In today’s video,
we are going to take a more in depth look
at FCPs video transition effects.
While these visual elements can add a lot to your story,
they can easily become disruptive
and confusing when overused.
They can also indicate a lower production value
and make the video look amateur.
Be very careful when using transitions,
and only add them if they add to your story.
Welcome back to my Final Cut Pro 10 tutorial series.
This is part eleven of my complete A-Z tutorial.
If you are new to Final Cut Pro, or new to this series,
I’d strongly recommend
going back and watching the previous videos.
I’ll link them in the description,
or, click on the eye in the sky for a complete playlist.
If you enjoy this series, please share this video,
and don’t forget to subscribe.
New videos coming every week.
Ask any questions you may have in the comments,
and either me, or someone else watching this video
will try their best to answer it for you.
So, lets get started.
I’ll open up FCP and open my Bike Adventures project.
In Part 5 of this series,
I briefly showed you how to add
a default video transition using a keyboard shortcut.
That was only one of the many
transition effects included in FCP.
Click on this transition button to open up
FCP transition browser.
Applying and modifying transitions in FCP
is very similar to applying video effects.
The difference is, you apply video effects to clips,
and you apply transitions to edit points.
I’ll select the start point of clip in my timeline
and use Command T to apply
a default cross dissolve transition.
When the transition needs to be applied
to both the start and end of a clip,
I can save time by selecting the clip
and using the Command T shortcut.
A cross dissolve transition is applied
to the start and end of my clip at the same time.
So far, these transitions were easily applied,
because of the existence of media handles in my clips.
Media handles are the extra source material
at the start and end of my clips.
FCP uses some of this extra source material
for the transitions, so the timing doesn’t change.
When I select the end point of this clip,
the clips end point bracket is red.
This indicates there’s no media handle
at the end of this clip.
I can still apply a transition,
but my content may suffer.
Lets try it and see how FCP handles it.
I’ll select the end point of this clip
and apply a default transition to it.
A warning dialog box pops up,
warning me about the no media handle
available for this transition.
It asks me if I want to ripple trim my clip
to complete my transition request.
I’ll click on the create transition button
while watching my timeline.
FCP ripple trims my clip to create
the necessary media handle for my transition.
Sometimes this is not a big deal,
but if your edit point is synced with music,
or another clip, ripple trimming may create an undesirable edit,
which is why the warning dialog appeared.
Since my cuts are synced with my background music,
I don't want to ripple trim my clip.
I’ll press command Z to undo this.
But there’s another solution, the slip edit.
From the tools pop up menu,
I’ll select the trim tool.
For more information on using the trim tool,
and performing slip edits,
check out part 5 of my tutorial series.
I’ll slip my clip 15 frames to the right,
which will give me enough media handle
to add a transition to my clip.
I’ll press A to go back to select tool,
select the end point of my clip,
and press command T to add a transition.
When you have a clip that needs a transition,
without sufficient source material for a media handle,
you can either apply a transition
at the expense of loosing content under the transition,
or, slip edit your clip to create a media handle,
without affecting the timing.
Now, lets check out the transitions browser.
Just like video effects,
FCP has many video transitions included,
more can be downloaded,
or you can even create your own custom one and save it.
In the transitions browser,
you can preview the transitions by skimming over them.
Pressing spacebar, will preview the transitions in real time.
Pressing Control T will apply a default transition,
which at the time is cross dissolve.
You can apply different transitions,
by first selecting the edit point,
and double clicking on the transition.
Also, if you find a transition you want
to use repeatedly in your video,
you can save time by making that your default transition,
and applying it with a keyboard shortcut.
For demonstration purposes,
I’m going to use the slide transition.
In the browser search box, I’ll type in slide.
Now I’ll right click on the slide transition, and select make default.
I’ll select an edit point in my timeline
and use command T to add a transition.
Just like video effects, each transition
has its own parameters that can be modified.
First, you can modify the duration of your transition,
by clicking and dragging the end points.
When you hover the mouse pointer over the transition end,
two tools appear, ripple trim tool, and resize tool.
Resize tool modifies the duration of your transition,
and ripple trim tool, indicated by the filmstrip,
ripple trims your clip.
You can also use the dashboard,
to select a specific duration.
Select your transition and press control D.
Now you can enter a timecode to set the duration of your transition.
You can also modify your transition in the inspector.
Place the playhead over the transition and select it.
Now click on the inspector button to open the transition inspector.
Any parameters attached to the transition can be modified here.
For my selected transition,
I can adjust the type and the direction of the slide.
I can also use the control points in the viewer
for custom direction of the slide.
Each transition has its own parameters for adjustments,
and just like video effects, the possibilities are endless.
Like I mentioned at the start of this video,
using too many transitions can make the video
seem very unprofessional, so use cautiously.
Also, using too many different transitions
can confuse and frustrate the viewer,
so try to stick to similar ones in your video.
If you like this video,
make sure to check out the rest of this series.
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Thanks for watching, and until next time.