This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Adding Polish to the Video
Even though the project you’re working on is looking good, there are more transitions and tweaks you can make to further enhance it.
For example, notice that the top layer drops off without a transition. This is a great time in the video to use the Fade transition. The fade will increase the transparency, which will nicely blend the top track into the footage when it ends.
- Click the Transition button, and then drag the Fade transition to the end of the video track on the ocean (the top video track) (Figure 4.25).
Figure 4.25. Create a Fade transition.
The transition looks good, but the clip seems to end too soon. Recall that editing is nondestructive and merely hides the trimmed video. This is a great time to bring back some of the hidden parts of the video.
- Click the end of the top video layer and drag it to the right. Release the layer just after the end of the basketball players underneath to place the transitions on top of each other (Figure 4.26).
Figure 4.26. Extending the length of the top track.
All the clips now blend nicely at the same time. It’s a very smooth, good-looking effect (Figure 4.27). Don’t be afraid to make tweaks mid project like you did here by extending the top video track. If you see that your video can be improved in some way, do it!
Figure 4.27. The results of the transition; all the videos fade together.
To finesse the visual appeal of the cuts, let’s add some Fade With Black transitions.
- Choose the Fade With Black transition and drag it to the beginning of each track. If you only add it to one track, the effect won’t affect both tracks, so you need to repeat the transition for each track (Figure 4.28).
Figure 4.28. Adding a Fade With Black transition effect to polish the project.
- Save your project and name it ch4-end.psd so that you can continue to use it in later chapters.
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(To view the completed project, open ch4-end.psd in the ch4 folder. You may have to re-link the footage.)
As you saw in this chapter, you can create some appealing effects with layered video clips. The fun has only just begun, so keep reading.