Splice Now

For those of you using Version 5 for the first time, one of the biggest changes is the need to deal with advanced keyframes for most visual effects. This represents a big leap in functionality, but for people unfamiliar with the interface, there will be some inevitable speed bumps. I’ve put up an video introduction to the subject, here. (The video is slightly out of date in that you no longer have to promote effects — they’re advanced by default. But it should be helpful, anyway.)

I discovered another hidden feature the other day: The Reverse Animation button, which appears in some traditional visual effects, is missing in action in the advanced interface. You might use it, for example, to create a right-to-left wipe. Avid’s standard wipe is left-to-right. In the past, to switch it, you just hit Reverse Animation.

But in Version 5, when you apply a horizontal wipe, it opens the advanced keyframe interface, and the button isn’t available. It turns out that the feature is there, however, hidden in a contextual menu. To find it, right click on the effect track. Then select Reverse Keyframes.

Note the keyframe graph above. After selecting reverse keyframes, the graph inverts and the Swap Sources button is automatically selected, as shown below.

Voila, you have created a right-to-left wipe.

This entry was posted on August 13, 2010 at 7:35 am and is filed under Avid, Avid Technical Tips. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.