Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 1145)

358 Part II Project Interchange
Adjusting Opacity Levels of Clips
Every visual clip in a project has a level of transparency, or opacity parameter, that you
can change in Final Cut Pro. When you adjust the opacity setting of one or more clips,
they blend to create a single image. You can then use the resulting image as the
background of a title sequence or as a montage in your program.
There are two ways you can adjust a clip’s opacity:
 Drag the opacity overlay of a clip in the Timeline.
 Open the clip in the Viewer and specify the Opacity parameter’s value in the
Motion tab.
The Opacity parameter in the Motion tab and the opacity overlay displayed in the
Timeline are identical. A change made to one is mirrored in the other.
When you blend multiple clips together using the Opacity parameter, it’s important to
be aware of the color range, the amount of movement, and the overall amount of
contrast and texture in the images with which you’re working. Balancing all of these
qualities is what separates a good-looking composite from a confused jumble of
images and motion.
Opacity is used to blend
two clips, one of dancers
and the other of a piano
player.