Keep getting problems using transitions with backgrounds

To create a transition, you need to have what is called "handles": extra media at the start or end of the clips, which will be used for that transition. The message you are getting indicates that you don't have enough handles.

Transitions can only be inserted if the clips are part of a storyline (primary or secondary).

If your clips are not in the primary storyline, and you are using an older version, you may have to select the adjacent clips and make a new storyline (Cmd-G). In 10.0.3 this is not necessary, it will be created automatically.

I have tried to recreate your situation, but as I use 10.0.3 the transition gets created - and also the secondary storyline is created (note the black thick bit envolving the two clips).

Note in the "after" picure how the length is reduced because the transition was made by overlapping the ends of the two clips.

Remember to always keep handles!

I'm havint his problem and I most certainly do have enough media make the edit - I'm using one clip sliced in the middle.

But I'm not able to use transitions anywhere. PNG files are not accepting them with the same error.

Please help! edit due in 2 hours!

This thread is almost a year old. If handles isn't the problem, what problem are you having.

Note that if you make a transition in the middle of the clip, you're mixing through the same frames of video and the transition might not appear.

Sorry, I found the thread by searching for the text of the alert box: "There is not enough extra media beyond clip edges to create the transition."

The problem is I cannot add transitions to any clips - video, graphic or otherwise. In any situation where I press command-T, it pops up that alert.

I have a lot of graphics that are building or animated in FCP - most of them text cards. I found that I'm supposed to hit "command-G" (for some reason) then I SHOULD be able to apply a transitionto my files, but, alas, I am not. When I accept the alert box, nothing happens

I'm very stressed about this. please advise.

You don't have to press Cmd-G. Forget that. FCP will do it for you. Are these multilayer graphics? Video? Is the video trimmed as described above?

If you put two JPEGs in the timeline and click on the edit point between and press Cmd-T you should get the default cross dissolve.

these are single flat pngs. I also need to apply them to text fields. But it wont even work for video.

I

If I click "create transtitoin" nothing happens.

You have nothing selected in the timeline. Click on a edit point to select it. You also have a compound clip. That will need to be trimmed before you can place a transition with it. What edit point, what shot are you talking about?

In the above example I tried to drag a transition from the browser over. I have tried pressing command T.

I'm trying to edit the shots above the compound clip. I have lots of compound clips, as I was told that was best practice.

My main storyline (lane? sorry, I'm new to this terminology - So, track 1) is a compound clip with just a PNG of the art card background, and the voiceover.

Above that I use B-roll in certain places, and when I want to do a card, I just throw text over the background - which I was hoping to animate (at least dissolve!) on and off.

I"m beyond frustrated, since it looks like I will have to animate opacity ramps all night.

Cmd-G does not make a compound clip. You do not need to make compound clips or anything else. In fact they will make it much harder to create transitions. Have you selected an edit point between two of the connected clips? Of just select the connected clips and press Cmd-T. Make sure the selection tool is active and not sone other tool. If they are not compounds and have handles you will get transitions. If they are compound clips you will get the warning dialog. I understand your frustration, and share your frustration that you cannot do something that is do incredibly simple to do in this application.

Thanks for bearing with me Tom,

I'm aware that whatever the command-G thing is is different from a compound clip.

yes. I'm trying to create transitions between two connected clips. I've tried even destroying my primary storyline and moving these clips down into the lane. no luck.

Please show a screenshot where we can see the actual edit point where you are trying to insert a transition.

Hey guys,

I'm having this same problem here, but it has nothing to do with using background image - I'm simply being denied the ability to insert dissolves or fades on any clips. I'm attaching sceenshots so you can see what I'm doing, but I literally dropped two (lengthy) clips into the project next to each other. If I select a handle and drag the transition onto the clip, the same result happens. I've tried a few different things with the cursor to try and select the clip in different ways before adding the transition, but none of them work.

Screenshots:

This is where I've selected (what I believe to be) the clip handle.

This is after dragging the transition onto the clip with the handle selected.

And this is when I tried to select the entire left clip and dragged the transition onto that.

Frankly I don't even care about transitions right now - I just want to add fades on the beginnings/ends of my clips. They're all well beyond the length requirements for any kind of transition and I've used FCPX for over a year without ever encountering something like this before.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

First, they're not next to each other. You have one clip on the primary storyline and the other clip is connected to a gap. The connected clip has been made into a secondary storyline for some reason. What you have selected is the edit point. The clip appears to have handles. You don't select handles; they're the extra media available to create the overlap for the transition.

In the first screen shot, you have the beginning of the clip selected. Press Cmd-T. What happens? You should get a hard cut to black and a fade up from black, assuming there's more than a few frames of handles at the beginning of MVI_2207. Do not try to drag the transition to the timeline. More than likely you will drop it on the wrong spot.

Hey Tom,

Thanks for the quick response. I'm relatively new to this, so I apologize if I'm using the wrong terms. I've tried what you said - selected the beginning edit point of the second clip and hit cmd-T to add a cross dissolve. The result was the same. I brought both clips to the primary storyline so that the magnetic timeline thing does its magic and they're against each other. To be safe, I trimmed each clip so that there's 5 seconds of extra media for the transition. Screenshot attached.