- When it comes to editing videos,
one of the most important concepts to master is transitions.
You want your transitions to be seamless
so that they don't take away from the story of the video.
So in this video,
we've rounded up the top 13 transitions
that you can start using in your videos today.
I'll show you what they look like,
how to create them and tell you when to use them.
Let's go ahead and jump in.
For the sake of this video,
we'll be showing you all these transitions
within the InVideo editor because it's easy to use
even if you have no video editing experience.
But you can use the same tips in any editing software
that you're working with.
And if you do wanna follow along on InVideo,
head over to invideo.io.
Let's start with the very basics
and talk about a few different types of cuts.
The first one we're gonna talk about
is the one you're going to use most often.
And that is just the plain and simple standard cut.
A standard cut is simply when one clip ends
and another clip begins.
So, here's a cut you might see in a travel video
and here's the cut you might see in a vlog
cutting from the subject talking to the B-roll.
You also see cuts in every movie you watch.
This is basically the default.
The reason most videos and movies use such a simple cut
so often is because this is the transition
that goes the most unnoticed.
And that's really what you're trying to do with transitions.
You never wanna draw the attention away from the story
by drawing attention to the transition.
For example, in this video,
if I used a transition like a crossfade or wipe every time,
it would get very distracting.
When it comes to cuts,
one rule that I've learned
is if you're cutting between two clips
that take place in the same location,
make sure there's 30 degrees of difference
between the two clips.
So obviously, it can be kind of hard to know
when you rotated your camera exactly in a 30 degree angle.
But basically what we're trying to do here
is make the clip different enough
so that it doesn't look jumpy.
So, if you move the camera just slightly,
you can see how that ends up looking jumpy.
So, you can either rotate your camera
to get a different angle,
or you can zoom in to get a different shot
with a different focal length.
Or obviously, if you're cutting between two clips
that take place in a whole different location,
then you don't need to worry about this.
Let's quickly jump into the InVideo editor
so I can show you what a cut looks like in the editor.
So, take your whole clip and drag it onto the timeline.
That's gonna open up the video trimmer.
Now, you're gonna trim your video
to the part where you want the first cut to be
and end it right there.
And then you're gonna add your second clip,
which was taken from a different angle,
like we talked about,
and then you can trim it to the part of the scene
or your last clip left off.
And that will create a standard cut.
And if you don't have footage from a different angle
for a talking head video, here's a technique you can use.
We're gonna zoom in on the footage,
but if you didn't do this in your camera,
you can do it in the edit.
So for this, just duplicate the clip,
and for the second clip, again,
trim it to where the first one left off.
And then for the second one,
you're gonna crop it in so that it's closer.
And then hit done
and you'll have a sequence that looks like this.
And if you don't end up using either a different angle
or a different focal length, you end up with a jump cut,
which is our next type of cut.
A jump got used unintentionally
can end up looking disruptive and a little bit lazy.
So, be careful with these.
But there are instances
when jump cuts can actually create a really cool effect.
For example, to show passage of time.
The way that you could create a jump cut sequence like this
is just by taking one long video
with your camera on a tripod,
and then bringing that into the InVideo editor,
trimming your first section of the video,
and then clicking this plus sign here to add a new section.
And then you can just do that a few times and then hit done.
And that will add the scene to your timeline as jump cuts.
Next up on our list are L-cuts and J-cuts.
These are basically cuts where you're gonna use the audio
to make the cuts more continuous.
In an L-cut, the audio from the first clip carries over
and continues to play for a little bit
underneath the second clip.
So, maybe you're doing a story time video
about you visiting the ocean,
you might have a clip of the ocean
and then have the audio from that carry over
into the video of you talking,
or maybe you'll just use this technique in a travel video
to give your clips more continuity
instead of abruptly ending the audio in one clip,
have it carry over into the next one.
(train engine roaring)
And then a J-cut can be used similarly,
but in this case,
the audio from the second clip is gonna start
before you see the second clip on screen.
