Cuts & Transitions

Two vertical or horizontal edges move from the center to the sides (or the reverse) like opening barn doors.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Barn Door Wipe" (also called barn doors, a split or a center split): two edges part from the middle of the frame toward the sides and uncover the next shot, like barn doors opening.
Keep both shots still while the edges travel — unlike a push, nothing slides out of the frame, and unlike a plain wipe the reveal starts in the middle and runs both ways at once. For the closing version, bring the edges in from the sides to meet in the middle.
Run the transition over [duration], with both edges moving at the same pace.

A radius sweeps around the center of the frame like a clock hand, uncovering the next shot behind it.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Clock Wipe" (also called a radial wipe): a line sweeps around the center of the frame like a clock hand and uncovers the next shot behind it.
Start the hand at the top and take it once around at a steady pace, with both shots staying put — unlike a plain wipe, the edge turns around a point instead of travelling across the frame.
Run the full turn over [duration].

A cut between two tonally opposite images to emphasize the difference between them.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Contrast Cut": cut straight from one image to its tonal opposite.
Make the two sides differ as much as possible — bright against dark, small against large — and hold each long enough to compare; unlike a smash cut the point is the comparison, not the shock.
Fit both shots into [duration], and put no transition effect on the cut.

Cuts alternating back and forth between two actions happening at the same time in different places.

This is for a motion graphics video. Edit [scene] with a "Cross-Cut" (also called parallel editing or intercutting): cut back and forth between two actions happening at the same time in different places.
Let both actions keep moving forward while they are off screen, so each return picks up later than where it left — unlike a cutaway, which leaves the main action only once and comes back.
Fit the sequence into [duration], and shorten the pieces toward the end if the tension should build.

A shot that briefly leaves the main action to show something else, then returns to the original shot.

This is for a motion graphics video. Add a "Cutaway" to [scene]: cut briefly from the main action to a shot of something else, then cut back to the original shot.
Keep the main action running underneath so it has moved on when we return — unlike a cross-cut, the second shot appears once and is not a storyline of its own.
Fit it into [duration], and keep the cutaway shorter than the pieces of the main shot around it.

The outgoing shot is blurred out of focus and the next shot is pulled into focus, hinting at dreams or time passing.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Defocus Transition" (also called a defocus or blur transition): the outgoing shot drifts out of focus until it is a soft blur, and the next shot is pulled into focus out of that blur.
Swap the shots while the picture is at its softest so the change itself is never seen sharp — unlike a dissolve, the two pictures do not overlap in focus, and unlike a dip to black the screen never goes to a solid color.
Run the transition over [duration], blurring out and focusing in at the same gentle pace.

The outgoing shot fades to a solid color, usually black or white, and the next shot fades in from it.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Dip to Black" (also called a dip to white, wash or washout when the color is white): the outgoing shot fades to a solid color and the next shot fades in from it.
The two shots never overlap, and for a moment in the middle the screen is nothing but the solid color — unlike a plain fade, it carries on into the next shot.
Run the transition over [duration], split evenly between the way out and the way in.

The picture gradually darkens to black or emerges from black, with no second shot overlapping.

This is for a motion graphics video. Close [scene] with a "Fade" (also called a fade out or fade to black): the picture gradually darkens to black.
Fade to plain black with no second shot showing through — unlike a dip to black, it does not carry on into another shot. For a fade in, run it the other way and let the picture emerge from black.
Run the fade over [duration], at an even pace.

A very brief shot, often one to three frames, jammed into the sequence for a near-subliminal jolt.

This is for a motion graphics video. Add a "Flash Cut" to [scene]: jam a shot lasting only a few frames into the sequence, then snap straight back.
It should register as a jolt more than as an image — unlike a cutaway, the viewer gets no time to read it.
Fit the sequence into [duration], and make the inserted shot differ strongly in brightness from the shots around it so the flash is felt.

One shot is instantly replaced by the next with no optical effect; the baseline every other transition is compared against.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join the shots in [scene] with a "Hard Cut" (also called a cut or direct cut): one shot is replaced by the next instantly.
Put no fade, wipe or any other effect on the cut — unlike a smash cut it is not meant to shock, it is just the plain shot change.
Fit the shots into [duration], and place the cut on a beat or a finished movement so it passes unnoticed.

A cut disguised so the viewer does not notice it, often hidden behind a dark object or camera move to fake one continuous take.

This is for a motion graphics video. Hide the join between two takes in [scene] with an "Invisible Cut": disguise the cut so the footage plays as one continuous take.
Let a dark object fill the frame while the camera keeps moving, cut in that moment, and pick up the same movement at the same speed on the other side — unlike a natural wipe, the viewer should not notice that anything changed.
Fit both takes into [duration], and keep the camera speed steady through the hidden cut.

A cut within the same framing that skips a slice of time, so the subject visibly jumps in position while the camera stays put.

This is for a motion graphics video. Edit [scene] with a "Jump Cut": cut forward in time within the same shot.
Keep the camera and framing unchanged and let the subject snap to a later position at each cut, with no transition between the pieces.
Fit the sequence into [duration], and place the cuts on beats so the jumps read as deliberate rather than as glitches.

The next shot appears through the outgoing shot's brightness, so dark (or bright) areas switch over first.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Luma Fade" (also called a luma wipe or gradient wipe): let the next shot come through the outgoing shot according to its brightness, darkest areas first and brightest last.
The change should follow the shapes in the picture — shadows and dark objects turn into the next shot while the bright areas still hold — unlike a dissolve, where the whole frame blends evenly.
Run the transition over [duration], sweeping smoothly from dark to bright with soft edges between the stages.

