what transitions to use and when ?

[codemaster]

for those new to video editing, how do we know what type of video transitions are best suited for adding between clips, based on the time that passed between two recordings and other parameters? Are there any rules to follow or methods to use?

I know that cross dissolve and dip to black are the most common ones, but sometimes when I edit for the first time, I'm not sure what transition to use or if one is really needed at all, thus avoiding redundancy...

[budwzr]

That's an extremely hard question to answer, because it has to do with the "flow" of the project. Some need rat-ta-tat-tat fast cuts, others need to gently slide in and out of scenes.

I would keep crossfades at a half second or less as a general rule.

Avoid "artistic" transitions because they detract from the flow.

[edDV]

You can Google video tutorials like this one or look for a book on video production

http://www.mediacollege.com/video/editing/transition/

books
http://www.google.com/search?q=video+production&tbs=bks%3A1&tbo=1

Another initial concept related to transitions is "crossing the line" or viewer point of view.

books on editing
http://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks%3A1&tbo=1&q=video+editing&btnG=Search+Books

[PuzZLeR]

It's subjective.

I used to like all these choices once, but in the last few years I find 95%, maybe more, of my transitions are just simple fades from an implanted black screen before a selected scene and to an implanted black screen after a selected scene.

The only reason I even use any transitions any more are to remove, hide, or over-ride something I want to get rid of that happens to merge into another scene. This is common on TV rips too.

Some are obvious, like a rotating clock effect for going back and forth with time, zooms for closeup type of stuff, wipes for movement, and some, like swings and stretches, can give a cheesy old-movie type of effect.

It's all relative. Then again, I'd love to hear what others may say.

[guns1inger]

I usually settle for a few frames of cross fade to smooth out a cut unless a harsh cut is required, and longer cross fades for more leisurely pieces.

That said, there is always artistic license to use more obvious effects for a transition if the piece calls for it, however it is rarely, if ever, any of the canned transitions that come in your standard editing package.

[Omid]

And just a newbie question.
I'm after some free tool to add simple cross-fading between the clips I record on my digital camera.
Here is the situation:
I have a JVC full HD camera which surprisingly doesn't come with fade-in or fade-out options .
So the recorded clips just start out of the blue and terminate abruptly.
I normally convert them from MTS to DivX or Xvid and join them together with VirtualDub . So I get a harsh transition between clips.
I would appreciate some way to smooth these transitions.
I'm not after anything fancy, just some cross-fading effect will do.
what can I use???

[pepegot1]

If you have similar scenes from clip to clip use crossfade. If they are markedly different use Fade to Black. Other transitions may be used for a special effect but, like zooming in a camcorder-too much is distracting. Sometimes no transitions are effective.

[Cornucopia]

In the psychology of editing, the most "natural" and innocuous/transparent of changes is the straight cut, followed closely by the cross-fade/dissolve. Fade/Dip to black is next.
Anything else is a "SPECIAL" effect (in the sense that if you use it more than rarely, it isn't special anymore). They are also no longer transparent - they start drawing attention to themselves instead of the content. That might be ok if it's appropriate. Otherwise, it's probably too much.

... I see that I was too slow on the keys and somebody said the same thing before me...

Scott

[Omid]

‏Thank you both for the quick reply.
Yes , I know I must use cross-fade or fade to black.
But my question is WHICH software (free) does this???

[edDV]

‏Thank you both for the quick reply.
Yes , I know I must use cross-fade or fade to black.
But my question is WHICH software (free) does this???

Does it need to be frame accurate or half sec to 5 sec ok?

[Omid]

Just ANYTHING which could make that transition between clips a bit smoother....

[HoosierGuy]

I recently got back from a weekend in Tennessee and I gook my camcorder and shot video. My video was just riding around in the car, walking around Lynchburg, and visiting Ruby Falls cave. I edited the video for my sister and made her a movie. After I got it all together I was shocked how nice it looked using transitions, all kinds. From fades to the other special transitions in my Sony Vegas Studio software.

This topic is also of interest to me since I want to get into editing professionally. I need to get a really good book on editing, the art of editing scenes.

[HoosierGuy]

Also, I love the cross fade. I had lots of scenes that did not flow together and it seemed the cross fade is great at putting those scenes together. A straight cut would not work on many scenes but when I used the cross fade I got decent results.