inconsistent transitions – cross dissolve and fade to black

[Glenn Fisher]

It may be possible for a cross dissolve to look like a fade to black if there is black at either the end of the first clip or the beginning of the second clip. I would check both clips to make sure you have the appropriate handles, and that the video in neither one cuts out to black.

The way the cross dissolve transition works is that it essentially extends the length of your clips by 30 frames (assuming it’s a one second dissolve). So even though the clip in your timeline without the cross dissolve (i.e. with a cut between the two clips) may not show any black, the cross dissolve will extend the out point of the first clip and the in point of the second clip by 30 frames. If there is black in either of those two clips in that 30-frame section, then the cross dissolve will show that, and it will look like a fade to black.

Hope that helps,
Glenn Fisher

[Ira Liss]

Hello Glenn,

Thank you for your helpful comments.
I think I understand what you’re speaking of.

The thing is,
the clips come from a continuous interview I’ve
been editing from, that is, 2-3 minute interviews
where the camera ran continuously (no stops and
starts during the interview).

I loaded a number of complete 2-3 minute interviews
to my Mac. Now I’m going through the footage
selecting 20 to 35 second clips, and placing
them in the time line.

I am supering titles over the beginnings of different
clips to give the viewer quick summary text that
tells them what the clip is about.

I’m fading the titles on and off and
doing cross dissolves between clips.

(These short videos will be going on the web
with video still frames as start buttons.)

Anyhow, i don’t yet understand how 30 frames after
or before my edits would have black frames.

One more thing —

I’d actually like to use this simple fade to black effect
intentionally at the end of some of the clips (as opposed
to cross dissolves).

May I ask for help in how best
to do fade to blacks? (I’ve done it okay
by accident, and now, I can’t seem to
do this on purpose.)

Thanks again,
– Ira Liss
storyboards
and graphics

[Glenn Fisher]

Hehe, unfortunately I don’t think I can help with your issue, but I can certainly help you to intentionally fade to black! It’s very easy. In the Final Cut “Browser” window, click on the “Effects” tab. From there, click the disclosure triangle for “Video Transitions” and then the triangle for “Dissolves”. At that point, a “Fade In Fade Out Dissolve” will do a fade to black between two clips.

Additionally, you could keyframe the opacity of each clip and as long as there is black underneath the video track, or you’re only working with one track (i.e. the V1 track), then by keyframing the opacity you can essentially create your own fade to black transition. To do this, I set the playhead in the timeline to where I want the fade to start. Double click the clip to load it into the viewer. Choose the “Motion” tab, and then click on the disclosure triangle for “Opacity”. You will see a slider that corresponds to the number next to it (it will default to 100 since it has 100 percent opacity…or you “can see 100% of it”). To the right of that number, you’ll see a rhombus-like shape. By clicking on that, you’ll set a keyframe, which tells final cut that you want the opacity to be 100% at that point in time. You can then go back to the timeline and position the playhead to where you want the fade to end (99.9% of the time that will be at the end of the clip). The position of the playhead should automatically be reflected in the viewer. Once you have moved the playhead in the timeline, go back to the viewer and set the opacity to 0 by either typing 0 into the box or moving the slider all the way to the left. That automatically sets another keyframe at that point in time telling Final Cut that you want the opacity to be zero. Final Cut will “interpolate” between the two keyframes, which makes for a constant decrease of opacity between the 100% and 0% keyframes.

I hope that helps!
– Glenn Fisher

[Ira Liss]

Glenn,

Thank you for taking the time to
write up such a detailed description.

(It’s a great tutorial!)

Looks like I’ll be able to follow
it pretty easily.

I appreciate your
help very much!

Sincerely,
– Ira Liss

[Glenn Fisher]

I’m glad that I could help! 🙂

– Glenn Fisher

[Kenny Powerass]

Is it possible that there’s a small space between your two clips?
If so, you may have selected the end of the first clip rather than the joint between two clips. The crossfade you added would act as a fade to black (provided there’s no clip on a lower track) and your next clip would just pop onscreen rather than fading in.