The answer elsewhere (Re: can't change transition duration ) is that it doesn't. I'm sorry, but THAT *****!
Mac mini (Late 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5), FCE 4.0.1
I recall writing that.
It's just how the application works.
The newer FCP X will allow custom transition length.
Al
Thanks, Alchroma. (Seriously. It's no fun being the bear of bad news.)
I wish I had come across your post earlier, to save me ~3 hours of trying, meticulously, to follow the Manual's directions, and having the program fail to behave in way resembling the Manual's descriptions. I really needed transitions. But all I could get was a 4-frame durations (2 in, 2 out). I'm sorry: 4/28ths (1/7 of a second) is not a transition, it's the blink of an eye. Apparently every transition on the menu is thus crippled.
How Apple's FCE team could have the Manual crew working, for 31 pages, to detail the workings of a functionality which simply didn't exist in the app. With no sign that the Manual crew was aware of this. Well, probably someone pointed this out to the FCE project managers, whose response was, "Marketing says we've got to put at least one FUBAR in, or people won't buy an upgrade".
For the time being, I'll be running my finished FCE files through iMovie HD, for any transitions. I'm sorry but the situation socks (I think I spelled that right…)
mrbl wrote:
But all I could get was a 4-frame durations (2 in, 2 out). I'm sorry: 4/28ths (1/7 of a second) is not a transition, it's the blink of an eye. Apparently every transition on the menu is thus crippled.
If this is the case then you are not understanding how transitions operate in FCE.
Transitions require that the clips in use have "Media Handles".
Media handles are bits of the clips that are outside the in/out points of the clips used.
If there are no media handles you won't even get a one frame transition.
There has been a truck load of info written in this forum about media handles.
Here is one:
Re: Transitions require "extra media" on clips
Al
Thanks, Al. I did see these (fat brackets) occasionally during my time trying to get transitions to work, and I'll be glad to pursue this thread. In any case, what FCE was giving me for a "default transition", I could click through, frame by frame (four of 'em). But it looks like you've set me on the right path. (And, a few steps down this one, you'll probably see me click "This solved my problem".
Just found Ken Stone's tutorials at http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/fcp_homepage_index.html#qt_mac_os_utilities . Time to hit the books, and thanks, Al, for the pointer.
The "spot-on":
New Tutorial: Transitions & Media Handles
Love the opening sentences: "Since starting video work last April I have noticed the large number of people who have considerable difficulty understanding how Transitions and Media Handles work, and who have become frustrated when the transition has no effect - about one post every ten days I reckon."
Here it is!
Again, thanks Al. (Boy, I'd like to delete some of my earlier posts in this thread.)
Change Transition Duration in FCE 4.0.1
