Let’s talk about dissolves… Yeah, I know, boring right? Well, today I was working in Premiere – doing some fancy multiple dissolving shot sequences – and I realized how much better the Dissolves in FCP X are. In Premiere, it’s a pain to get a decent ‘look’. Changing blend modes on the shots and stacking them, or keyframing opacity… basically fiddling around endlessly to try to get a nice, smooth, soft effect. It’s do-able of course, but annoying AF.
You also have the option of “starting” your dissolve on the cut, or “ending” on the cut, or trimming one side or the other of the effect to get an “asymmetrical” dissolve. But all that actually does is move the midpoint of the dissolve without you needing to move the cut point. With one exception (see below) there is no such thing as an assymetrical dissolve in any NLE. Don’t believe me? Wade through this discussion for the explanation.
In FCP X, you just put the dissolve on the cut, pick the “Look” (blend mode) tweak the amount (mix) and adjust away. Much easier to get a nice, smooth look. Here’s the infographic!
If you want “real” assymetrical dissolves, the only way to do it is to get Super Dissolve for FCP X. 🙂
Final Cut Pro X Babbling 
The functionally useless and excruciatingly ugly PP A/B interface graphics should be a dead giveaway
Yep. The image speaks for itself doesn’t it? 😉
Hi there, my name’s Oliver Wright and I make video editing tutorials on YouTube, mostly for FCPX but also for Premiere Pro and filmmaking in general. I tried looking for a contact email but couldn’t find one. Essentially, I’m interested in writing a post for your blog so if you’re remotely interested, please send me an email and we can talk from there.
Regards,
Oliver
Beuh… I you use blend modes with disolves, the blend mode has no action while the disolve is acting… sooooo bad!!!