Transitions - edited then duplicated

[Redexpress27]

Hi there,

I've been making a video with about 400 photos on it and am using various transitions.

What I can't work out what to do is how can I edit a transition then save or copy that edited version of the transition off somewhere so I can use it multiple times? It seems I get the 'base' transition, can add it to the timeline then have to edit each and every transition - it takes hours!

Any ideas?

[Ron P.]

Yep, doesn't allow saving, copying the transitions. Yet another thing that we complained about over the years. What really frustrated me, is that if you right-click on a transition in the time-line, you have a grayed-out menu option of copy. I never could get an answer from Corel, why would they put that menu option there if you can't use it.

I will add that not all of the transitions are customizable. The Mask transitions are the most customizable, they allow using a mask that you've created. The down side is of course you must go through and rebuild parts of the customization for each time you want to use it. One answer to this would be using New Blue FX transitions. They not only have video and audio filters, but also transition effects. Even with those, they're not that quick of a solution. For example you set up an effect using keyframes. You can't save the entire effect, you need to save each keyframe setting. That's the way it is with the video filters anyway.

The Professional editors do have this ability. With Ulead's MediaStudio Pro 8, it has a Custom folder already created under the Transition effects, and there's an Add button on each of the transition effects dialog. You customize the transition, rename it, then add it to the Custom folder. Then all you need to do is select it to add it between other clips in the time-line. You might keep in mind that MSP8 was a $400 program.

In fact I checked another NLE that I have, it is not an expensive one, and it also will allow customizing, saving, and then applying it to all clips in the time-line. So maybe we need to hit Corel with a wish-list item..

[Ron P.]

Out of curiosity, what transition are you using, and what customizations are you applying to it? Sometimes it's possible to create them manually, and then maybe save it as a video file. I'm thinking out-of-the-box, but I do know that using the color clips, and applying various filters to them, you can come up with some pretty wild effects. You just borrow actual transitions, like the cross-fade, when it's added between clips, just to blend it in. Which is what a transition does, blend two clips together.

[Redexpress27]

Hi Ron,

Thanks for your reply. This seems to me to be a basic option that Corel are scrimping out on. I've stayed with VS for a number of years now and upgraded etc. but to be honest there are things that really lack and I'm going to consider another option. To name a couple of things that annoy me right now:
- The transition issue
- The fact you cannot freeform (e.g swirl) the entry of pictures onto the overlay track. It is series of fixed directions only.

In answer to your question - I've used quite a few of them, lately and most notably the NewBlue transisitions. I edited the direction of the confetti as an example and want to do 4 different versions of the direction they flow to use an underlying theme with slight changes to keep it interesting.