Imagine the client of your travelogue video wants you to use a flying airplane as a transition when cutting from one location to the next. Luckily, you can use Final Cut Pro to create a custom graphic wipe transition by animating images with alpha channels.

Clips courtesy of Apple and Panasonic Broadcast

1. Edit two clips into V1, making sure they have plenty of handle.  Apply Video Transitions > Wipe > Edge Wipe between the segments, and set its transition alignment to Start On Edit.




2. Edit the graphic onto the V2 track above the Edge Wipe for however long you want your custom transition to last.



3. Set the Edge Wipe's Angle to be parallel to the edges of the graphic where the wipe will appear.  Make sure the A and B sides of the wipe are on the correct sides of the screen.  (Hint: Temporarily reduce the graphic's opacity to see the graphic and edge wipe at the same time.)

In the example below, the Angle is set to 227.



4. Animate the graphic across the screen.

Enlarge it if necessary. In the example shown on the right, the graphic's Scale is set to 107, and its Center is animating from (1000, 0) to (-1000, 0).

5. To sync the Edge Wipe with the motion of the graphic, you can use your playhead as a guide.  Double-click the Edge Wipe in the timeline to load its parameters into the Viewer.

6. Park the playhead on the frame when the graphic's edge enters the corner of the screen.  In the example below, the plane's left wingtip is at the upper-right corner.




7. In the Viewer, drag the middle of the transition so that it begins where your playhead is parked.  This will make the wipe start at this frame.



8. Park the playhead on the frame when the graphic's edge exits the opposite corner of the screen.  In the example below, the plane's right wingtip is at the lower-left corner.

9. In the Viewer, adjust the duration of the transition by dragging its right side so that it ends where your playhead is parked.  This will make the wipe finish at this frame.  If you can't see the playhead or the right side of the transition, close the Viewer, and double-click the Edge Wipe in the timeline again.



10. Finally, to emphasize the graphic, enable its Drop Shadow, and adjust it however you wish.

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Christopher Phrommayon is an Avid- and Apple-certified instructor whose independent audio and video productions have been seen internationally.  Chris has contributed to publications such as "Final Cut Pro on the Spot" and "Videography" Magazine, and is co-author of "Avid Xpress Pro and DV on the Spot."  Recent speaking engagements include the Avid Government Training Symposium, the DigitalMediaDC Conference, Final Cut Pro to the Max tour, and NAB Post-Production World Conference.

Chris teaches Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Shake, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, and Boris Red for Future Media Concepts in Boston.