Cut vs Transition and When to Use Each in DepCut

Every edit joins two shots. A cut joins them with nothing in between: the last frame of one shot is followed by the first frame of the next. A transition spends a short stretch of time blending the two. Choosing between them is the first decision at almost every join.

What a cut does

A cut tells the viewer that the scene carries on. Use one when you change angle inside the same moment, move from a speaker to a reaction, or follow an action from one shot to the next. Viewers read cuts without noticing them, which is the goal. On the DepCut main track, every place where one clip meets the next is a plain cut until you add something to it.

What a transition does

A transition marks a change. Time passes, the location moves, or a new section begins. It takes visible time, so it draws attention to the join. Spend it where the change deserves that attention.

The Transitions tab groups its styles by family: Fade, Zoom, Push, Whip, Wipe, Shape, Flash and Glitch. A Cross fade suggests a gentle passage of time. Dip to black closes a section. Pushes, whips and flashes add energy and suit quick social edits. Pick one family for a video and repeat it, so the joins feel like parts of the same piece.

Add a transition at a cut

1. Press Escape to clear the selection. A selected clip hides the join buttons beside it.
2. Click the small round button where two clips meet on the main track. Its tooltip reads Add a transition. The Transitions tab opens on the left.
3. Click a tile. DepCut places it on that cut at half a second long and selects it. You can also drag a tile from the panel onto the cut.
4. Play across the join to see it.

Set the length and the sound

With the transition selected, the top of the Transitions tab shows Duration and Crossfade audio.

• Duration runs from 0.1 to 2 seconds. Drag the slider at the top of the Transitions tab, or double-click the round button to open the pill on the timeline and drag its left edge.
• Crossfade audio is off by default. The picture blends and the sound switches over when the transition ends. Turn the switch on to blend the sound as well.

Short blends feel brisk and long ones feel soft and slow. Start at the half second DepCut gives you and lengthen it when the moment asks for more.

Leave footage for the blend

On the main track the two clips overlap for the length of the blend and each plays its own footage across it, so the edit gets shorter by that amount. Keep the blend short enough that neither clip loses a moment you need.

Try it on your own footage

Open a project in DepCut, click the round button between two clips, and compare the same join as a plain cut and as a Cross fade.