Clip frozen in crossfade...?

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Hello. I've just downloaded freeware version 3.0. When applying a crossfade between clips, is it normal for the second clip to be frozen while the fade is happening, and then kick into motion near the end of the fade? Because if so, that's a deal breaker right there.

 

Thanks a ton,

Andy

[Nationalsolo]

Hi

 

In VP , presumably in order to keep the combined length of both clips the same, irrespective of the crossfade length, it seems that, as the first clip fades out it remains in motion whilst the the first frame of the second clip fades in as a still image. At the junction of the the two clips the second clip continues to fade in as a movie now, whilst the last frame of the first clip fades out as a still image.

 

It works very well provided cross fades are short and each clip has similar contrasts and brightness but the still image(s) become more obvious if one clip is darker than the other or has a content in distinct motion.

 

In other editors I have used, the ends of clips are overlapped and play together with their respective fades, but the overall length of the combination can alter depending on the amount of overlap used. In some circumstances this can play havoc with the associated soundtracks if they are not linked to the video. With the VP implementation the combined clips remain the same length and so any pre-positioned unlinked soundtrack remains in synch.

 

In version 2.41 it was possible to drag the ends of the crossfade around the junction point so as to get the best effect, i.e more crossfade on one clip than on the other, but it seems in V3, the effect is set equally over the junction and can't be altered.

 

Nat

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Thanks for the explanation, Nat. Well, that's it, then. I won't be using VP. Crossfade is a frequently useful effect, and other editors do it just fine (including the otherwise dumbed-down Windows Live Movie Maker). No excuse for VP not to be able to do it.

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I also contacted tech support for this problem, and they responded with a how-to video showing me how to crossfade two photos--which does nothing to address the problem! The problem is with crossfading video clips, not photos!

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Well, I've sort of solved my own problem with VP crossfading. I say "sort of" because a couple of months ago I got the advice to do this very thing from someone at NCH--but at the time, their explanation wasn't very well worded, so I didn't understand it, and didn't bother getting back to them. Ironically I came up with the same idea (I think it's the same) just yesterday, and have discovered it works.

 

The idea is to use the preview pane to insert "In" and "Out" points, then copy the remaining fragment to the timeline. I was already familiar with the in/out points, but here's what only just occurred to me: simply re-add the original video footage, but cut different in/out points in the preview pane, then paste to the timeline. And those pasted fragments can then be crossfaded with no "ghost" images from the cut footage. I only got those "ghost" images before when attempting to make all my cuts/deletions from the timeline itself, rather than in the preview pane.

 

However, this doesn't work in 3.0, because 3.0 leaves you with the second clip in a freeze-frame position, only coming into motion near the end of the crossfade--which of course looks totally unprofessional. So I've switched back to 2.41 in order to achieve decent-looking crossfades.

 

Hope that's all as clear as mud.

[Nationalsolo]

Hi ad

 

Thanks at lot for that post! I've never (well, hardly ever,) done it that way, and yes, it does work without showing a "still"!

 

I think it's a bit clumsy though when a simple split to remove a section seems more logical and there are some reservations. The amount cut off the first clip with the blue "Out" tab must not be less than half the crossfade otherwise a still image of the end of the clip will still show to make up the extra time, and the amount cut off the second clip with the red "In" marker must also be more than half the crossfade for the same reason.

The other thing is...It means you can't crossfade two uncut clips without the still frames appearing.

 

If one wants "still-less" crossfades with movies (and slideshows with pans or zooms added to slides) one will have to shorten the clip ends using the In/Out markers........However there is another way to achieve the same effect.

 

Instead of splitting off the section from the clips on the sequence line, (You can use "Split" for a major unwanted bit, ) just drag their ends along to shorten them and then add the crossfade this will also remove the "still" image effect.(The proviso being that each clip is shortened by at least half the crossfade time.)

 

i.e. Dragging the RIGHT hand end of the LEFT hand clip to the LEFT

and Dragging the LEFT hand end of the RIGHT hand clip to the RIGHT

 

Thanks again....something else I've learned.

 

Nat