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Dissolves and handles
This is a newbie question that I’m sure has been asked and answered millions of times before, but I’d be grateful if someone would help. I mark my in- and outpoints in clips pretty exactly, and then find that a dissolve will add handles to those points. This often creates a problem because I get stuff in the dissolve that I don’t really want. I know I can adjust each dissolve manually, but is there any way I can have Final Cut automatically make the outpoint of clip A the end of the dissolve and the inpoint of clip B the beginning of the dissolve? Failing that, is there any way I can have Final Cut automatically adjust the in- and outpoints I set so the “official” outpoint falls a half second earlier than the actual point I’ve chosen and the inpoint a half second later? This would save me from having to constantly manually adjust these points to avoid the unwanted handles.
Thanks a lot.
Fred
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4 Replies
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Well, lets start with this, in order to do a dissolve at all, you need handles. Dissolves use the handles to make the dissolve. Without them all you would have is a strait cut. Take your dissolve and drag it onto the timeline, double click it to get it into the viewer window. You can make the dissolve as long or as short as you need it using the timecode at the top of the viewer window. Then when it fits your needs save it as a favorite so you don’t have to continue all the hard work. I’ve seen dissolves as small as two frames, it’s easier on the eyes than a strait cut.
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[Fred Grossberg] “I know I can adjust each dissolve manually, but is there any way I can have Final Cut automatically make the outpoint of clip A the end of the dissolve and the inpoint of clip B the beginning of the dissolve?”
No because no matter what your In / Out points are, a dissolve requires additional handles from the moment the dissolve starts. So you start a dissolve at the outpoint of clip A and the In point of Clip B. Well, there needs to be additional handles from one or the other to make the dissolve happen.
The only sure fire way to have Clip A end and Clip B start exactly where you want them to is to a cut. Failing that, simply use the slide tool to slip and slide your clips to get the dissolve where you want it. Slipping, sliding and trimming are all tools that are part of the art and craft of editing. Art is never automatic.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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This won’t help you too much, but you can control click on the dissolve and choose whether or not the dissolve starts on the edit, ends on the edit, or is in the middle of the edit (default). You are going to need handles either way. If you want your in point to be the beginning of the dissolve and you don’t have handles simply put the clip above the clip you want to dissolve from. More specifically, mark the in point exactly where you want the dissolve to begin in your timeline, cue up your incoming clip into the viewer, mark it’s in point now choose the video track above the clip yo are dissolving from (if the clip is in track V1 choose track V2) drag your clip from the viewer to the canvas window and choose the overwrite with transition. Bingo.
Another way is that if you know that you want the dissolve to start 15 frames before the end of clip, in the timeline, hit the down arrow to get to the end of the clip, hit apple-shift-a (to deselect everything) then hit “-15” or “minus 15”. This will move your cursor back 15 frames, then do the same as above which is cue up the next shot in the viewer and choose overwrite with transition.
Jeremy
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There is a way. It’s called iMovie and it’s a scary nasty ugly beast. How does anyone use that thing?
Look at it this way, obviously the clips have to “overlap” to get a dissolve. If you drop them in the timeline with no “overlap” (a cut) then add a dissolve, FCP has to create the overlap for you. FCP has two choices, overlap your clips for you (which you think you’d like FCP to do), or grab extra material (handles) and create the dissolve. Well, if FCP creates the overlap for you, it’s going to have to move the clip forward or backward in your timeline. You’ve probably taken a lot of time in editing your graphics, audio and video right into specific places. You might even have designed your show to be an exact length. Well the hell with all that then! Let’s let FCP decide which track to shorten or lengthen and bump all that work out of alignment. Maybe it should knock out the 2 hours of rendering while it’s at it.
The bottom line is FCP (and any professional editing system) values YOUR judgement on your entire program waaay more than one particular edit. You have to understand editing and that when you mark in, that that is where the dissolve will start, or end, or be in the middle.
That’s the art. Have fun!
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