- Understanding Trimming
- Trimming Types
- The Trimming Process
- Performing Trims
- Additional Methods for Adding and Removing Frames
- Slipping and Sliding Segments
- Review Questions
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Slipping and Sliding Segments
In addition to trimming and Segment mode editing, Media Composer has two additional functions that allow you to alter the position or contents of various shots within your Timeline: slipping and sliding.
Slipping and sliding are forms of dual-roller trimming, where two consecutive transitions are trimmed simultaneously. Because they are a type of dual-roller trim, using slip and slide will not affect the duration of a sequence.
Using Slip Mode to Change Shot Contents
When you slip a shot, the contents of the shot changes, but its duration and position do not. Essentially, the shot stays put while you access the clip’s handles to show a different part of the shot—earlier or later material in the master clip.
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To slip a shot:
- To show the slip display, do one of the following:
- While in Source/Record mode, drag a lasso around the entire segment from right to left.
- While in Trim mode (and only when the pointer becomes a trim roller), double-click a segment of video or audio in the Timeline, or Shift+click inside the opposite end of the clip that you are trimming.
- While in Trim mode, right-click a segment and select Slip.
Notice the four new pictures at the top of the monitor.
The first picture is the outgoing frame before the selected shot; the last picture is the incoming frame after the selected shot. The middle two pictures are the head and tail of the shot you are slipping.
- In the Timeline, click one of the selected heads or tails (it doesn’t matter which you click). With the tail of the Trim mode
pointer directed toward the center of the segment you are sliding, drag the selected material to the left or right.
Notice that the first and last pictures remain static as you drag because you are not changing the position of the shot in the sequence. The middle two pictures change because you are changing the content of the shot itself. Dragging right reveals later material. Dragging left reveals earlier material.
- Release the mouse button when you are satisfied with the change.
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Using Slide Mode to Change the Shot Position
When you slide a shot, the position of the shot changes, but its duration and content do not. Essentially, the sliding shot moves between the two adjacent shots, and the handles on each side roll in and roll out to accommodate the move.
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To slide a shot:
- Do one of the following to show the slide display:
- While in Source/Record mode, Shift+Alt+drag (Windows) or Option+drag (Macintosh) a lasso from right to left around the material
you want to slide.
You can use this method to slide multiple clips. This is useful, for example, when you need to change the position of an entire montage.
- While in Trim mode (and only when the pointer becomes a trim roller), Alt+double-click (Windows) or Option+double-click (Macintosh) a segment of video or audio to select the frames that precede and follow it, or Shift+click outside the opposite end of the clip you are trimming.
- Enter Trim mode at the head of the chosen segment. Right-click that segment, and from the menu, select Slide.
The same four pictures appear that you saw in Slip mode. However, in Slide mode, these pictures change as you drag because you are trimming the outgoing and incoming frames before and after the segment. The middle two pictures, the first and last frames of the segment, remain static and unchanged.
- While in Source/Record mode, Shift+Alt+drag (Windows) or Option+drag (Macintosh) a lasso from right to left around the material
you want to slide.
- In the Timeline, drag one of the rollers left or right. (Although technically it doesn’t matter, it’s often most helpful to
drag the head roller.)
Dragging to the right moves the segment to a later master timecode. Dragging to the left moves the selected segment to an earlier master timecode.
- Release the mouse button when you are satisfied with the change.
Using Keyboard Shortcuts for Slipping and Sliding
You can also slip or slide a shot using the following keys:
- Numeric keypad
- J-K-L keys: Using J-K-L keys while slipping a shot plays either the head of the shot or the tail, depending on which monitor has the green highlight underneath it. When you click Stop, the other frame jumps to its new position based on the trim on the other end.
- Trim keys: >>, >, <, <<
Practice Your Skills
- Load the sequence _Transformation Scene Slip and Slide into the Timeline. (This sequence is just a subset of the sequence you’ve been working with.)
- Play through the sequence. You need to fix three moments:
- When Dr. Shannon says, “...she holds her arms up, you know, to Drosselmeyer, can you do something?” Clarice should reach her arms up to match his words. Currently, she holds her arms up too early. Therefore, you need to slip this shot to the left to change the contents of the shot to an earlier moment (so the action comes at the right time).
- When Yo-el says “...and they’re waking up the Nutcracker...,” the action of him raising his hands (in the interview) does not finish. To let the shot finish, you need to slide the adjacent shot (“Transformation scene rehearsal”) to the right.
- The intention of editing the shots “Transformation scene rehearsal” and “Nutcracker lives” together is to match the action from one shot to the next. That is, you want the action of Drosselmeyer and Mini-Meyer raising and lowering their arms in the rehearsal footage to start the action, and you want the action of raising and lowering their arms in the theatrical footage to finish the action. Currently, the “Nutcracker lives” shot starts too early, so you need to slip this shot to the right.
- Lasso the first “Transformation scene rehearsal” shot from right to left, making sure that you begin the lasso in the gray area above the sequence and encompass the entire segment as you drag. This sets up a slip trim.
- Drag one of the pink rollers to the left about four seconds (or about 120 frames). (Make sure to grab the roller side of the transition, not the adjacent side.) You can determine the number of frames you are dragging by watching the pink frame counters beneath the A-side and B-side monitors.
- Play the shot to make sure the action syncs with the words. Tweak as necessary.
- Shift+Alt+drag (Windows) or Option+drag (Macintosh) a lasso around the second “Transformation scene rehearsal” shot from right to left. Make sure that you begin the lasso in the gray area above the sequence and encompass the entire segment as you drag. This sets up a slide trim.
- Press the trim keys to slide this shot to the right about 20 frames.
- Play the shot to make sure Yo-el has finished his action in his interview. Tweak as necessary.
- Finally, enter Slip mode on the adjacent shot, “Nutcracker lives.”
- Slip the shot about 125 frames to the right. (You can try a different way of trimming, for example, by rolling forward by pressing L from the J-K-L method.)
- Play the shot to see whether the action of the magicians’ waving arms begins in the rehearsal footage and ends in the theatrical footage. Tweak as necessary.
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