A cut between two shots whose shape, color, position or action line up, so one visually becomes the other.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Match Cut" (also called a graphic match or match on action): cut between two shots whose shape, position or movement line up.
Put the main shape of the second shot exactly where the first one was, at the same size and moving the same way, so one seems to turn into the other on the cut — with no morph or dissolve between them.
Fit both shots into [duration], and cut in the middle of the shared movement.

The next shot appears through a grid of tiles or patterned cells that flip in a set or random order.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Matrix Wipe" (also called a checkerboard, checker wipe or random blocks): split the frame into a grid of tiles and flip them to the next shot one after another.
Each tile shows its own piece of the new shot so the full picture assembles in place — use a checkerboard order for a patterned look or a random order for a glitchy one, and keep both shots still underneath.
Run the transition over [duration], with every tile flipping quickly and the flips spread evenly across the time.

A run of many short shots in quick succession that compresses time or information into a few seconds.

This is for a motion graphics video. Build [scene] as a "Montage" (also called rapid cuts or dynamic cutting): a run of many short shots in quick succession.
Give every shot a different image and only a moment on screen, joined by plain cuts, so together they compress a long stretch of time — unlike a cross-cut, the shots do not alternate between two fixed actions.
Fit the whole run into [duration], and keep the cutting rhythm steady and on the beat.

A foreground object, such as a wall, a person or a passing vehicle, crosses the lens and hides the cut to the next shot.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Natural Wipe" (also called frame blocking or an invisible wipe): a foreground object passes right in front of the lens and the next shot is already there behind it.
Keep the changeover hidden under the object the whole way across, so the object itself seems to wipe the old shot off — unlike a plain wipe there is no drawn edge, and unlike an invisible cut the viewer is meant to see that the scene has changed.
Run the pass over [duration], with the object moving at a steady, natural speed.

The outgoing shot peels or turns away like a page, uncovering the next shot behind it.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Page Peel" (also called a page curl, or a page turn when the whole side lifts): the outgoing shot lifts from one corner and peels away like a sheet of paper, uncovering the next shot lying underneath.
Show the back of the page as it folds over, and keep the shot underneath still — unlike a plain wipe, the old picture reads as a physical sheet being lifted off.
Run the transition over [duration], easing in as the corner lifts and out as the page leaves the frame.

An instant jump to a tighter frame of the same subject along the same line, with no zoom travel between the two sizes.

This is for a motion graphics video. In [scene], use a "Punch In" (also called a cut-in or axial cut): cut instantly to a tighter frame of the same subject along the same line.
Show no zoom travel between the two sizes and let the action carry on without skipping time — that is what separates it from a zoom and from a jump cut.
Fit it into [duration], and put the cut on the word or detail that should get the emphasis.

A dissolve with a wavering, water-like distortion on the picture, traditionally signalling a flashback or imagined event.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Ripple Dissolve": dissolve from one shot to the next while the picture wavers like the surface of water.
Let the ripple build up on the outgoing shot, hold through the overlap and settle on the incoming one — unlike a plain dissolve the picture bends while it blends, and unlike a defocus transition it stays sharp.
Run the transition over [duration], with the waves flowing gently in one direction.

The incoming shot slides over the outgoing one while the old shot stays put.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Slide" (also called a band slide): the incoming shot slides in from one edge and covers the outgoing one.
Keep the outgoing shot where it is while it gets covered — unlike a push, it is not shoved out of the frame.
Run the transition over [duration], and ease it in and out so the new shot settles instead of stopping dead.

An abrupt cut from one scene to a sharply contrasting one with no lead-in, used for shock or a punchline.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Smash Cut" (also called a Gilligan cut or bicycle cut): cut abruptly from a quiet shot to a sharply contrasting one.
Give no lead-in — hold the calm shot, then land in the middle of loud, fast action with no fade or build-up; unlike a plain hard cut, the jolt is the point.
Fit both shots into [duration], and let the quiet shot run a little longer than feels comfortable before the cut.

A growing or shrinking star-shaped mask carries the next shot in.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Star Wipe" (also called a shape wipe, or a heart wipe when the shape is a heart): a star-shaped opening grows from the middle of the frame and brings the next shot in through it.
Keep the edge of the star crisp and both shots still, and let the shape grow until it clears every corner — unlike an iris wipe, the opening is a recognizable shape rather than a circle.
Run the transition over [duration], starting slowly so the shape reads before it fills the frame.

Parallel strips reveal the next shot, like slats of window blinds turning open.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Venetian Blinds" transition (also called a band wipe): a set of parallel strips opens across the frame and reveals the next shot, like the slats of window blinds turning open.
Make the strips equal in width and open them all at the same time — unlike a plain wipe, no single edge travels across the frame, and both shots stay put.
Run the transition over [duration], with every strip opening at the same pace.

The outgoing shot zooms rapidly toward a point and the incoming shot zooms out from a similar point, as if flying through the cut.

This is for a motion graphics video. Join two shots in [scene] with a "Zoom Transition" (also called a zoom in/out transition): the outgoing shot zooms rapidly toward a point and the incoming shot comes out of the same point, as if flying through the cut.
Keep the zoom going in one direction across both shots and hide the cut at its fastest moment — unlike a punch in, the travel between the sizes is shown, and unlike a camera zoom it ends in a different shot.
Run the transition over [duration], speeding up into the cut and slowing down out of it.