Transitions

[Walter Biscardi]

You need additional video on the head of the incoming clip and tail of the outgoing clip. You can’t just place a transition between two clips if there is no additional video to perform the transition.

The tutorial and manaul do a good job explaining this.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.com

Now in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[David Rowan]

Your clips need to have a little extra pad (or handles, or extra video or overlap) in order to make the transition. Keep in mind most transitions actually blend the images, so you see parts of both for a moment.

If you are at the very last frame of clip “A” and then you lay down clip “B” from its very first frame then you have no overlap. Imagine taking one brick and laying it down right next to another brick, they are butted end-to-end. Like this:
[++++Clip A++++][===Clip B===]

The problem is most transitions, like a dissolve, combine the two images for a moment. That means that they need to overlap. Like this:
[++++Clip A++++]
……………[===Clip B===]

See how the last part of A and the first part of B overlap? (I hope this works in your browser or I’m sunk).

I’m not talking about using two video tracks in the timeline. They can be (and sometimes have to be) on the same video track, its just that you need to have a little extra video at the end of clip “A”, and a little extra video at the start of clip “B”. Thats whats called “Handles”.

The fix for your current situation is to look at the duration of the effect (lets assume its the default 1 second or rather, 30 frames). At each point where the transition is not working go back about 15 frames from the edit and mark an “in”, then go to the point 15 frames after the edit and mark “out” now delete and close up the section. You now have 15 extra frames at the end of clip “A” that you don’t see, and 15 extra frames at the start of clip “B” that you don’t see. You should be able to add the effect, and it will use those unseen extra frames (handles) to make the effect.

Of course I’m completly ignoring the problems this will cause with your audio, if thats all finished. You can lock the audio tracks but if you delete a second around every video edit your going to have some other adjustments to make.

In the future make sure you capture your clips with a little extra video at the beginning and end. In the preferences you can actually set FCP to do this automatically (“add handles”). Or when you are laying down your clips make sure the IN-POINT is a few frames in from the first frame of the clip, and the OUT-POINT is a few frames back from the last frame of video in the clip.

DWR