How to drop a clean fade in transition in your films.
The fade in transition is a foundational skill for beginning filmmakers. Learn how to move from shot to shot to make your film jell and set its tone.
Fade into your next scene.
Part of what makes a film look professional and polished is how it moves the viewer from one scene to the next. A fade in transition is a great way to gradually bring your audience to the next scene.
What is a fade in film?
A fade in transition is an opening shot technique used in film editing to ease viewers into new imagery, rather than using a sudden cut from scene to scene. In contrast, a fade out gradually decreases the imagery before showing the next scene. Both of these video transitions help set the tone for the scene.
A fade in transition sets the tone and more.
If scenes are the frame of your motion picture, transitions are the glue that holds it together. The way you transition from scene to scene in your film determines how your audience experiences pacing, theme, and mood, just like using certain types of cuts in film. Rapid cuts, for example, will add a frenetic intensity to your scene transitions. Fade ins, on the other hand, offer a slower, more measured pace.
Commonly, a fade in transition begins with a black background and a slow transition into a new clip. Fade ins gently begin or end a scene, rather than just jumping right to the next action. They give the viewer a little time to think about what just happened in a clip or scene. Often, in the final draft of the script or teleplay, a fade in will be pointed out in the screenplay precisely because they are so effective at conveying mood and tone. They can often be powerful and useful if the writer of the film wants to capture a particular move.
When you’re considering how to shift from scene to scene, knowing why you’re doing it is important. Here’s what you can do with fade ins:
- Add a cinematic feeling to the film
- Draw attention, re-engage the audience, and allow for additional micro-storytelling points
- Simulate the passage of time or indicate that a new act is beginning in the film
- Give the audience time to take a breath
Types of fades in film you can apply.
Fade ins are not exclusively applied to the visual, either. There are other versions of fades you can use as well. Choosing the right fade allows your audience to better understand the story, and you can use the following fades to enhance your narrative:
- The audio fade
- The text fade
While there are plenty of other transitions to explore, such as a luma fade, let’s dive into the audio and text fade to get you started.
1. The audio fade in or out.
You can fade audio in or out, similarly to the way video fades work. You can use a gradual increase in music volume to start a scene off with a certain tone or mood. Often, with a slow fade in, audio serves as a bridge between scenes, starting while the image is still black. This strategy is common in documentaries, where you’ll hear narration or an expert speaking on a topic before moving into a scene.
One of the most iconic uses of audio to complement a fade in is in Goodfellas, where the audience hears the sounds of cars zooming by as each title card shows a cast member. After this introduction, the video cuts in, and we see the car containing the characters moving down the highway on their way to perform their evil deeds. The audio fade is one of multiple ways you can edit audio to direct your audience’s attention to a particular subject in a scene.
2. The text fade in or out.
Fading in and out can also be useful for text, and it’s often done for functional purposes. You might be incorporating subtitles into a film, and the way they transition keeps your audience focused on watching rather than reading. There are also many artistic flourishes you can accomplish with a text fade, like title cards or other instances of text being incorporated, like in the film Stranger Than Fiction, where numbers and text are part of the narrative.
You’ll want to fade text in or out if you’re showing opening credits in order to allow the viewers to focus on the film ahead. Whether you want to add subtitles to video or opening credits, using text fade in and fade out keeps your story moving.
Fade in transition examples in film.
Fade in transitions help you introduce a new setting or character, indicate the start of a scene, or create a specific mood. The following are some examples of fade in transitions used in classic movies:
- The Godfather. The film opens with a fade in from black, bringing the audience into Vito Corleone’s office and the monologue that sets the tone for the entire movie.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The film opens with a black screen with a woman speaking in English and Elvish language, and the opening title fades in after around 30 seconds of speaking. It makes for a dramatic opening to the film.
These are just a couple of famous films that use fade in transitions in their movie editing. Now that you know what a fade in transition is and know a couple of examples of it, let’s explore how to add one to your films.
How to add fade in Premiere Pro.
To apply a fade transition in Adobe Premiere Pro, you have two options. One is simple and quick, and the other is more advanced but allows for more control.
Follow these steps to learn how to add a fade in transition in Premiere Pro to make editing video a breeze.
Fade in option 1
1. Select your clip, right click the left or right edge, and choose Apply Default Transition. This will create a Dissolve In transition.
2. Use the small handlebar on the clip to change the length of the transition. (Or double-click the transition to type in a specific fade duration.)
Fade in option 2
1. From the Effects panel, select the Video Transitions folder, then navigate to the Dissolve folder. There is no Fade in/Fade out option — Dissolve is how it’s referred to in Premiere Pro.
2. From the Dissolve folder, you can select a transition that fits the fade you’d like to use. Film Dissolve and Cross Dissolve are good for experimentation.
3. Drag the transition onto the edge of your clip where you want it. You can make further adjustments or revisions in the Effect Controls panel.
The difference between the fade vs. dissolve transition.
Both fade and dissolve transitions carry the viewer from one place to the next. The two have some key differences in how they transport the user from place to place:
- Fade. This option transitions the viewer to or from a blank screen, making a clear break between scenes. The blank screen is typically black, but it could be a different solid color.
- Dissolve. This option blends one scene into the following one, creating a feeling of continuity. The transition between scenes is smoother, often indicating a connection between ideas, a change in perspective, or a passage of time. If you want to make it clear that a scene is over and you are transitioning to a new idea or scene, a fade transition may work best. For a scene that has a strong connection and ideas with the next one, you may opt for a dissolve transition.
How to use fade in transition to tell better stories.
Now that you know how to use the fade in transition in Adobe Premiere Pro, let’s dive into specifically how you can use this type of transition to create engaging stories. Learning how to add a fade in Adobe Premiere Pro and working with your video timeline is easy, and it gives you complete control over how your transitions work.
Before you start, though, it helps to know some best practices.
- Ensure clips are long enough to apply transitions. If they’re not, Premiere Pro duplicates frames to make sure the transition is smooth, but this can create some odd effects.
- Use fade in with audio cues when appropriate. Fade in transitions are designed to smoothly indicate a change of scene — pay attention to audio levels, effects, and visual elements as you add in your fade in transition to move to the next scene in a way that makes sense.
- Don’t overuse the fade transition. For different moods and tones, you may want to change the transition you use. For a dramatic or high-energy change of scene, a fade in transition could downplay the tone of the upcoming scene.
- Timing is everything. While you want to clearly indicate that a scene is changing, extending the fade in transition over a long period of time may confuse the audience and, likewise, with one that moves too quickly.
“If you’re planning on something important happening in your fade in, you probably want to shoot a little bit extra so you can account for that fade in,” says cinematographer Paulius Kontijevas.
Sticking to the basics while you’re learning is a great idea as well. Once you’ve learned the rules, you can break them, but at first, focus on getting your timing right in the post-production process.
Create your own perfect fade in transition and more.
Transitions are just one tool in the filmmaker’s kit. For first-time filmmakers, there are hundreds of tutorials and guides available to help you learn the basics of filmmaking, from shooting to the edit bay. The word of the day is experiment. Learn what works and what doesn’t, and before long, you’ll be piecing together compelling films.
If you’re looking for professional-grade video editing software, Adobe Premiere Pro has all the tools in place to make your movie look polished and ready to present.