Applying the Default Transition

The most common type of transition, and arguably the only transition you ever need, is the Dissolve. This transition gradually changes the scene from one image to the next using a series of subtle onscreen fades over a user-defined length of time (Figure 8.15).

Figure 8.15. Midway through a Dissolve you can see both clips.

Because this is such a commonly used effect, it's the only transition to earn a place as a shortcut button on the Liquid Edition Toolbar (Figure 8.16).

Figure 8.16. The Dissolve button has its own interface button.

To apply the default transition

1.	Once you have two clips on the Timeline, place the timeline cursor roughly where the two clips meet (Figure 8.17). Figure 8.17. Two clips on the Timeline. The timeline cursor is over the edit point.
2.	Click once on the Add Dissolve/Cross Fade with Options button to bring up the Add Dissolve dialog box (Figure 8.18). Figure 8.18. The Add Dissolve dialog box.
3.	Alter the duration by entering numbers directly into this box and decide which alignment you want to use. See the "Alignment Types" sidebar for more details.
4.	Click the check mark to apply the transition (the result is shown in Figure 8.19). Figure 8.19. A Dissolve added to the start of a cut.

Tip

• If the transition doesn't appear, this means you don't have enough overlap between the two clips. Uncheck the "Restrict duration to available heads and tails" check box to work around this. Then trim the handles of your clips to fit the transition. See the "Trimming Associated Clips" section later in this chapter.

Alignment Types

You have three types of alignment to choose from when applying the default transition: Start at Cut, Centered at Cut, and End at Cut. Which one you use depends entirely on the clip you're applying it to and what is contained inside the handles of that clip.

For example, when you're using the center alignment, the transition uses an equal number of frames from each handle area. In this handle area, you may encounter material not relevant to the clips with which you're working. If this is the case, you need to use the left or right alignment, depending on which clip is giving you problems.

If both clips contain a certain amount of unwanted material, you need to trim one or the other with the Trim Editor.

See the "To trim clips under a transition" task later in this chapter.