edit point between Race_Flame Broll and JF in car. From the Lights category, drag Static to the edit point to apply it. Choose Create Transition

Add a Transition to the Secondary Timeline To recover the lost second, drag the end point of JF in car back to the marker.

Set the Cross Dissolve as the Default Transition In the Transitions browser select the cross dissolve, Control click and revert this back to the default transition.

Audio Transitions Automatically does a cross-fade from outgoing to to the incoming clip Audio in a video transition To add a transition, the clips need a storyline Audio clip to audio clip

Audio Transitions Duplicate the Zero to Hero_Music project and title it ZTH Music Done. Adjust the track height so the audio waveforms can be clearly seen.

Audio Transitions Listen to the cut between the two music clips, Battle Lines and Discipline. -- the cut is pretty rough -- a cross fade should smooth this out

Audio Transitions Select the edit point between the two audio clips, and press Command T to apply the default transition. Play this area of the project.

Audio Transitions A crossfade was added at the edit point. You can extend the crossfade for a smoother transition if necessary What happened?

Audio Transitions Drag either edge of the audio transition outward 3 seconds to lengthen the transition. Play the new transition -- it should sound smoother

Audio Transitions Fade the music out at the end of the project by dragging the Fade Control to the beginning of the last video transition in the project.

Shortcuts: Apply default cross dissolveCommand T Open Preferences window Command , (comma) Render selectionControl R UndoCommand Z

Shortcuts: Play around edit pointShift ? Open/close the InspectorCommand 4 Create storylineCommand G New compound clipOption G

Homework Assignment: Your job is to tweak out this project with transitions to suit your taste. Share as an 720p at the smallest resolution and save as (your name) Lesson 7.m4v to iTunes U.

Lesson 7: Applying Transitions Apple Pro Training Series 2nd Edition, Final Cut Pro X Instructor: Sam Edsall