[Jonan Grobler]

You can get a pretty decent slomo (50%) if you take the clip into Cinema Tools and conform it. Then slow that slomo clip down with Optical Flow, just not so much.

[Jonan Grobler]

You might want to try and delete your render files for that sequence (Tools – Render Manager) and then re-render the sequence. Sometimes the old renders are incredibly persistent and hang around making your life a pain.

[Jonan Grobler]

Did you change format or length of audio clips when consolidating? This would really confuse FCP, even if the contents and file names remained the same.

You can use the slip tool (Shortcut: S) to to drag the in and out points while keeping the space between consistent. It’s an arduos process though. Obviously, the best would be able to get hold of the original audio files.

Unless these are the original audio files you’re working with. But it more sounds to me like you’re not, as you say you’re getting the Media Limit message.

[Jonan Grobler]

Sorry to suggest something so basic – but have you tried zooming in on the keyframe editor? Not horizontally, but vertically.

Very often I find that some keyframes will hide behind others, seeming to disappear until you zoom up.

If the keyframes are not there you can just draw them in with the keyframe edit tool.

[Jonan Grobler]

In the export dialoge, click on “Options…” and go to the output tab. Make sure that “Use current project and canvas settings” is checked. It’s basic, but it sounds like it’s a simple resolution issue.

[Jonan Grobler]

You do create it Motion. It’s pretty simple, really. The wipe matte should be black and white:
– the white allows the first clip to show through;
– the black allows the next clip to show through.

So, for example, you could make a wipe matte that’s a rectangle of black on the left, white on the right, sliding across frame from left to right (that’s if your transition is moving from left to right). If you dropped it into the clip well, it would reveal footage on the right, moving across to the left, like a basic wipe that you get in FCP’s effects folders.

If I knew more detail on the type of Alpha transition you want to make, I could give more constructive advice, having recently figured out how to do this for myself. It’s pretty awesome.

[Jonan Grobler]

I would suggest using MPEG Streamclip to convert the footage to Apple ProRes 422(HQ) 1080i50 (shouldn’t be any issues with sound sync, Streamclip is smart. And cool). Do your edit in that format. Export the finished file in that format.

And then in Final Cut Pro, create another sequence – with the SD DV PAL i setting that you need. Drop the finished file you exported from the first sequence into the second PAL sequence, click “no” when it asks you if you’d like to change sequence settings, and twiddle your thumbs while it renders.

I haven’t worked much in NTSC formats, but I know that FCP handles different framerates with aplomb.