Video transitions have been around for as long as I can remember. As a kid watching Star Wars, there were always those “super” cinematic linear wipes that would take you from one scene to the next. While transitions might have been simpler back in the day, they still had their place and served a specific purpose (even if they DO happen to look amazingly cheesy now).
How Transitions Are Used Today
It seems transitions have gotten pushed to the max in the past several years within the online filmmaker and content creator community. Sometimes it feels like these effects are becoming over saturated. In today’s video, I want to open up a discussion about “smooth” transitions and their most commonly paired-with counterpart – speed ramping (or more technically referred to as Time-Remapping). I talk about how I personally believe they should be used and also where they’re unnecessary and can turn the viewer off. Knowing the context of when and when NOT to implement these techniques into your videos is important. It goes back to that basic rule of marketing and advertising – know your audience.
Professional Example
After the discussion, I take you through one of my client examples of how I incorporated some in-camera “smooth” transitions and time remapping on a local Mini Cooper S feature. The set up and equipment used for this shoot was very stripped down and minimal. Focusing on getting the right camera moves while shooting was an important step in achieving the smoothest transitions possible. By planning out your shots ahead of time, the post-production side of things becomes very fast because the only real work you have to do while editing is nail your time-remapping and cross fade points. You can see more of my professional work on my homepage.
Video Gear Used:
