FCE technical question - about to pull hair out PLEASE help!

[portena]

Hello,

I am in the process of setting up a miniDV to DVD transfer service. My clients will send in their tapes and at the minimum level receive back from me a complete replica of their miniDV tape, clip by clip on DVD, with transitions separating each clip. Here's what I do:

- Capture footage (using Live Capture - a CatDV product, v.good)
- Print out the catalogue (people like this as a visual reference of the clips on their tape and is a snazzy little extra, especially if the timecode is correct)
- Export the footage from CatDV as single, whole clips.
- Import the files into FCE.
- Highlight all (usually around 50 or so clips - based on the DV start/stop)
- Drag and drop to Timeline via "Overwrite with transition"

That whole process takes virtually no time at all except (obviously) for the real-time capture, but I just set and forget that. So what a great business right???? but then....

The resulting sequence contains only very short transitions and when I attempt to extend their length... I AM NOT ALLOWED! The clips stay in place firm and furthermore the transition is not a true cross-dissolve (as in dissolves from one into the next) rather, it dissolves out of the preceding clip and starts the new clip from cold. When I choose simple "overwrite", I can't insert a transition at all. From the digging around I've done it seems that I might be suffering from the "insufficient content to edit" problem, because my handles are too short. I have read the manual and there are various (though not very straightforward to me) tools that will allow you to trim the clips, or slip them, or slide them, or roll them (oh help, I'm confused)

And anyway, more importantly, i actually DO need the entire clip (its the client's footage afterall and I'm not in charge of cutting). I guess if I trimmed a couple of frames off every clip it wouldn't matter (that's how imovie does it I suppose), but how do I achieve this IN BULK edit form within FCE??? I can't be messing around with the in and out points of each and every individual clip when I'm dealing with 50 odd clips just for the sake of a decent transition. Out goes my profit right there in the form of an hour or more edit time at least...

PLEASE HELP i'm completely at my wits end!! (DH...?)

Thanks

 

[faustfire]

I would say your best option is to just not use transitions, as the only way to add them is to trim the front and back of the clips, thus shortening them.

 

[bigbossbmb]

You say that you don't want to fool with in and out points, but that is what it takes to create transitions. You will just have to lay down the clips with no transitions.

 

[portena]

You say that you don't want to fool with in and out points, but that is what it takes to create transitions. You will just have to lay down the clips with no transitions.

okay.... assuming I did undertake the task of setting in and out points. About how much (as in frames?) should I leave at each end (start and finish). And is there a fast and easy way to do this within FCE?

Thanks for the speedy replies... my hair is still hanging in there, but only by a thread!

 

[bigbossbmb]

okay.... assuming I did undertake the task of setting in and out points. About how much (as in frames?) should I leave at each end (start and finish). And is there a fast and easy way to do this within FCE?

1: However many frames you want the transition to be.

2: Start learning how to navigate and operate FCE with just the keyboard. Then you'll speed things up.

 

[MacSawdust]

Use a shorter default transition

What are you using for a default transition? That's the one FCE uses when you drag and drop in the timeline. Might be 2 seconds. Change it to a half second (15 frames) and see if that helps. Of course, each clip will need to be at least a one second long. See the manual on how to set a default transition.