8 Best Video And Music Transitions To Check Out For An Astonishing MasterPiece
The secret behind a winsome video, be it a Hollywood feature film or a commercial piece, is a unique and inspirational blend of the auditory and visual graphics.
That’s what sets all Edgar Wright’s movies apart. Each scene is clipped with a creative cut to streamline the story narrative. And, to instill vivid emotions in the viewers across varying scenes, a curtailed music transition is employed.
For your projects, as you use any free video editing software, it’s a mandate that you master the editing techniques and understand when and where to use them.
Let’s explore some astonishing video and music transitions of all time.
Video Transitions
1. Montage
If you want to signify the passage of time, a montage will serve. You can also use it to make quick cuts to provide an overall context to your story. A typical montage transition is seen in athletic training for a big event, often underscored by music.
2. Particle Wipes
Wipes usually have a bunch of sparkles or hearts or bubbles while transitioning from one picture to the other.
A good illustration of the particle wipes is found in the beginning credits of the Disney movies, where Tinkerbell waves her hand to let a cascade of fairy dust cover the scene.
3. Light Flash
This transition resembles a camera flash, wherein for a fraction of a second, you can dissolve the screen to a white display. You can use light flashes in wedding videos to alternate between motion pictures to still snapshots.
Also, try to use the light flash at the sound of a player smashing the baseball or when a player shoots the basket.
4. Parallel Editing
If you need to show two different scenes happening at the same time, it’s best to use parallel editing. This will help you create tension and keep your viewers on edge.
For instance, consider using this transition to show a hacker cyber-jacking a system, while the hero walks towards the same control room.
5. Match Cut
To ensure the continuity of context in between scenes, you can use match cut. You can either move around some space or move between scenes while keeping the story coherent.
A simple implementation of the match cut is seen while someone opens a door from the behind, to walk through it to the opposite side. A brilliant example of a match cut is seen in The Tree of Life.
6. Dissolves
This is the most common form of editing. You can use it to clip two scenes seamlessly to transition from one scene to the other. This is also a subtle way of denoting the passage of time or a location or a subject under narration.
A simple case in point of dissolves is portrayed while shooting the exterior of an apartment to move into its interior.
7. Smash Cut
The smash cut, also known as the Gilligan cut is used to transition between two unique scenes, that is, from a boisterous one to a tranquil one, and vice-versa. You can use the smash cut to depict different narratives and emotions.
8. Invisible Cut
You can prove your brilliance as an editor through invisible cuts. You typically use this transition to give your viewers the idea that it was a single, continuous take.
It is because of invisible cuts that Birdman seems like a perfect one-shot.
Pro Tip: While it’s tempting to use all the available transitions in your online video maker, do not do so. If you want to tell a great story, use only the transition that’ll help you serve the purpose.
Music Transitions
1. Reverse Reverb
The music effect gained its popularity during the late 60s. Presently though, you can use a reverse reverb to dramatize vocal passages.
While implementing this transition on a whole vocal recording, pick up one word from the verse beginning. Duplicate the selected vocal, and reverse and add the reverb plug-in.
A popular reverse reverb transition is found in Ten Little Indians by The Yardbirds.
2. Pitch Shift
Through pitch-shifting, you can adjust the pitch of your vocals without disturbing the playback. Most often, pitch shifts are used in cartoons.
For instance, Bagdasarian used pitch shift to create the unique animal voices in Alvin and the Chipmunks.
3. Sidechain
Whenever you need to mask a frequency between two distinct frequencies, you can use sidechain. Most often, this is caused by the bass and kick drums. You can solve this by adding a compression plug-in to the bass track. Then you can direct the drum output to the sidechain detector.
This way, you can maintain a soothing music transition between different instruments.
4. Stuttered Vocals
Voice modulation has become a favorite aspect of the music industry. Renowned folks like Diplo and James Blake have nurtured some unique transitions through creative vocal manipulation.
Check out how this dry vocal is altered to this stuttered vocal.
5. Gated Snare
Noise gates can be compared to compressors. You can use them to quiet all signals that fall short of the defined threshold. For instance, you can use a noise gate to cut the amplified fuzz arising between each guitar strums.
It’ notable that Collins’ In The Air Tonight was the epicenter that inspired gated snares to be used in the production field.
6. LFO Filtering
If for a peppy scene, you have a normal drum loop or some ordinary bass loop, you can articulate them through LFO filters. They would help you to automate the cutoff rate to instill a dynamic tonal interest.
7. Duplicating Synths
To bring some excitement into an existing track, you can use filters or swap the wavetables. This way, you can alter the melody progression with enough movement in the synths.
For instance, compare this straight progression with this slightly tweaked one.
8. Noise Sweep
The beginning of a new scene is usually complemented by a piece of sharp transient music. And this impact is often brought from a crashing cymbal or a kick drum.
This effect can be further improvised by reversing and re-using it in a sweeping transition to bring the emotions into the next section.
Make the Call
Put these wonderful transitions into practice and create your amaze-balls videos. But remember that it’s not the type of transition you implement that elevates the standard of your videos.
Real success lies in your talent to use these transitions with purpose, to create the desired emotions in your viewers.
Keep learning! Keep practicing!
