Move your story forward with transitions

Use transition effects between your clips.

Published January 12, 2026

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00:01

Introduction

At this point I think you already know who I am.

But just in case, I'm Hallease, filmmaker and storyteller.

Welcome back.

00:06

Understanding transitions and storytelling purpose

In video editing, a transition is simply any time one shot moves to the next.

And you've probably seen over a dozen examples of transitions used in movies and TV shows, from cuts to fades to the notorious 80s Star Wipe.

Editors can use transitions to advance the story, set up the next scene, or set the mood for a scene.

For example, you might use a basic cut to quickly jump between two characters having a heated debate.

But if you want to communicate the passage of time, a crossfade might be more appropriate.

For more dramatic, fun videos, you might go crazy with the Irish transitions, wipes and slides.

00:42

Finding and applying video transitions

Adding a transition is very simple.

First, in the Effects panel, choose Video Transitions.

There are a lot of transition options available, and unless you know your creative vision calls for a specific transition, sometimes the easiest thing to do is just pick one that sounds interesting and test it out.

Let's see what a Push transition does to these clips.

To add it, we just need to drag it onto the Timeline and drop it between the two clips we want to transition between.

Let's watch that back.

Let's try something else.

01:13

Replacing and previewing different transitions

We can replace this transition by selecting another in the Effects panel and dragging it on top of the existing transition.

Let's try a Cross Dissolve.

That's a much subtler effect, which works well with the story.

Transitions work best

01:28

Adjusting transition length and using handles

when the clips have extra footage at the beginning or the end, so that the clips can bleed into each other.

This extra footage is called a handle.

And you know if you have handles on your clip if you don't see that little white triangle in the top corner, I can adjust the length of my transitions by dragging the edge left or right.

But I can only make transitions longer if I have enough extra footage left over.

So let's wrap up.

Transitions are one way you can advance your story

01:54

Best practices and recap for transitions

or set the mood for a scene.

Drag transitions from the Video Transitions section of the Effects panel and drop them between two clips.

Keep an eye out for that little white triangle that indicates you're using all of the original footage.

When adding transitions, this extra footage allows for the two clips to merge together.

You can remove a transition by selecting it and pressing Delete.

And finally, you can adjust the length of a transition by dragging the end in either direction.

All right y'all, we're moving right along.

In the next video, we'll cover color adjustments.

I'll see you over there.

Note: Stock assets provided are for practice purposes only. See terms.

What you'll learn

Why use transitions

Transitions are one way to enhance the story you tell in your video. They can add drama or set the mood for a particular scene.

Add transition effects

Select a transition from the Effects panel and drag it onto the timeline between two clips.

Some transitions need extra footage

Some of the transitions work by blending two clips together in some way, which means they need extra frames to work. When adding transitions, look for the white triangle that indicates there’s no additional footage.

Refine transitions

Adjust the timing of a transition by dragging the end in either direction. Replace a transition by dropping the new transition on top of it. Delete transitions by selecting the transition and pressing delete.

Instruction by: Hallease Narvaez
Footage by: Valentina Vee
Adobe Stock Contributors: Frequently Asked Music; Blackboxguild

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