best transition to use - 2 cuts - same person

I've got to use two cuts from the same person and need your input please.

How should I transition from the 1st cut to the 2nd cut? Page Peel? I've seen people use a flash of light before. Does FCP have a standard effect to do this?

Any other idea's.

Thanks

personally i think page peels (and all other 3d dve) should be made illegal.

depending on the scene, i use a very quick cross or additive dissolve.

Very quick dissolve. Get it over with and don't draw attention.

Anything wrong with just using a cut? Or are they so close it would be a jump cut?

What are the reasons for needing a fancy transition?

Oh...yeah...and page peels outta be outlawed. As well as over 50% of the transitions FCP has standard.

ive found that with talking head shots, if youre going between cuts from the same camera and same scene. a quick disolve is almost always more elegant than a cut. UNLESS the persons head is in near the same exact position and expression and there is a natural breath in the phrases.

quick fade to black, one of the free "camera flash" filters, Scale up, would work. a jump cut might work if there is space to let it breath a bit. probably the most elegant is a spinning multi-colored 3d cube going into the persons ear.

hahahahahahahahahaha!

Spinning cube? that is harkening back to the lame page peel.

Simple...keep it simple. If the quick dissolve works to smooth out the harsh cut, I am all for it. But the cheesy toaster effects and "flashback to the 80's" transitions are best left in the basement cellar in a footlocker shoved under a workbench covered with jars of nails and screws...


...and left alone.

The reason we have standardized on a peel for this type of transition is as much stylistic as legitimate. Our internal talking head work requires that the transition be deliberate, obvious, and in no way look as if any attempt has been made to hide it or pretend something has not been edited out of the talking head. We use a minimum of two seconds and set a highlight that reflects our corporate colors. We deliberately use audio fades to make it obvious one statement has been cut short and the next is coming on in progress.

The page peel is entirely appropriate for what we do and what we want the audience to know about what they are seeing. We call it "elegantly obtrusive."

Another editing style would make the transition ultra-subtle but shouldn't that decision be based on the desired outcome and not the editor's whim or opinions?

bogiesan

Scott,
FCP's dip to colour disolve can give you that "flash to white" effect you mention.
and there are other 3rd party plugins that do a similar thing.
start with the dip to colour, and see how you feel.

it's nice to hear so many people here at lafcpug have such refined taste!
i cant seem to watch more than a few minutes of cable TV before there is some sort of flash transition, acompannied by a huge whooshing sound.

nick

ok, i have to yield to bogie and say that yes, indeed SOMETIMES page peels can be appropriate to the subject matter. i still dont like 'em though...

You must be watching shows that I've worked on...

well there werent any spinning cube into ear transitions, so maybe :-)

I've seen some of the reality shows do a couple of quick and dirty tricks like flipping over (like a mirror image) the second shot so it looks slightly different...

or doing a slight blow-up on one of the shots to differentiate the shots but these would probably only work if it's quick cuts material ...

a fast diagonal corner wipe with a little blur on the border can be like a page turn without the cheese factor ... and don't forget that crazy zoom transition!

can i get a YEAAAAAAAA for the "cross-zoom!!!!!!!!!!

[I've seen people use a flash of light before. ]

I've got a loaded shotgun waiting for the next editor who uses that damned flash to white. And cross zooms rate a Glock.

Just do a straight cut, lke the Errol Morris Apple Switch ads. Unless it's for old people. Then add quick dissolve and that means SIX FRAMES.

Another popular and inocuous technique is the soft edge wipe, also very fast. I've used a "barn-door" version of this successfully on jump cuts.

- Loren
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