Video transitions

[Francesco Carzedda]

Transitions are a good part of a video's fun, what makes it fluent and enjoyable.
Not only the kind of cuts but also the combination of the clips' content and main lines.

I find this lesson from one of my favorite filmmakers very clear:

https://vimeo.com/blog/post/creating-killer-transitions-techniques-from-matty

One spot from Lg is a good example.

The first minute is based on parallel lines, the cross seems to be the main motive from 1:01 .
It shows a pleasant, smooth and not boring continuity this way:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrmFyFPARUY[/youtube]

[Steve Grisetti]

What a cool video, Francesco! I thought I'd just take a peek at it -- but I ended up having to watch it the whole way through!

[Francesco Carzedda]

Steve, I too casually watched the second video, as it is a commercial one that introduced to the one I wanted to watch on YouTube.
I always skip them after the fifth second (when it is allowed), but this one looked instructive.

Concerning the first, it is a lesson from a filmmaker I particularly like.

[Chuck Engels]

Very cool, I love the transitions in this, excellent style.

[Bob]

While you're at it, you should watch the entire "Playground, Italy" movie:

[Francesco Carzedda]

Thanks, Bob !

I am a superfan of Matty Brown,
I watch his videos again and again,
he is among my favorite inspirators.

[Francesco Carzedda]

Another great lesson in transitions I loved:



It moved me, great poetry !

[Bob]

Too many whip pans in that for my taste -- it was very uncomfortable, almost unwatchable. It was much better when he started using straight cuts.

Cuts are the most commonly used transition in professional film and television. In a cut, one shot is instantly followed by the next shot. Cuts can be jarring if done poorly, but done well, they are fast and efficient. Cuts are one of the best way to establish pace and tension. Other types of transitions can slow down the pace.

The next most commonly used transition is the crossfade or dissolve. In this transition, one shot gradually fades into the next. These transitions slow down the pace, have a more relaxed feel than a cut, and can convey a sense of passing time or changing location.

Fades are a transition from a single colour, usually black or white, to the shot. You can fade in or out. "Fade from black" and "fade to black" are commonly used to signal the beginning and end of a movie, for example. Fades can also be used between shots to signal the end of one scene and beginning of another.

There are many other types of transitions. But, remember, in most professional productions, almost all transitions are either cuts or crossfades. These other types of transitions have their place and can be useful, but they need to make sense in the context of what you are trying to achieve and, at the same time, progress the story. If they don't do that, if they don't make sense, or the shots don't fit comfortably together, you need to do something else. When in doubt, leave it out.

[Peru]

That was well written, Bob.
I think the biggest mistake beginning editors make is to try to use as many different transitions as they can in a project. I remember reading a post, I think it was in one of the Adobe forums, where somebody asked about how to add more transitions to Premiere Pro. A seasoned editor replied with something like, "Why? I only use three transitions: cuts (95% of the time), cross dissolves, and fade to black."

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

...I only use three transitions: cuts (95% of the time), cross dissolves, and fade to black."

I agree. When I was new to this video editing thing I used to use many different transitions. Maybe that is a "newbie" thing(?). It didn't last!

For a long time now I, too, have only used cuts, dissolves and cut to black. Sometimes (but rarely), if it feels appropriate, a 'curtain opening transition' between opening titles and the "motion video". Haven't used anything else.

[Francesco Carzedda]

I think that all of the transitions in Erck Flores Garnelo's video are cuts,
in Vimeo tutorials changes of scene are sometimes called transition: Matty Brown, for example, very rarely uses fades but he refers to all of the cuts calling them "transitions" in the lesson above.

Garnelo doesn't include - as far as I see - fadings or crossfadings, but the shakes in the clip and the tails of the clips (may I translate "coda" with "tail"?), the seconds when you keep your videocam shooting but not focused on the object anymore.

I loved that video's poetry , flat scenes and deep fields, deep and shallow focused views, changes of perspective ...

[Bob]

Any time you move from one clip to another, it's a transition -- whether it's abrupt as in a cut or slow as in a dissolve. What might not be as clear, is that transitions can also occur within a clip. When the transition is filmed this way, in the camera, it's referred to as a "natural" transition.

Garnelo is using cut transitions between clips, but he is also using natural transitions within the clips. In particular, he's using a transition called a "whip" or "swoosh"/"swish" transition where the camera is moved more or less quickly side to side or up and down while filming. Matty Brown also used a whip transition in "Playground, Italy", but only once if I'm recalling correctly. Garnelo is using whip transitions a lot.

[Francesco Carzedda]

Yes, Bob, nearly casual shots now and then.
Sometimes I can't discern, some cuts look like whips.
I must point out that calling cuts transitions is new for me, that's why - perhaps - I started the topic, to clear my own ideas .

[momoffduty]

I'm a big fan of Matty Brown too! Erick's video looks like a camera swish. He made a video profile of his mother and father that is worth the watch. Here is another of my favorites that has the ala Matty Brown style.

[Francesco Carzedda]

I am a big fan of Leonardo Dalessandri too
We have been fellow citizens for five years !