Fade transitions in DepCut and what each one suits

The Fade group is the first heading in the Transitions tab, and it holds the four gentlest styles. Each one blends the outgoing clip into the incoming clip across a cut, and each one overlaps the two clips by the length you set with the Duration slider. The styles differ in what the picture does on its way through.

Cross fade

Cross fade raises the opacity of the incoming clip over the outgoing one until it fills the frame. Nothing moves, zooms or changes color. That makes it the right pick when two shots share light, subject or mood: a speaker's next point, two photos from the same place, a slow change of angle.

When the two shots differ a lot in brightness or composition, a Cross fade shows both pictures stacked for a moment. Keep the Duration short in that case, so the stack passes quickly.

Dip to black and Dip to white

Both dips send the outgoing clip to a solid color at the midpoint of the transition and bring the incoming clip out of that color. The frame is fully black or fully white for an instant, and that instant gives the viewer a pause.

• Dip to black suits endings, chapter breaks and serious subjects.
• Dip to white suits a bright break, such as a memory, a flashback, a sunny scene or a product on a white set.

A dip passes through a solid color, so it reads slower than a Cross fade of the same length. Shorten the Duration when you want to keep the pace up.

Blur

Blur defocuses the picture through the cut. In the tile preview the outgoing shot softens while the incoming shot fades in from a soft focus and sharpens. It suits a change of mood or time: a daydream, a dream, a jump from morning to evening.

Audition them on your own cut

While playback is stopped, every tile in the Transitions tab loops its handover. The tiles use the frames on either side of the cut nearest the playhead, so park the playhead beside the cut you are working on and watch the four Fade tiles play on your own footage. With no cut in the project, the tiles play on two stock photos.

Select a transition on the timeline and click another tile to change its style. The window plays back with a short run-up and run-out, so you see the change on real footage. The Duration slider (0.1 to 2 seconds) and the Crossfade audio switch sit at the top of the tab while a transition is selected. A transition placed on a bare cut starts at 0.50 seconds.

Choose by what sits on each side of the cut

Look at both shots before you pick. Each style has its own feel:

• Cross fade keeps the picture clean and draws the least attention.
• Dip to black feels closed, like a curtain.
• Dip to white feels open and bright.
• Blur feels soft and dreamy.

A Cross fade works inside one scene, a dip works between scenes, and Blur works between moods. If you cannot say why a cut needs more than a plain cut, leave it as a plain cut.

Hover the four tiles

Open DepCut, place the playhead by a cut, open the Transitions tab and hover the four Fade tiles. Keep the one that matches what the next shot is saying.