Transitions


Transitions could be thought of as the bread and butter of video editing. Or, perhaps, as the peanut butter that makes scenes stick together.

When you deal with clips, if you choose wisely, one clip can in many cases cut to another without anything between the clips. To get a better understanding of the concept of a cut , just try watching any few minutes of television or a movie and looking for the spots where the camera switches from one view to another ”this usually happens most rapidly in music videos . Some people prefer cutting from one scene to another without any blending.

But there are times when you want to find a way for one clip to lead smoothly to another, and a transition is a perfect way to accomplish this. The following is a list of iMovie's transitions:

  • Circle Closing ” The first clip appears in a gradually shrinking circle, behind which the next clip is revealed.

  • Circle Opening ” The first clip disappears behind a gradually increasing circle containing the next clip.

  • Cross Dissolve ” Blends one video clip into another.

  • Fade In ” Brings the desired video clip slowly into view from nothing.

  • Fade Out ” Fades the video clip slowly out of view to nothing.

  • Overlap ” One clip slides over the other until it completely replaces it onscreen.

  • Push ” One clip "pushes" another off of the screen in the direction chosen , (left/right/up/down).

  • Radial ” One clip " sweeps " another away in a motion like the second-hand on a clock.

  • Scale Down ” Reduces the size of the first clip, while revealing the next clip.

  • Warp Out ” The first clip is split at the center by the next clip in a gradually increasing circle.

  • Wash In ” Brings the desired video clip slowly into view from bright white.

  • Wash Out ” Lightens the video clip slowly out of view to bright white.

Figure 15.11 shows the Transitions palette in iMovie, which can be easily accessed simply by clicking the Trans button. The Transition palette enables you to choose a transition to use in your iMovie, as well as make some simple adjustments to the way the transition appears.

Figure 15.11. The Transitions palette.

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Sample Transition ”Cross Dissolve

To get a better understanding of transitions, let's take a look at the Cross Dissolve transition. Simply put, a cross dissolve is a standard tool that's used all the time in television and films to blend one scene into another. You probably see hundreds of cross dissolves every week without even realizing it.

We'll start with a movie containing two clips. If we watched the movie as is, when one video clip ends, it would simply cut from one video clip to another. But a cross dissolve could help the scenes blend.

iMovie gives you the ability to drag-and-drop a transition in between the two clips, and Figure 15.12 shows the transition. The transition appears between the clips.

Figure 15.12. Two clips "sandwich" the Cross Dissolve transition.

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Essentially what happens over the course of a cross dissolve transition is that you see less of the first clip and more of the second. Figure 15.13 represents the blending of two video clips.

Figure 15.13. Cross Dissolve ”At the beginning, you see the first clip. Toward the middle, you still see the original clip, but you also see a fair amount of the second clip, "merged in" with the original clip. At this stage, both clips are semi-transparent . At the end, you see the second clip.

graphics/15fig13.jpg



Sams Teach Yourself Mac OS X Digital Media. All In One
Sams Teach Yourself Mac OS X Digital Media All In One
ISBN: 0672325322
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 349

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