Zoom transitions in DepCut from Cross zoom to Delay zoom

The Zoom group in the Transitions tab holds three tiles. All three scale the picture from the center of the frame while the clips hand over. They differ in how hard they push and in what covers the switch from one shot to the next.

Cross zoom

Cross zoom is the mildest of the three. The outgoing clip pushes in by about 18 percent across the transition while it blends away. The incoming clip starts at that enlarged size and settles back to full frame as it takes over.

The result is one continuous push, like a camera moving forward into the next shot. It suits travel footage, product shots and reveals, anywhere you want smooth forward motion.

Zoom blur

Zoom blur scales the outgoing clip up to 1.5 times full size, speeding up as it goes, and runs it into a white flash. The incoming clip starts at that scale and slows down out of the flash until it reaches normal size. A radial motion blur follows the zoom and is strongest at the flash, on both sides.

It suits beat drops, sports, launches and the first cut of a high-energy intro.

Delay zoom

Delay zoom waits. The outgoing clip holds still for the first part of the transition, then punches in fast, to 1.7 times full size, with red and blue copies of the picture parting as the zoom speeds up. The switch to the incoming clip happens at the midpoint, covered by a brief brightening. The incoming clip then settles back from the large scale.

The beat of stillness makes the punch land. It suits a punchline, a reveal or a drop. Give it a longer Duration than the other two, because a very short one squeezes the wait and the punch together.

Keep the subject near the middle

Because all three zoom from the center, anything near the edge of the frame leaves the picture as the push builds. Check the last frames of the outgoing clip and the first frames of the incoming clip. If a face or a key object sits at the edge, choose a Push or Whip style, which slides the whole picture.

Compare them on your footage

1. Open the Transitions tab and select a transition on a cut.
2. Click Cross zoom, then Zoom blur, then Delay zoom.
3. Watch the playback after each click. It starts a moment before the transition and runs a moment past it.
4. Adjust the Duration slider while the transition is still selected.

The three zooms share a family look. Using one of them at your key moments gives the video a signature, and mixing all three in a short video makes each cut feel unrelated to the next.

Start with Cross zoom

Open DepCut, pick the cut with the most energy in your edit and try Cross zoom first. Move up to Zoom blur or Delay zoom when the moment calls for it.