So in this case,
you might be telling the story about visiting the ocean,
and you might have the sound of the ocean begin
before that clip actually begins.
(soft music)
Let's go ahead and jump into the editor again
so I can show you what I mean.
Let's first create a J-cut.
So, we're starting off with one clip already on the Canvas
that has the audio that you want to use.
Then we're adding the second clip as a layer.
So, drag it on top and then add as a layer.
And then you wanna open the advanced timeline for the scene
so that you'll see all the layers
and then drag the duration of the top layer
out from the beginning a little bit.
So now it's gonna start later.
And then you can take the bottom clip
and drag it out from the end a little bit.
So then it'll kind of fade out in the middle of the video,
and there's your J-cut.
I recently took a trip to the ocean for the first time.
And then if we wanted to turn this into an L-cut,
all we would have to do is drag the top clip
to the beginning instead of the end.
And then it take the clip underneath
and drag it out from the beginning a little bit.
And there's your L-cut.
I recently took a trip to the ocean.
Number four on our list is a cross dissolve or a fade.
This is another really basic one.
It's pretty similar to a standard cut.
The only difference
is instead of immediately jumping from one clip to another,
there's gonna be a little gentle fade in between.
This can be another great way to show a passage of time.
It also works great in montage videos,
particularly during a slower portion of the video.
Another place you might see it a lot is in music videos,
maybe in a slower song,
there would be a cross dissolve between a clip of the piano
and a clip of the singer's space.
This one is also super easy to add on InVideo.
All you have to do is click the little box
in between two of your scenes,
and then on the transition menu here,
select the transition called fade.
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All right.
Next let's go over a few transitions
that are a little bit more visible,
a little bit more noticeable than the standard cut or fade,
but are still very minimalistic.
And the great thing is,
all of these transitions are available
on the InVideo transitions menu.
Let's start with the wipe.
This is when one clip slides in from one side
or from the top or the bottom.
This can work really well in certain contexts,
but you do wanna be really intentional about it.
I think it gives you a video kind of a vintage look
because it was used a lot in movies in the 60s and 70s.
So, this can be really cool
if that's the look that you're going for.
It can also work well if you're using it with motion
in your scene.
So, maybe an elevator door going from one side
or someone walking across the screen,
you could use the wipe in that direction.
So, this one can be really cool when you used sparingly.
Next up is the film roll in.
This is kind of a fun one
that looks like you're playing a film reel.
This one can also be used for a vintage look,
if you're going for kind of a 1920s silent film work,
or another place you might wanna use this
is at the beginning of a video.
So maybe you're making a YouTube video
and you're transitioning from your intro
into the rest of the video.
Again, all you have to do to use this on InVideo
is click the little box in between two scenes
and then find that transition on the menu.
Next on our list is the cross zoom.
So this one will basically take the end of your clip
and zoom it in really quickly,
then at the beginning of the next clip,
it'll zoom out and it'll have a little fade in between.
This one works great for montage videos
or maybe travel videos or music videos.
A great time to use this
would be when you're cutting from a wider shot
to a closer shot like in this travel video,
because it gives the effect of zooming in.
It kind of makes sense to go from wide to close.
I would say that this one,
it definitely gives your video a faster paced feel.
So, just keep that in mind.
Next on our list is a favorite of ours
and that is the light leaks and glitches.
These are very trendy and modern.
One place you see them a lot is an intro videos.
So, if you have a little intro video
that you play as a segment at the beginning
of your YouTube videos,
these transitions are a great way to spice that up.
They're also great for music videos and montages.
I would go with the glitches for a more upbeat song
and a more fast-paced video.
And then the light leaks maybe for a more acoustic song.
Light leaks also work great if you filmed your video outside
because they look a lot like lens flare from the sun.
And just remember like all of our fancy transitions,
you wanna be careful not to overuse these.
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All right.
Now let's move on to some transitions that you can create
using your camera.
These ones are gonna require you
to do a little bit of planning,
but they can look really great especially when combined
with the transitions from the InVideo editor.
