69 Transition from Clip to Clip

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Before You Begin

65 Add a Special Effect to a Clip


See Also

71 Copy Effects from One Place to Another


When one clip finishes and another begins, the second clip will straight cut from the previous clip. Perhaps a scene changes from an inside shot to an outside shot. The first clip shows the action indoors, and the second begins playing and immediately shows the action outdoors. By adding a video transition between the clips, Movie Maker cross-fades the clips during playback. The clips will then show a gradual transfer from one clip to the next as the first clip fades into the second one using a transition pattern that you select.

Depending on the clips and the tone of your movie at the point of the transition, you might want to extend the transition's duration or slow it down. The shorter of the two clips around the transition determines the maximum duration time length you can apply. No transition can extend beyond the playback time of the shortest clip in the pair.

KEY TERM

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Straight cut ” The playing of two clips without any noticeable delay or effect occurring when the first clip changes to the next.

Cross-fade ” The playing of two clips with a fading-out of the first clip while the next clip fades in at the same time, usually with some pattern such as a swirl effect, and with the second clip completely taking over at the last moment of the transition.


You can control the way one clip transitions to another clip. The transition begins playing as the first clip ends and continues to its conclusion as the next clip begins playing. Movie Maker offers a plethora of transition effects from page-turning transitions or swirls, scatters, explosions, and fades. Both the storyboard and the timeline indicate transitions. The storyboard shows a transition by placing the transition's thumbnail image between two clips. The timeline shows a transition by placing it on the Transition track when you add the transition between two tracks.

  1. Select Tools, Options

    Adjust the default video transition duration by selecting Options from the Tools menu.

    NOTE

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    If you place a video transition between two picture clips or between a picture and a video clip, the transition will still occur when the playback leaves the picture clip to enter the next clip.

  2. Click Advanced

    Click the Advanced tab to display the Default durations page.

  3. Adjust Default Duration

    Click the up or down arrows next to the Transition duration value to increase or decrease the default time value of the transition effect.

  4. Click OK

    Click OK to close the Options dialog box.

  5. Click Show Storyboard

    You can more easily see transitions from the storyboard even though the timeline has its own Transition track. The timeline's tracks can get squeezed if you have zoomed out too far. You might be able to see a transition's effect better by working from the storyboard. Therefore, click the Show Storyboard button to change from the timeline to the storyboard if your movie's timeline is showing.

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  6. Select Tools, Video Transitions

    Display the video transitions available to you by selecting Video Transitions from the Tools menu.

    TIP

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    Double-click any transition in your Contents pane to see a preview of that transition effect in the Monitor pane.

  7. Scroll to Desired Transition

    Click the Contents pane's scrollbar to review all the available transitions.

  8. Scroll to Clip Pair

    Scroll to the pair of clips between which you want to insert the transition.

    TIP

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    To remove a video transition from your movie, right-click the transition on your timeline/storyboard and select Delete from the menu.

  9. Drag Between Clips

    Drag the transition to the space between two clips on the storyboard.

  10. Click Play to Preview

    TIP

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    You can add transition effects between titles and credits, too. See 79 Add Special Effects to Titles and Credits .

    See how the transition occurs from the first clip to the second one by clicking the Play button in your Monitor pane. The movie will continue playing to its conclusion if you don't click Stop when you're done reviewing the transition.

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Digital Video with Windows XP in a Snap
Digital Video with Windows XP in a Snap
ISBN: 0672325691
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 169
Authors: Greg Perry

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