Presentation 2 (Part 2)

II. What are the types of video transition?
 Please list 5 different video transition effects (see the Adobe Premiere menu). When should these transition effects be used? What are the meaning attached to each transition effect?

Meanings attached to transitions determine when they should be used.

1. Cross Dissolve
It is used to indicate a long time passing between two frames. It can also be used to slow the pace of a video, or indicate a change of location. Slow cross dissolves can create layered video effects.

2. Dip to Black
It is used to indicate time passing between the two frames, longer than a straight cut, but shorter than cross dissolve. It also signals the beginning and end of scenes.

3. Dip to White
It is used similarly as dip to black, but indicates a jump to a different time, e.g. flashbacks or dreams.

4. Linear Wipe
It is mainly used for transitions from split screens, where one of the screens replace the other as the full screen via a linear wipe. Wipes also show a change of location or viewpoint.

5. Straight Cut
The most common transition, as it changes scene without distracting the viewer.


 Please find 5 clips which illustrate when these five effects are used, and their meaning/ purpose [The meaning of the direction: From left to right [the good guy], from right to left [the bad guy], an example from tonight’s lecture]. If you cut the clips from your DVD, please put these clips in your A2 folder i.e., in addition to your answers you write in the blog.
(tips: you can find videos from YouTube; you can also cut your own movies).
Individual and Group

1. Cross Dissolve
- Oceans 13: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCvckCdHag8 (0:49-1:39)
- Sorry that I loved you (MTV): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUrBhh4c-CU (3:18-3:31)

Oceans 13 used a prolonged cross dissolve to show different events happening at the same time. This is different from the conventional use of cross dissolve to show time lapse, and the conventional use of split screen to show events happening simultaneously. Although the frames overlap, making the images unclear, it is still rather easy to know what is happening.

Oceans 13 is different from the music video, where cross dissolve is used to show flashback (3:18-3:31) as well as for aesthetic purposes (throughout the video).


2. Dip to Black - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EC2tmFVNNE (0:00-0:29)

The dip to black effect indicates a change of scene, as well as slows down the pace (as opposed to straight cuts) of the trailer to create suspense.


3. Dip to White - For the way I live (MTV): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccvJvowKdK8 (4:36-5:13)

The dip to white effect is used to cut up short segments of the clip, making it look more like flashes of white than a transition. This is use to portray the dancer being helplessly trapped in the way she lives (with the mirrors forming an enclosure around her), as time passes. The quick transitions depict the quick passage of time, which may not be in sequence, since dip to white (and not black) is used to show jumps in time.


4. Linear Wipe - Editing techniques: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQLpwDPeu10 (1:28-1:32)

I could not think of any clips that use linear wipe offhand, but I found this video on video editing that uses linear editing to transit from full screen to split screen. As this video suggests, split screen is common when showing two people on a phone conversation, such as those in drama serials. Hence apart from a straight cut, linear wipe can be a useful transition to show another party joining/leaving a conversation.


5. Straight cut - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EC2tmFVNNE (0:30-2:30)

Apart from the first 30 seconds, most of the trailer are transited with straight cuts, as this quickens the pace of the trailer, making it more exciting to watch. The faster pace also complements the high-action drama of the movie.