Push and Whip transitions for moving from shot to shot

Push and Whip are the two groups in the Transitions tab that slide the picture. Both come in four directions, and both are named for the motion you see on screen. Push left moves the frame leftward, so the outgoing shot leaves to the left and the incoming shot arrives from the right.

Push

The Push group has five tiles.

• Push left, Push right, Push up and Push down slide the outgoing frame out in the named direction while the incoming frame slides in right behind it, edge to edge. Both pictures stay sharp for the whole move.
• Mirror right is the odd one out. The picture slides right while its left edge folds into a mirror image behind it. By the midpoint the whole frame is its own mirror image, and the switch to the incoming clip happens there, covered by a horizontal blur. The incoming clip then unfolds from its mirror image back to normal.

Push suits orderly material: steps in a process, the next item in a list, one photo after another. Mirror right is a graphic device, so it fits stylized montages and music edits.

Whip

The Whip group has four tiles: Whip left, Whip right, Whip up and Whip down. A Whip is a Push with a motion smear trailing along the travel. The smear peaks in the middle of the move, and both pictures are crisp at the start and the end.

That smear gives a Whip the feel of a camera whipping across to the next shot. It suits fast pans, action, sport, travel footage and any edit cut to a beat.

Match the direction to the footage

Direction carries meaning, so use it.

• If a subject in the outgoing clip moves left to right, Push right or Whip right carries that movement across the cut.
• If you are listing steps or places in order, use one direction for every cut so the viewer reads each slide as "next".
• In a vertical frame, Up and Down versions follow the shape of the picture.
• Reverse the direction for a step back, such as a return to an earlier point.

Set the Duration for the move

A slide takes time to read. At the default 0.50 seconds a Push is smooth and a Whip is brisk. Stretch the Duration toward 2 seconds and a Push slows into a page turn, while a Whip loses its snap. Shorten a Whip for pace and lengthen a Push for calm.

Check the last and first frames

A slide carries the entire picture, so everything in the frame travels together. Scrub to the last frames of the outgoing clip and the first frames of the incoming clip before you choose. A face or a sign that sits at the frame edge slides out of view first, and a shot that begins with a pause gives the eye a place to land.

Test one direction

Open DepCut, choose three cuts in a row and give each the same Whip direction. Play the run and see whether the direction reads as forward motion.