Let's start with a pan.
A pan is any time you move your camera from side to side
or up and down.
And you can also use that as a transition.
For example, I think this could work really well in a vlog
when you're transitioning from one location to another.
To create a pan transition,
you're gonna end your first clip with a pan
either to the left or to the right or up or down.
And then you need to make sure you begin your next clip
with the same motion.
So, pan in the same direction
that you did at the end of the last clip.
Then in the InVideo editor,
you're gonna cut those two together.
So, end your first clip kind of in the middle of the pan
and then trim your next clip so that it picks up
in the middle of that pan.
And then you can try adding a fade in InVideo
to make it a little bit more cohesive.
You might not need it,
but if you feel like the two clips aren't blending together
well enough, try adding a fade and that should help.
Next step is a very similar transition.
The whip, this one is basically the same but a lot faster.
And as you can see,
it ends up having a very different look to it.
Because it's so much faster,
it could work really well in a sports video
or maybe a promo video that has a really fast paced to it.
Again, you just need to end your first clip
with the motion of the camera,
in this case, a really quick motion,
and then begin your next clip with the same motion
in the same direction.
And again, you can add a fade in between them
to make them blend together a little bit more.
Next on our list is a really cool effect
that I like to call object block.
So, what happens in this one is you end your first clip
by using an object to completely cover the camera.
And then you're gonna begin your next clip
with your camera covered by a similar object
and then pan away.
So this can take us to a whole new location
in a really seamless way.
And if you're just starting out with this transition,
a really easy way to use it is by using it the sky.
So, pan up to the sky at the end of your first clip,
and then it pan down from the sky
at the beginning of your next clip.
Or another way a lot of YouTubers do this
is just by using your hand.
So, just end your first clip
by putting your hand in front of the camera
and then begin your second clip
by taking your hand away from the camera.
That's another really easy way to get started
with this effect.
And again, you're usually gonna wanna add a fade on InVideo
for this one.
All right,
now let's look at a few options
where you can use a breaker clip as a transition.
So, instead of just transitioning from one clip to another,
you're actually gonna have a clip or a montage in between.
This is something you see a lot in TV shows,
so it can work really well for a longer videos.
Maybe if you have a blog that's closer to 30 minutes long.
The first way you can do this
is with a really quick montage in between two clips.
So, you see this a lot in sitcoms,
in between scenes there's a little musical motif
that always plays maybe with a few shots of the city
or the town that the show takes place in.
You can also create a really similar effect
using just one clip instead of a montage.
But the idea is that you have some music and visuals
to break up two scenes.
So, let's go ahead and jump into the editor
and take a look at this one.
We'll trim the clip we wanna end with
and then add a new scene.
So, this is gonna be our little montage.
So, pick out a music track and then trim it
so it only plays under that scene.
And then we'll add some stock footage of a city.
I'll come into the scene timeline and trim the clips
so that they cut to the beat of the music.
And again, if you just wanted to use one single clip,
you could do that as well.
And then just continue by adding your next scene
and adding the clips for that.
And that's basically it.
One more type of clip you can use for this is a time-lapse.
This is one that you see a lot in reality TV.
The example I think of is a home renovation show.
At the end of the day,
there might be a time-lapse of the sun setting
behind the house.
So, this one could be great for vlogs
when you're ending one day or just ending one section
of the vlog.
So, you can record a time-lapse on your camera
and then bring it into the InVideo editor
and then add a blink scene in between two of your scenes
and drag the time-lapse onto there.
Or if you didn't record a time-lapse,
you can use some stock footage from the video panel here
on InVideo and then you can go ahead and speed it up
to turn it into a time-lapse.
And that's a roundup
of all the different types of transitions
you could be using in your videos.
If this was helpful to you,
make sure you let us know in the comments below
which one of these transitions
you're most excited to get started using.
And make sure to give this video a like
so that we can continue bringing more super useful tutorials
like this one
I'm Teresa with InVideo and I will see you in the next one.
(pop sound music)