… for Apple Final Cut Pro X

Tip #1354: Adjust a Speed Transition

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Just as you can trim the edges of a clip, you can trim the edges of a speed transition.

By default, when you change the speed of a portion of a clip (Tip #1352), Final Cut inserts a speed transition to smoothly blend the speed change across several frames.

However, just as you can trim the edges of a clip, you can also trim the edges of a speed transition.

Here’s how:

• Put the timeline playhead on the frame who’s speed you want to adjust.
• Choose Modify > Retime > Blade Speed (Shortcut: Shift + B)
• Change the speed of either the upstream or downstream clip segment by dragging the black, vertical “thumb” in the Retiming bar. This also adds a speed transition.
• Grab the edge of the speed transition in the Retiming bar and drag it. This changes how the speed transition allocates frames from one speed to another.

EXTRA CREDIT

Tip #1353 shows how to disable a speed transition.