Apply an Effect to Top Layer Only

[Jacob Brown]

create a compound clip of the top layer after you apply the effect. (or apply the effect within the timeline of the clip instead of your main timeline)

[John Rofrano]

[Steve Schoenbaum] “background on bottom, then text that appears at the top of the frame, then a compound clip of 3 stills that will compose along the bottom section of the frame.”

It sounds like you have a compound clip above the background on the primary storyline but below a title above. If you add the slide to the compound clip, I don’t see how it could affect anything below it since it’a already a compound clip.

Perhaps a screen shot of your timeline would help us understand what you have done and where you may have gone wrong because what you are explaining should work as you intended.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Steve Schoenbaum]

Thank you for your response. I have uploaded two images (I think!). The first one shows my time line with the playhead in a specific place and the viewer. The timeline has two bottom background layers which are moving over top of each other. Above that is the Activate text generator followed by a still frame grab so that the end text holds while I, ideally, use the swish pan effect to bring on a compound clip of 3 stills under the text.

The second image shows the playhead advanced to the middle of the swish effect and shows it effecting not only the compound clip to which it’s attached, but the layers below…which I did not want.

FCP X 10.2.2
MacBook Pro 10.10.5

[John Rofrano]

[Steve Schoenbaum] “while I, ideally, use the swish pan effect to bring on a compound clip of 3 stills under the text.”

The first problem is that the compound clip is above your text not below it. If you want the compound clip to be UNDER the text then you must move it BELOW the text. FCP X sees the video clips from the top down. So higher level clips will be above lower level clips in the video.

[Steve Schoenbaum] “The second image shows the playhead advanced to the middle of the swish effect and shows it effecting not only the compound clip to which it’s attached, but the layers below…which I did not want.”

Then don’t use a swish pan. A swish pan simulates a rapid camera pan in which everything gets blurred in the direction of the pan movement.

The nature of a transition is that it has the potential to affect both the incoming clip (the compound clip) and the outgoing clip (the lower level clips). A swish pan blurs both the incoming and outgoing clips just like a Push would move both the incoming and outgoing clips while a Wipe, by it’s very nature, will wipe the incoming clip over the outgoing clip but leave the outgoing clip untouched. It’s just a matter of understanding how transitions are composted with other clips below them and choosing one that is appropriate for what you want to achieve. Swish pan is not going to do what you want.

If you want your compound clip to move in with a directional blur but not affect underlying clips. you may have to create that in Motion based on a Push transition with a Direction Blur where the outgoing clip is stationary and export it as an FCP X preset.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Steve Schoenbaum]

Thanks, John…but…I understand that higher clips are on top of the layers below them, but, regardless, I only want to effect one layer. For instance, if I have a background and want to put a still image over that background but I apply a flip transition to bring it on, the background will also flip. I can’t put the background on top of the still. Perhaps I’m using this wrong, but my assumption was that you could use any transition to bring on a clip in another layer (like the flip) not just as a transition between clips.

FCP X 10.2.2
MacBook Pro 10.10.5

[John Rofrano]

[Steve Schoenbaum] “I only want to effect one layer. For instance, if I have a background and want to put a still image over that background but I apply a flip transition to bring it on, the background will also flip.”

That’s because the Flip transitions flips the incoming clip with the outgoing clip. You need to find a transition that doesn’t affect the outgoing clip.

Go down the Text Transitions category and drop the Text Flip into your still image. Does that do what you want?

[Steve Schoenbaum] “my assumption was that you could use any transition to bring on a clip in another layer (like the flip) not just as a transition between clips.”

Yes, but it still needs an outgoing clip to composite with and if you don’t give it one… it will use the clip below. What you must keep in mind is that a transition can affect both clips and there is nothing you can do about it except use ones that don’t affect both clips if you don’t want the incoming and outgoing clips affected. All of the transitions in the Text Transitions category do not affect the outgoing clip.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Ronny Courtens]

Some Motion template transitions indeed affect all underlaying clips. Very useful if you want to apply a same transition to multiple clips or titles at once, but very annoying if you only want to apply the transtion to one single clip without affecting the underlying clips.

If you have Motion 5 you can actually modify the template so it only affects the clip you apply it to. In the case of the Flip transition you just need to R-click the template in the Browser and choose Open a Copy in Motion. In Motion you then disable the Background layer and the Transition A layer, you save the modified template using a new name and your modified templae will instantly appear in the FCP X Transitions browser. A very powerful feature that is unique to FCP X.

If you don’t have Motion and you want a Flip transition that only affects the clip to which is applied and not the underlying ones, I will be glad to make you one and post it here.

– Ronny

[Steve Schoenbaum]

Ok, I’m clearly doing something wrong. Let’s make this simple: I have a bottom layer which is a static background of a graphic. Above it I have a basic text clip. I have another basic clip on the same level and they’re touching. I put a flip transition between the two text clips. What happens is that the background layer below is also impacted by that effect. Is that right? I can’t put an effect on one layer only? I’m feeling really dense.

FCP X 10.2.2
MacBook Pro 10.10.5

[Steve Schoenbaum]

Thank you, Ronny – a very kind offer, but the flip effect was just an example. If I’m not mistaken, this was easily done in FCP 7. I have many instances when I want to apply effects to different layers so that there’s multiple movement. Can’t believe I have to do this work around for each one each time.

FCP X 10.2.2
MacBook Pro 10.10.5

[Ronny Courtens]

Steve, you are absolutely not dense. Some transitions inside FCP X have been created exactly to affect multiple stacked clips at once. The Flip transition is an example of this. The beauty of FCP X/Motion is that you can modify any transition that has been built as a Motion template so it behaves exactly as you wish. This actually takes less than 10 seconds to do. That’s why Motion 5 is an indispensible companion to FCP X if you want to Customize your transitions and effects.

– Ronny