newbie premiere pro help needed

[Frank Marshall]

Greets,

I got a call from a client today who has Premiere Pro installed and doesn't know how to apply a cross dissolve. He can't make sense of the help files and I have never even seen Premiere Pro but it seems Adobe have changed the whole transition application routine so I'm stumped too.

Could someone please take the time to lay out the procedure simply and accurately for me so I can forward the instructions to him?

Thanks in advance,

Frank.

[Dr Mordrid]

I'm not suprised that the help files don't help since the process is so counter-intuitive, especially to those used to A/B roll's overlap technique.

In most single-track editing programs (VideoStudio and almost all points north save for PPro) you'd abutt the clips then just drop the transition on the edit line. The program takes care of everything. No problem.

In Premiere Pro you use markin/markout to trim from each clip enough frames to account for at least 1/2 the transitions duration in order to create what PPro calls a "handle". A "handle" consists of those frames before/after the clips markin/markout points.

NOW align the clips and only THEN drop the transition on the edit line. Once applied you can then go to the Effect Controls Window and drag the transitions icon left/right to get the look you want.

In true Adobe-ism fashion the PPro manual tells you how to create handles ~10 pages after the start of the transitions chapter.

If you think he'll love this wait until he discovers how long it takes to convolve the audio to 32 bits

Dr. Mordrid

[Frank Marshall]

Thanks for the speedy response doc, I'll pass that on.

Ooo I hate it when newer versions of software depart from an intuitive paradigm and complicate things unnecessarily. If it ain't broke, don't fix it I say...

Thanks again,

Frank

[Dr Mordrid]

Single track is the feature de jour in editing programs of late, which isn't really a bad thing. The problem comes in how it's implemented.

Dr. Mordrid

[Frank Marshall]

Guess I'm just an old-fashioned "A/B roll" kinda guy sniff...

[Debbie]

Good old Ulead. Says me !

[Frank Marshall]

Most folks around here prefer MSP and though I'd love to say likewise, I'm afraid I simply don't like it. I was immediately confused by its seemingly messy and fussy interface. Maybe it's down to what you know and started with but I find Premiere's layout neat and intuitive. I can't say too much about the latest version but for mine, it seems to be going backwards. Since I'm only doing the odd wedding for friends and mostly working on personal stuff, I'll be sticking with Premiere 6. It has everything I need in an NLE.

[gt40]

Yep,
from what I've heard about Ppro, I'll just stick to my trusty 6.5.
Although I have no probs with using MSPro, Adobe came bundled with my rtx10, so why would I buy something else.