Why add transitions?
In Alitu, you can add a fade between two clips for a smooth, professional sounding transition, especially between music and voice clips. This allows music to fade out as you start speaking or fade in at the end of a voice clip.
This article will guide you through using the Transition and Overlap tool to create a fade effect between your Intro Music and Voice Clip.
Would you like to have music in the background the whole duration of your voice clip? In that case, Clip Genie will be a better tool for you.
How to Set a Transition
1. In Episode Builder, click the transition button between your clips.
2. Set how long your two clips overlap using the Overlap field.
This is how long the clips will play together, or overlap, during the transition. You can enter the number of seconds directly in the field or use the + and - buttons to tweak the overlap duration to your liking.
3. Make sure the fade toggle is switched on.
If the 'fade' toggle is activated, Alitu will gently lower the volume of that clip during the time your two clips overlap. This will create a smooth transition between your music and your voice clip as your music will fade out gently, instead of ending abruptly.
It's generally recommended that you enable the fade on music clips and NOT voice clips. You generally want the voice to be at full volume right from the start to the end, otherwise, your listener might miss some of it. That's unless you have a really good reason otherwise. And you generally want music to fade out at the end, or fade in at the start, to create a nice transition effect.
4. Preview your transition.
You can preview how your transition will sound directly from the Transition and Overlap window. This allows you to tweak the amount of overlap you want to ensure you achieve the perfect fade effect. Once you're happy with your results, hit "Save"
And you're done! You should now have a smooth transition between your intro music and your first voice clip, but you can use this tool in other situations too!
Many of our podcasters also add fades between ads, show segments, and between their last clip and their outro music. So go ahead, experiment, and find what works best for you!
Adjusting the music volume
You can adjust the background music volume using our volume control:
Why can’t I adjust the volume of the transition?
The volume control will appear as long as your fade length is greater than 3 seconds.
The volume control sets the volume of background music when you’re transitioning between a music clip and a voice clip. If you’re transitioning between two voice clips (purple blocks) then a ‘linear’ transition will automatically apply where the volume gradually rises from 0 to 100% – and you cannot change this with the volume control.
So if you can’t see the volume control, make sure that:
✓ You’re transitioning between a music clip and a voice clip.
If both your clips are purple (voice clips) then make sure to mark the music clip accordingly using the dropdown next to your filename.
✓ There’s enough overlap.
If your audio tracks overlap for 3 seconds or less, Alitu will apply a ‘linear’ transition where the volume rises gradually, from 0-100%, and therefore can’t be controlled. So make sure you increase the overlap to more than 3 seconds. After that you will be able to control the background volume during the transition.
✓ You’re fading your music clip in/out.
In most cases, Alitu will automatically apply a fade to your music clip, but just in case, make sure to check that the ‘Fade in/out’ toggle is ‘ON’ for your music clip.
Hope that makes it a bit more clearer! If you still have some questions (or would like to let us know what you think of this tool) please click the chat bubble at the bottom right of your screen to get in touch with us. Thanks and happy podcasting!