… for Apple Final Cut Pro X

Tip #870: Change the Look of a Dissolve

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Add looks to have dissolves contribute to the story you are telling.

I discovered this tip while researching a recent webinar covering the basics of editing in Final Cut Pro X. There are two hidden settings in every cross-dissolve that will change the look of a transition.

• Apply the transition to an edit point.

NOTE: Since this is the default transition, the easiest way to add a dissolve is to select the edit point, then type Cmd + T.

• Select the transition, then go the Inspector (see screen shot). There, you’ll find a dozen different settings in the Look menu that can be applied to any cross-dissolve. Experiment with these to see what they do.

NOTE: Inspector settings vary by transition.

The other option is Ease. This allows you to change the speed of entering and exiting a dissolve based upon the Ease Amount.

• In. Affects the speed at the start of the transition.
• Out. Affects the speed at the end of the transition
• In & Out. Affects both the start and end of the transition.

NOTE: These speed changes are subtle and are only visible for longer transitions; say, two seconds or more.