Fade shortcut wanted

Hi all,

I often want to make a transition between two clips by fading one out, then the new one in. So, not a crossfade, but a short dip into black. Aside from the looks, I see a difference here in that there do not need to be handles beyond the in/out points.

When the clips are already side by side in the timeline, as they usually are, I do the following:

- confirm again, that still no fade in /fade out item has somehow magically appeared in the list of transitions (there is the 'Fade in Fade Out Dissolve' which pretty much does just that, but it doesn't include the audio tracks).

- drag the outgoing clip to become a little shorter

- apply a crossfade to it and also to the head of the incoming clip

- drag the end of the outgoing clip back

This seems like a lot of work for something so simple and obvious that I'm beginning to get the feeling I must have overlooked something.

Any better ideas?

Thanks,
Stefan

--
macpro 2x3 ghz dual core intel, 10.6.8, FCS 2

I used to use a 'dip to colour' transition, set to black, or to white if I wanted a white fade.

Yes, but that does not include the audio track and it also requires handles to dip, just like the Fade in/out.

Looks like I need to keep doing it the long hand way. It's not terrible, just a bit convenient.

Thanks,
Stefan

--
macpro 2x3 ghz dual core intel, 10.6.8, FCS 2

You're practically asking the software to do your editing for you. Doesn't work that way.

If you're decisive about the cut points, the operations don't take long: Set up the cut points on audio and video, COMMAND-T, OPTION-COMMAND-T twice. Done. When I do this, in fact, I often forego Fade In Fade Out and use a black/white colour matte, because it gives me control over how long to stay on the colour matte. As for audio, there's a way to apply a video dissolve and audio fades at the same time, but in 16 years of editing both non-professionally and professionally, I've never used it -- because there is almost no chance that I'd want the audio fade to be exactly as long, and exactly positioned as the video dissolves.


www.derekmok.com

Thanks for these helpful tips, Derek! Still learning this outdated software, but feeling more comfortable with it every year ;-)

Stefan

--
macpro 2x3 ghz dual core intel, 10.6.8, FCS 2

- drag the outgoing clip to become a little shorter
- apply a crossfade to it and also to the head of the incoming clip
- drag the end of the outgoing clip back
Any better ideas?

YES!
park on last frame of outgoing clip
mark in+ out, delete

you now have a 1 frame gap

apply transitions as Derek suggests, w key commands.
on outgoing edit you have to select it first (park on it, hit v)
for incoming, you just have to be parked on it.

if you put gaps between ALL your clips first, you can then select all,
and apply transitions to ALL edits at once!


"You're practically asking the software to do your editing for you. Doesn't work that way."

i dont know, it's not an outlandish request, should be simple IMO
otherwise we'd still be marking our fades up with a grease pencil and sending them to the lab!

> i dont know, it's not an outlandish request, should be simple IMO

The request isn't unreasonable, but the fact is, in the process he outlined above, the most time-consuming part is deciding where the transition starts and ends. Basically, editing decisions. There is no way to speed that up because it's brain work. If you know exactly where the transition begins on the outgoing clip, exactly where it begins on the incoming clip, and how long the transition is, then it's just learning the shortcuts and the tools, and those are all there in FCP7.

You want a Fade In Fade Out where you don't stay on the black and the two sides are symmetrical? Choose Fade In Fade Out as the default transition and then use COMMAND-T.

You want maximum control? Put a black colour matte into the Browser, In and Out point, drag to Overwrite or Insert edit.

Audio? OPTION-COMMAND-T.

The previously chosen enter/exit points don't work? Use the Ripple tool, or +/- commands, or OPTION-Left/Right Arrow to move/slip the clips with frame-specific precision.

I've been arguing this for years: The slowest part is in the brain. Let's say Editor A achieves the result in five operations, but was unsure how to proceed and had to think hard about every step to achieve the result. Editor B takes 15 operations, but didn't even need to think about it and just did everything automatically, with a direct line from mental decision to manual execution. Chances are Editor B will be faster than Editor A despite taking 10 operations more. The biggest delays lie in hesitation when translating the desired result from the brain to the timeline..


www.derekmok.com

i saw it as a request for an audio transition that was a dip, rather than a cross fade.

i think i have needed that a few times, but not enough to have it bother me,
but still, if that's what i needed, and IF it existed... i'd be faster than either editor A or B


i'm lucky enough (i guess) to work on projects that take a long time,
and where mechanical operations need to be repeated over and over, day after day,
so i find it worthwhile spending time working out a good methodology, which often involves writing & testing strings or shortcuts to use in Quickeys
as i say it takes a long time, but is worth it when 10, 15 or 50 steps get done in a few seconds.

i'm still here till midnight, so yes, the slowest part must be my brian


nick

> so yes, the slowest part must be my brian

Life of Brian?

> i saw it as a request for an audio transition that was a dip, rather than a cross fade.

I would have been happy with a fade that had a better arc. The default cross fades never sound the greatest when used to fade something down. Too sharp.


www.derekmok.com

Great guys!

The shortcut combination of Nick's parking and selecting and Derek's [Option]-Cmd T works great. That's all I needed.

I do appreciate questioning my motivation for shortcuts where none exist... this is useful in many cases for me, though certainly not in all of them. Not everything I edit is for the masses (actually just very little).

Thanks,
Stefan

--
macpro 2x3 ghz dual core intel, 10.6.8, FCS 2

"I would have been happy with a fade that had a better arc. The default cross fades never sound the greatest when used to fade something down. Too sharp."

yeah, ProTools has a choice of fade curves which is nice.
bezier curves on the volume graphing would have been nice, too.

anyone know what X has to offer here?



nick