Q: Transition timing in iMovie 10

Alan, I did exactly what you suggested and I still cannot change the duration time of any transition which  I place between clips.  However, if I place a transition at the beginning of the first clip in a project or at the end of the last clip, then I can change the duration time by double clicking and changing the time in the dialog box which appears at the top. The clips are at least 30 seconds in length and I am only trying to extend the transition length from say 1 second to 3 seconds so my clips are long enough to extend the transition time.  I had hoped that the recent upgrade to iMovie (now 10.0.1) would have fixed this problem but it has not.  I emailed the AppleCare contact I spoke to at the beginning of November about this problem last Saturday to inform him that the upgrade has not changed the situation and asked him for assistance but have not received any reply in now over a week.  Very disappointing.

I've had similar problems with transitions and have found a workaround.  It's not pleasant, but it does work.

I recently did a project where I was trying to get a specific transition between two different clips.  What I had to do was essentially make 2 different projects.  I made a video of the transition at the beginning of one clip (w/o including clip 2), and saved the video file.  Then I started a new project, imported the video I saved plus the additional clip I wanted to use.  I put them together w/o any transitions (as the transition I wanted was saved on the former video I made) and got what I wanted.

While iMovie *should* work better regarding transitions, I at least found this to a semi-workable (i.e. much more time consuming) process for small, simple jobs.

So I was trying to figure out the same thing....  I couldn't imagine that Apple would fall this short- and I also couldn't imagine that you would have to come up with such long-winded workarounds either.  

JUST PUSH ENTER!  It's that simple....  When you click on the transition and insert a number of seconds, just push enter afterwards and that will change it!  hahahah- it took me a day to figure this out- but thank goodness!

Hope this helps

Sorry to disappoint you but I had previously tried this and found it only occasionally works?

Having read your posting I tried it again.......nothing!!!

Not convinced Apple have done a good job here?

actually,  you're right....  After I said this and it worked a bunch of times in a row, it stopped working...  So, I ate my words!  I hope someone knows how to succesfully do this every time and can share with us....!

Hi everybody!!

+1 for me.

Not able to edit  transtion times...

Actually I am just about to switch to the elder version which by the way is still installed....

Wise man!

Cant believe Apple havent sorted this yet????

I have this issue as well.  This is my first Mac, and purchased it with the explicit purpose of getting home movies organized and published into something enjoyable.  I like iMovie, but this issue with the transition length is ruining the entire experience.  I have too many transiitons that are too short that I absolutley can not lengthen, and it really ruins the "flow" of the film.

I hope Apple is paying attention. 

From iMovie's menu bar select Window > Movie Properties, then at the top far right of the window click on Settings. Directly above the viewer a panel will open showing a range of items, including sliders for Clip lengths and Transition durations. The transition duration is subject to the clip length chosen in the Clip slider.

So, for example, if the clip length shows 2 seconds, then the transition duration is limited to 1 second. If the clip slider is moved to the maximum position of 10 seconds, then the transition duration can be adjusted to its maximum of 5 seconds by moving the transition slider to the far right position. So, the transition duration can be no longer than half the clip length.

Note that the clip length is only used when selecting segments of clips from an Event. When clicking on a clip in an Event you will see a + sign appear at the playhead position. Click on the + sign (or press the E key on the keyboard) and a segment of the clip will be dropped into the project timeline. The segment will start at the playhead position (in the Event) and extend for the clip length that you've chosen from the Clips slider in Window > Movie Properties > Settings. (That's of course provided there is enough available media in the Event clip).

Here are 2 screenshots showing the Clips slider and the Transitions slider. The first one shows a clip length of 10 seconds and a maximum transition duration of 5 seconds. The second shows 2 seconds and 1 second respectively.

Hope this helps!

John

Please ignore! Just removing a double post (caused when Apple was performing maintenance on the forum).

John

Further to my earlier post:

After adjusting the Clips and Transitions durations in Settings (as I described above), you may still be unable to change the transition in the timeline to a longer duration. The trick is to simply delete the transition (select it and press the Delete key), then re-insert it. The transition will now show the maximum duration as selected in Settings (provided enough media is available). If desired, you can shorten the duration in the usual way by double-clicking the transition then typing the new duration in the transition adjustment box above the viewer.

John

Hi there!

thanks for sharing that, I will try it and let you know!

John

Glad to help John! I'm sure it will work for you.

John

Hi again,

unfortunately...not

I changed the settings of a project (clips 10, transitions 5), deleted atransition and then added back and attemted to change transition duration....no luck...transition remained at 1 sec...The clips that the transitions stands in between are 30 secs and 45....

Hi John,

There is one simple step I failed to mention (one which I carried out in my testing and had forgotten I'd done it).

After adjusting the Clips and Transitions sliders, then deleting the original 1 second transition, you need to extend the outgoing clip and the incoming clip to at least their original positions, or to their end/start positions (as if no transition had ever been inserted). This replaces the media that was used by the original transition.

To extend the clips, drag the end/beginning outwards respectively. That is, drag the outgoing clip end to the right and the incoming clip end to the left. Drag them as far as they will go, or at least add several seconds to each end. If you fully drag to the end of the first clip or the start of the second clip you will see a red line indicating that no further media is available. When you hover the skimmer over the end or beginning of a clip an arrow will appear (single or double-sided). When the arrow appears, click then drag the clip end.

After doing this, drag your new transition into the timeline. The transition should be exactly the length that you set in the Transitions slider under Settings. If required, double-click it to change it to a shorter duration in the Transitions adjustment tool in the normal way.

Sorry I missed explaining this step about extending the clip lengths after deleting the original transition. It was an oversight on my behalf.

John

Message was edited by: John Cogdell