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16.2: Fixing Transition Mistakes

  • Page ID
    124300
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    Below are some common issues with ways to fix them in the popular and industry-standard software.

    Fixing Gaps or “Flash Frames”

    Gaps, also called “black frames” or “flash frames” are unintentional gaps between clips in your timeline. When you play back your video at regular speed, it is often hard to spot them, since a single gap or flash frame will play back at the framerate of your timeline, so just "flash" on screen for a 1/24th or 1/30th of a second at a time.

    You can do a few things to find and remove any gaps in your timeline(s). If your program is under 10 minutes and without too many small clips, you could simply move through your edit points to confirm they are all directly abutted.

    For longer timelines you can enlist help from your editing program.
    In Adobe Premiere Pro you can use this dedicated item in the menu:

    • Sequence > Go To Gap > Next in Sequence [Premiere will place the playhead at the next gap. There are also options to go to the previous gap. ]

    If you find any gaps, you can also close them manually or by using this item:

    • Sequence > Close Gap [Premiere will close the gap]

    In Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve you can use:

    • Jump Cut detector [on the Cut page].
    Menu in Premiere Pro highlighting the options to find and remove gaps.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Premiere Pro menu displaying options to find and close gaps in sequences. (CC BY-SA 3.0; by Misha Antonich)

    Finding Duplicate Clips

    In some situations it’s possible to use a clip two or more times, unintentionally. This can sometimes happen when working on longer projects, or projects with many short b-roll clips - or also with footage that includes multiple takes or similar content.

    Fortunately,it's relatively easy to see if a clip has been used multiple times.

    In Adobe Premiere Pro there are multiple ways to find duplicate clips:

    • In the timeline panel, select the “wrench” icon and select > Show Duplicate Frame Markers
      [Premiere will display matching colors for any duplicate frames. This works for both audio and video]

    Also in Premiere Pro you can:

    • Right-click in the Project panel on the header row in list view and choose “Metadata display...”. Then, use the disclosure triangle to view items in the first top option, Premiere Pro Project Metadata. Place a checkmark on the metadata columns “Video Usage” and “Audio Usage” to make these items appear in your list.
      [Premiere will now show how many times a clip has been used - this works for both audio and video clips]

    In DaVinci Resolve, on the Media page you can check:

    • the Usage column to see if and how many times a video or audio clip was used.
    Menu in Premiere Pro with a red box around the option to show duplicate frames within the timeline
    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Premiere Pro's "wrench" menu displaying the duplicate frame marker option. (CC BY-SA 3.0; by Misha Antonich)


    Checking and Fixing Transitions

    Checking and fixing transitions can take more time than the issues above, so do this for a project that you are trying to perfect as much as possible, within the given time. There are a few ways that transitions can yield unintended results, and two common ways, and their solution, is outlined below.

    Adobe Premiere Pro (and most editing programs) have trouble creating a transition between clips without enough overlapping (or “extra” footage in addition to where you "cut") to allow the adjoining clips to “mix”, for instance using a dissolve. In the case of a lack of footage for the transition, Premiere automatically creates still frames for the clip which is certainly a good stand-in approach but less ideal than a smooth transition. In Premiere Pro you have a few options to improve this transition:

    • Check on the clip with the lack of footage (at the head or tail (the beginning or end of the clip) and consider adding footage by using a slip edit. A slip edit will retain the In and Out markers and its position in the timeline but allow you to “scroll” and review the available footage in the clip. This is often a fast fix, but won’t work if you need the head or tail in the transition.
    • Another option is to move the offending clip to another track, usually above the edit. This can help fix an issue as you can now more freely adjust the clip on the upper track.

    In DaVinci Resolve, on the Edit page you can use the same slip edit tool and strategies. To use slip edit in Resolve:

    • Select the trim edit tool and hover over the clip to “scroll” and review and adjust the content of that clip.

    This page titled 16.2: Fixing Transition Mistakes is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Misha Antonich (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .