Transitions don't work as expected

[eugenialoli]

I'm using the latest dev-build (1 oct 2024) on Linux Mint 22, and the transitions don't work properly. I place a transition on top of two clips, and the transition starts, but as it progresses it becomes totally black, and then it switches immediately to the next clip. The transition is not smooth as expected, it goes totally black towards the end.

[Colorjet3]

Hello @eugenialoli

1. Are your clips image files or video files?
2. I am assuming that the 2 clips are snapped together?
3. When you place the transition on top of the two clips is half the transition covering the 2nd half of the first clip and the 1st half of the 2nd clip? A screen shot would be great.

I am asking so I can try and reproduce your steps to test.

[eugenialoli]

1. Two h.264 files
2. Yes
3. Yep, half and half on top of the two videos.

[Colorjet3]

Hello @eugenialoli Thank you for the information. I am still doing some testing but finding some interesting information on how transistions are supposed to work (the way the lead developer programmed it) vs. how I thought they should/would work.

Please go to https://www.openshot.org/user-guide/ and search on "Transistions" excluding the quotes. Read it very carefully. There is a lot of detailed information about how they should be applied and used. It even mentions times where you should not use Transistions and instead to use Transparency attribute of a clip to achieve what you need.

If you can explain to me what you want to accomplish, in detail (not what you expect to happen), I can work with you to achieve your goal.

[eugenialoli]

I read the guide, and it doesn't say anything about my problem. I have two same-sized images or videos in the timeline that I want to use a transition. I expect the transition to simply use the effect, and beautifully transition from one image or video to the other. Instead, I get the effect on the first clip, and then it blacks out on the second. This is not about how "I" expect the transitions to work, it's how they work in every editor, ever. On Openshot, they don't work properly, they're just weird. They black out by default.

[Colorjet3]

I have assigned this to the lead developer for his review. I am just a volunteer trying to help. I am guessing you want the first clip to fade out with the transition you applied and fade in the 2nd clip with the same transition.

If this is the case then you would:

1. Drag your files onto a track snapped together.
2. Drag a transition onto the first clip. now select the transition then adjust the left edge so it covers the 2nd half of the first clip.
3. Now drag the same transition onto the 2nd clip. Select the transition and adjust the right edge so it only cover the first half of the 2nd clip.
4. This should give you a Fade Out effect of whatever transition you used for the first clip and a Fade In effect of the same transistion for the 2nd clip.

[eugenialoli]

I just want to place a clip on top of another in the timeline, and then drag n drop a transition on that common space. By default that transition should be Fade, but if I drag n drop another one, it should automatically change to that other one. Not create a transitions on top of another That's what makes sense on how to make transitions work.

I retried tonight to make transitions with Openshot, using some of the available transitions in the app, and I just couldn't make them work. They would work for the first half of the transition, and then would go black.

[Colorjet3]

Hello @eugenialoli

Please provide me a step-by-step example so I can try and replicate what you are experiencing when you say "....They would work for the first half of the transition, and then would go black."

[eugenialoli]

You already replied to the other bug report, where the person was describing the same thing. The one where you told the person to put the two videos on two different tracks for the transition to work. Yes, it works that way. But not when the videos are overlapping on the same track. When they are on the same track, and you drag n drop anything BUT a fade, the transition doesn't work. It works for the first half of the transition, then it turns into black, and then it immediately shows the second video.

And the reason for that, I found out by testing more, is because there is a ordering system in the track. So video1 is the most below in the order, then is the transition, and then is video2. The transition should be on top of both video1 and video2 to work properly. But it's not. It's under video2, which creates the bug.

[Colorjet3]

If I am going to submit a bug report for the developer I need a step-by-step instructions so he can follow it, verbatim, to reproduce and hopefully debug. A paragraph description doesn't help me. What I need is something like this:

1. I drag video 1 on track 5.
2. I drag video 2 on track 5 snapped to video 1.
3. I select video 3 and shift to the left and overlap video 1. Please be specific about how much you are overlapping.
4. I now delete the transition that is created by default because of the overlap.
5. I select Transition X and drop it on the overlapped section ensuring that the transition covers the complete overlapped area. Or whatever you are doing.
6. Now I preview and what I see is ...........................................................................................? However, I expect this..............................................?

If you have a video recording of this as well that even help further clarify the issue.

Thank you in advance.

[eugenialoli]

I don't understand why you need step by step verbatim instructions, when you, yourself can see the problem and suggested an alternative. And I'm very frustrated to see that this bug is still not fixed on 3.3. The FIRST thing people are going to do with their videos after cutting them, is adding transitions. Your transitions don't work properly. When placing a transition on top of two clips, it fades to black, making the transition useless.

When I saw that 3.3 had the same bug, it was an instant delete for me.

[Colorjet3]

No worries @eugenialoli I am still trying to get the lead developer to help me with this. Until I know exactly what the rules are in OpenShot (how the lead developer intended for the transitions to work) I am second guessing how I think it should work (which might be an enhancement request) vs. how it does work (how the lead developer intended for the transitions to work).

With that said, I am sure there is room for improving the process and possibly fixing bugs in how transitions work and are applied.

This was never worked on for the 3.3 release because there is nothing in the queue. I will submit something and include this post for the lead developer to further look into it.

Thank you again for your time and good luck with your project(s).