Customizing Transitions

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Unless you upgrade to Hollywood FX Plus or Pro, Studio allows you to customize only two aspects of a transition: duration and direction.

This section explains how you can change the duration of a transition by dragging the transition to the desired length on the Timeline or by using the Clip Properties tool. It also explains how to reverse the direction of the effect, which can only be done using the Clip Properties tool.

To edit transition duration on the Timeline

1.

Select the target transition and place the pointer over either edge.

The pointer becomes a bidirectional arrow (Figure 8.23).

Figure 8.23. The easiest and most visual way to modify transition duration is to use the Timeline, where you can see the key frames in the two affected videos.


2.

Holding down the mouse button and watching the video frames displayed in the Player, drag the transition to the desired duration.

3.

Release the mouse button to set the new duration.

Tip

  • If you drag the transition to the right, the Player shows the first frame of the second clip that will appear after the transition finishes. If you drag it to the left, the Player shows the last frame in the first clip that will appear before the transition starts. This is a great way to fine-tune the starting and ending points of your transition.


To edit transition duration in the Clip Properties tool

1.

Open the Transitions Clip Properties tool by doing one of the following:

  • Double-click the target transition (or right-click it and select Clip Properties from the menu that appears).

  • Select the target transition and then click the Video Toolbox icon at the top left of the Movie window (Figure 8.24).

    Figure 8.24. You can also open the Video toolbox and use the Clip Properties tool to modify duration.


The Video toolbox opens to the Clip Properties tool for transitions (Figure 8.25).

Figure 8.25. Set duration at the upper right, by using the jog controls or by clicking the duration number and typing a new one.


2.

At the upper right, change the duration value to the desired setting by doing one of the following:

  • Use the jog controls to the right of the duration.

  • Click the duration to make it editable and directly enter the desired setting.

3.

Use the transport controls in the middle of the window to preview the transition.

4.

Close the Video toolbox by clicking the X in the upper-right corner or by reclicking the Video Toolbox icon you used to open the window (Figure 8.24).

Tip

  • The Video toolbox is great when you want precise transition times, but the Timeline is more helpful when you're making artistic decisions, because it gives you a much better visual representation.


To reverse a transition effect

  • In the Transitions Clip Properties tool, click the Reverse checkbox (Figure 8.26).

    Figure 8.26. Checking the Reverse box reverses the effect you applied. In this case, Studio converts the selected effect, the center-out wipe, to an outside-to-center wipe.


    Studio reverses the transition effect.

Tips

  • A good example of a transition that's significantly affected by reversal is the "Open curtain" transition, located at the top and on the left of page 2 of the Alpha Magic Transitions album. I often open a movie with that transition in the normal direction (opening the curtain), and at the end of the movie I reverse it to close the curtains.

  • If you encounter a Reverse checkbox that's dimmed for a particular transition, look for a transition in the library that performs the reverse of the selected transition.


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    Pinnacle Studio 10 for Windows. Visual QuickStart Guide
    Pinnacle Studio 10 for Windows Visual Quickstart Guide
    ISBN: B001E08S6S
    EAN: N/A
    Year: 2005
    Pages: 189

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