By default, clips on tracks appear at full (100%) opacity except for areas marked by a clip’s
mask, matte, or alpha channel. Make an entire clip more transparent by setting an opacity
value below 100%. When a clip’s opacity value is set to less than 100%, clips on lower
tracks may be visible. At 0% opacity, the clip is completely transparent. If no clips are
below a partially transparent clip, the sequence’s black background becomes visible. You
can set a selected clip’s opacity in the Effect Controls window or in the Timeline window,
and you can fade a clip down or up over time by animating opacity (see “Activating
keyframes” on page 246).
Rendering order affects how opacity interacts with visual effects. The Video Effects list is
rendered first, then geometric effects such as Motion are rendered, and then alpha
channel adjustments are applied. Within each effects group, effects are rendered from the
top down in the list. Because Opacity is in the Fixed Effects list, it renders after the Video
Effects list. If you want opacity to render earlier or later than certain effects, or if you want
to control additional opacity options, apply the Alpha Adjust video effect (see “Applying
and controlling Standard effects” on page 244).
If you simply want to create a fade to black, consider applying a transition such as
Cross Dissolve to the clip so that you don’t have to animate keyframes manually. See
“Dragging transitions between clips” on page 163.
To specify uniform clip opacity in the Effect Controls window:
1
Select a clip in the Timeline window.
2
In the Effect Controls window, click the triangle next to the Opacity property to
expand it.
3
Enter a new opacity value.
Note: If Opacity keyframes exist for a clip and you want the opacity value to be constant
for the entire duration, make sure that the Opacity Toggle Animation button is off.
Otherwise the opacity value is set for the current time only.
To specify uniform clip opacity in the Timeline window:
1
Expand a track’s view, if necessary, by clicking the expansion triangle
next to the track name.
2
Click the Show Keyframes button , and choose Show Opacity Handles from the menu
that appears.
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Adobe Premiere Pro Help Superimposing and Compositing
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3
Position the pen tool over the white opacity graph line for the clip, and drag up or
down. If no keyframes exist on the graph, the graph appears as a straight horizontal line
across the entire track. (If keyframes have been added to the clip, they must be deleted for
opacity to be adjusted uniformly; see “Working with keyframes in the Timeline window”
on page 222.)
Working with keyframes in the Timeline window
When you use keyframes to animate an effect property such as Opacity, you can view and
edit the same keyframes in the Effect Controls window (see “Activating keyframes” on
page 246) or in the Timeline window. The Timeline window alternative can be more
appropriate
for quickly viewing and adjusting keyframes. The following guidelines may indicate
the appropriate window for the task at hand:
•
Editing keyframes in the Timeline window works best for effects that have a single,
onedimensional
value, such as opacity or audio volume. The Effect Controls window is
