working w pictures, clips, opacity

I work on projects on a regular basis where I need to add photos over interviews. Black background with a white border. My present work flow goes like this:

I add the photo to where I might want it. I use my razor tool and cut the interview clip where I want the picture to go - in & out. I then drop the opacity on the interview clip to give me my black background. I also add the white border. Then when I later want to move the picture, I need to go in and change back the opacity settings, etc. Not a very efficient way to go, but it works.

I tried a new way where I put the picture where I want it, detach the audio track from the video track and overwrite the picture to the story line. I can then move the picture wherever I want it by holding down the option key in the T mode. That eliminates the need to fuss around with opacity settings, but it limits my ability to have the picture cover a cut in the interview clip as I can only move the picture within the one clip. If I lift the picture from the storyline, it is replaced with a gap and I have to deal with that.

I'm not sure if I've explained that well, but I'd welcome any suggestions. On a related note, is there a keyboard short cut for dropping the opacity from 100% to zero. As it is, I need to go to the upper right corner to Video and scroll down to Opacity - too many steps.

Thanks.

Why don't you add the white border in Photoshop.

Why don't you detach the audio and replace the interview picture with a gap clip. Leave the photos as connected clips.

You can also change the opacity in the video animation controls in the timeline.

Adding borders in Photoshop takes so much more time. If I'm in FCPX, I simply drag the border effect onto the picture. I would certainly add the border in PS if I was animating the picture, but the pictures are in this instant static.

What I've tried to do is turn my pictures into compound clips in the browser and add a border and black background there. Then I could just drop them onto the timeline without worrying about opacity. I can add the border in the browser, but I can't find a way to add a background. I'm guessing the program doesn't work that way. Is it even possible?

I played around with changing the opacity with the video animation controls, but there isn't an option to simply turn it off - you have to manually lower the opacity bar. No time saved there.

I found a work around. I try to the extent that I can to do each of these chores at separate times. When I add the white border to the picture and then resize it, I copy the attributes and then simply paste them on all subsequent pictures. I do the same with opacity. I drop the opacity of one clip, copy the attribute and then highlight all the clips I want to drop the opacity for and paste that attribute. I think going forward I'll just wait until until the end of my edits to adjust all the pictures. I'll have to wait to do any color grading as well. It makes for a pretty ugly rough cut, but that's a small price to pay.

Thanks for your help.

'V' toggles clip visibility.

A motion project with a dropzone would'nt do the trick?
I am not sure i understood well the goal, but that's the way i would do it.

Steve

If you implemented it as a title with a picture drop zone, you can change the opacity of the background in the title.

You could add some crop and border controls for the image.

Wherever the title was used in FCP X, it would fade out the layers it was placed on top of.

It would be great if we could do this with audio effect bundles (so that the placement of a sound clip could change the other sounds being played by other clips).

The V toggle is a nice solution. But I still need to detach the audio. I'll play around with the other suggestions. Thanks.