A transition has to have an overlap to work with.

In some programs, the transition when placed will reveal what is after the out point of the outgoing clip and what is before the in point of the incoming clip.

With PD8, inserting a transition will (in the case of a simple crossfade for instance) fade out the outgoing clip up to the out point you chose, and fade in the incoming clip from the in point you chose. So long as you know how it works, you choose your out and in points appropriately.

The PD8 method has the advantage that if you have allowed no overlap - in other words, you are using the full length of the original clips - it takes care of that, whereas some programs in that situation will use a still from the beginning and end of the clip, which can look rather odd.

I can where you're coming from, but I guess it's just a matter of personal preference. I prefer to not have any video frames overlapped and blocked from view due to the addition of a transition. And it's almost impossible to plan all effects before clips are placed and edited, at least for me. So this will be somewhat of a problem. Not insurmountable because I do like the program, but a nuisance for sure, since apparently there's no way around it. Thanks for your help.

Russ -

Without referring to what other editing programs do, my understanding is that - in PD - if you don't want to have a particular part of the beginning or end of your clip hidden, you have a few options:

1. Don't use transitions - by nature, they use some frames of each clip or they may as well not be called "transitions".
2. Trim your clips to allow for the transitions you want to use... ie. leave a bit extra on the clip (start/end) that you don't mind being gobbled up in the transition.
3. Insert something between the clips (say, image or colour board), as Peter mentioned, so the parts of the clip you want will be preserved.

I may well be missing something here, and I'm happy to be told.

Cheers - Tony
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Thanks Tony. I appreciate you taking the time to answer. I agree with everything you said, and think the image/color board suggestion is a good one if I feel I absolutely need a transition and can't afford to lose a few frames. Thanks again.

1. I would have thought, though I don't profess to be any kind of expert, that you would expect to lose (not loose, which is the antonym of tight) some frames when using a transition. It does not surprise me at all.

2. PD7/PD8 may have some issues (including limited flexibility) with transitions, but they're bundled with the program & don't come as a plug-in with a $200 price tag.

Edit: (Moderately provocative bits removed in the interests of health and safety)

Tony




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