linbmcd

Q: Cross-dissolve transition not working in iMovie 10.0.2

I have imported a video I made in Photobooth into iMovie - the event is one long clip.  I split the clip into several clips, and now want to add a few transitions between the clips.  All transitions seem to work except cross-dissolve.  When I drag the cross-dissolve transition icon between two clips, nothing happens.  When I select the edge of a clip, go to Edit>Add Cross Dissolve, nothing happens.  Am I missing something?

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Mar 28, 2014 3:03 PM

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Q: Cross-dissolve transition not working in iMovie 10.0.2

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  • by judysings,

    judysings judysings Mar 30, 2014 7:54 AM in response to linbmcd
    Community Specialists
    Mar 30, 2014 7:54 AM in response to linbmcd

    Hi linbmcd,

     

    Welcome to the Support Communities!

     

    The article below may be able to help you with this.  Click on the link to see more details and screenshots. 

     

    iMovie (2013): Add transitions to your movie

    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14698

     

    Do you have any issues with cross-dissolve in your other iMovie projects?  Another troubleshooting step would be to remove the iMovie preferences:

     

    iLife: Troubleshooting Basics

    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3249

     

    Delete the User Preferences

    You can resolve many issues by restoring an iLife application back to its original settings (this will not impact your project files or libraries). To do this:

    1. In the Finder, click the Go menu and choose Home.
    2. Open the Library folder and then the Preferences folder.
    3. Remove the "com.apple.x.plist" file, where "x" should be replaced with the iLife application you are troubleshooting (for example, "com.apple.iphoto.plist" or "com.apple.imovie.plist").

     

    Cheers,

     

     

    - Judy

  • by linbmcd,

    linbmcd linbmcd Mar 31, 2014 8:41 AM in response to judysings
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2014 8:41 AM in response to judysings

    Hi Judy,

     

    Thanks for your suggestions. I had previously worked through everything involved in the first link you provided: "Add transitions to your movie".  My movie is un-themed and automatic content is disabled.  Still have the problem. I have another movie (one big clip that I split into several) that I brought into iMovie - same thing.

     

    I have also since discovered that two other transitions do not work:

     

    Wipe transitions

    Circle transitions

     

    I checked out the troubleshooting link, and there is no iMovie.plist file in Preferences to remove, let alone wone for any other iLife application.

     

    I'm wondering - could this be related to the fact that these two movies were brought in as one big clip that I had to split into multiple clips?

     

    Thanks - Lin

  • by judysings,

    judysings judysings Apr 3, 2014 1:17 PM in response to linbmcd
    Community Specialists
    Apr 3, 2014 1:17 PM in response to linbmcd

    Hi linbmcd,

     

    My apologies, missing from the instructions above is that you have to hold the Option key in Finder, then click Go and you will see a hidden Library file.  This is your User Library.  You'll find the iMovie file in the Preferences folder.

     

    In iMovie 10 (2013), I would suggest you start with a new movie, add a few clips from the Maps and Backgrounds content that is part of the program, and then try your transitions again.   That way, you can see if the issue is with the software or your media.  

     

    This article has some other general troubleshooting guidelines:

     

    Isolating an issue by using another user account

    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4053

     

    The issue at hand may simply be caused by a bad preference setting or user-specific data file.

    If an issue doesn't happen when logged in to a new user account, then you know OS X and your installed applications are working as expected.

     

    If you need more help with troubleshooting an issue isolated to a specific user account, you may wish to contact Apple Support. If you work with AppleCare to troubleshoot the issue, be sure to mention any troubleshooting steps you have already performed and the results, and the text of any alert messages you're seeing. You may want to take a screenshot of any alert messages so you can refer to them later.

     

    I hope this information helps ....

    Have a great day!

     

     

    - Judy



  • by linbmcd,

    linbmcd linbmcd Apr 3, 2014 2:24 PM in response to judysings
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 3, 2014 2:24 PM in response to judysings

    Thanks Judy.  However, after some more digging, what I found, which is documented in other earlier posts, is that the problem exists only with split clips.  If I have two discreet clips imported separately, I have no trouble with transitions at all.  The best workaround is this: after splitting a clip, open the Precision Editor, delete one frame, and the transition will be viewable. 

  • by judysings,

    judysings judysings Apr 13, 2014 1:47 PM in response to linbmcd
    Community Specialists
    Apr 13, 2014 1:47 PM in response to linbmcd

    Hi linbmcd,

     

    I'm glad you figured out the solution to this puzzle.  Thanks for sharing it with the community.

     

    - Judy

  • by HalS,

    HalS HalS May 14, 2015 8:30 AM in response to judysings
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 14, 2015 8:30 AM in response to judysings

    The new version of iMovie has more bugs in it than ever before.  I have been a long-time iMovie fan, but with all the dumbed-down features and bugs I am beginning to hate this application.

    You can't work with 60fps or greater videos as iMovie projects only support 30fps - period.  So when you slow down your clips, they look choppy.  You are also hobbled by the lack of granularity at which you can export your videos - hence the lack of high-bitrate videos on output and only 30fps videos on output.

    When is Apple going to restore some of the more desirable advanced features?  FCPX is overkill for what I need to do and iMovie used to be my go-to-it app.  Not anymore.

    Disappointing.

  • by mischa72,

    mischa72 mischa72 Jan 10, 2016 3:37 AM in response to linbmcd
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 10, 2016 3:37 AM in response to linbmcd

    Hi all,

     

    I came across this topic looking for a solution for the same problem as topicstarter. Even almost 1,5 years later in iMovie 10.1 this is not solved (or I'm too stupid to find another solution for this). I can't open the Precision Editor. When I split a clip there is no bar appearing between the 2 parts of the clip that I just created, therefore I can't open the PE. The file I imported was created by importing a miniDV (tape) movie to a Windows 7 machine. Did anybody find a solution for that?

     

    Yes, it is a long time ago this topic was started, but apparently there are still problems.

     

    Best regards,

    Mischa

  • by GeeD,

    GeeD GeeD Jan 10, 2016 4:46 AM in response to mischa72
    Level 5 (7,723 points)
    Video
    Jan 10, 2016 4:46 AM in response to mischa72

    I don't understand why you want to add a transition between the two parts of a split clip when there is no 'gap' in the action.  A cross-dissolve in particular would be invisible if added since it would be mixing two identical bits of video.   Transitions are to connect clips to 'soften' a 'jump' in the video.

     

    If you trim (or add) one or more frames from either part then there now is a 'jump', the bar appears and you can add transitions.

     

    Geoff.