cross-dissolve

[abgtc]

I’m having a problem with the cross-dissolve transition. I thought I’d noticed something before but with my latest project I decided to examine each frame carefully, which confirmed that something’s wrong. It’s complicated to describe so I’ve also attached screenshots from the edit (it’s from the movie “The Thin Man”).

“Dissolve 1” shows the end of the first clip; “Dissolve 2” is from near the beginning of the dissolve -– note the "shadow-figure" of the man coming into view on the right.

“Dissolve 3” is a couple frames later –- note that both the shadow-figure's size and position have changed to accurately reflect the new scene… but are very different from the (inaccurate) size and position in “Dissolve 2”. "Dissolve 4" shows the beginning of the second clip.

The result of the change between 2 and 3 is a small (but very noticeable to me) “jump” during the dissolve. It distracts the eye and, in any case, shouldn’t be there; why would Elements essentially manufacture a new size for the shot which is then corrected a frame later as the dissolve completes?

A cross-dissolve is such a basic funtion; can it be true that it doesn’t work properly?

Untitled1.jpg

Untitled2.jpg

Untitled3.jpg

Untitled4.jpg

[Steve Grisetti]

You are working with a video that has been ripped from a DVD or online.

The file is an MP4, but it is not camcorder video -- so we have no idea what software was used to create this file or what the specs are of the file. What is its resolution? Frame rate? Is it a constant or variable frame rate? What compressor was used to create the MP4. And what are the project settings for your Premiere Elements project?

All of these things can affect how Premiere Elements interprets the file -- and all of them can cause variations.

If you'd like to troubleshoot things, download Media Info and open your video in it. What are the specs listed when View is set to Tree?

Also, what is the cut between these two clips? Are they one clip that has been split and some frames removed -- or are these two completely different video files that you've joined?

[abgtc]

The clip is from a TV broadcast which I recorded on Tivo, copied to a DVD-RW, then digitized with a program called Handbrake. The same problem happened with a camcorder video posted online as an mp4, which I downloaded.

The cut we're talking about is a single video file; I deleted about 20 seconds between the two sections.

Is that enough to diagnose with, or should I get the media info for both the TV clip and the camcorder video?

[Chuck Engels]

Zoom in on the timeline and adjust the position of the transition. While adjusting you will see in the monitor what each side of the transition will look like. You may need to lengthen or shorten the transition as well as adjust its position before it looks the way you want it to look.

[abgtc]

Chuck: I don't think that's it. The dissolve is positioned correctly right now; the transition preview's left side shows the last frame of clip 1, and the right side shows the first frame of clip 2. The problem is that Elements is taking the first frame of clip 2 and changing its size inside the dissolve.

[abgtc]

Steve: I just checked further and I was wrong -- the second clip, the camcorder/download/mp4, does not have the same problem.

Do you have enough to go on or should I get the info from Media Info?

[Steve Grisetti]

You should get a Media Info report on each clip. Tivo is hard enough video to work with -- but whatever system you used to create the DVD adds more variables and the settings you used to convert the video with Handbrake has the potential to add even more.

You haven't said, but I assume this is two separate clips rather than one that has been split and some video removed from it.

Also, what do you mean when you say "The same problem happened with a camcorder video posted online as an mp4, which I downloaded"?

Unless someone else is getting a clearer idea than I am what's going, it might be worth your uploading your video clips and .prel file to Dropbox and sharing it with me, abc. I'll open it on my machine and maybe I can see more clearly what you're describing. Just share it with my e-mail, which is my first name at this web site.

It's possible you're just seeing the result of a transition between two clips that don't have adequate head and tail material. Do you know what that looks like?

[abgtc]

Chuck: I take it all back, you're absolutely right.

In further testing, I realize that I misinterpreted the "Alignment" option in Cross-Dissolve. I've been choosing "Between clips" because that's what I wanted, but what that actually produces is a dissolve between the full, not edited, end of clip 1. To dissolve between the edited end of clip 1 and the beginning of clip 2, you have to choose "right clip".

Gotta say, Adobe could make those Alignment options clearer. But this was a real puzzle and I thank you for clearing it up.

And thank you too, Steve; the video properties could well have been the issue though it looks like they weren't.

[Chuck Engels]

Premiere Elements always uses the last 5 or so cut frames from each side in a transition, it's usually best to cut an extra 5 - 10 frames more than you want if you are going to add a transition. That's why it is hard (or impossible) to put a transition on the end of a clip that has not been cut. You always have to trim off something to add the transition, just cut a little more than you think you should and it will work fine every time. There are lots of times I end up cutting an extra 10 frames just to make the transition work properly. It's been this way since version 1 and I don't think Premiere Pro is any different. Glad you got if figured out

[abgtc]

Interesting! Although what I just went through seems to show that 5-10 extra frames aren't always necessary; I was able to make the transition work without cutting any frames at all, by repositioning the dissolve to "right clip".

[Chuck Engels]

It just depends on the clip and where you cut. If you would have cut another 10 frames the "Center on Cut" would probably have looked fine.