Lost in Transition: How Transition Effects Can Make a Difference in Windows Movie Maker

When you watch a movie, it can be easy to transitions for granted. After all, who has time to pay attention to transitions between shots when you’re so engulfed in a film? Well, that’s kind of the point. Transitions serve as very powerful background elements that aren’t necessarily meant to be noticed, yet they are essential to keeping the action going. While you may not notice them, it’s very likely that a director or editor took some serious time to decide when, where, and how each transition should be in a movie.

Simple Transitions

When creating content in Windows Movie Maker, you can use simple transitions to move from one shot to the next. The simplest transition of all is called a “jump cut” and these types of transitions simply jump from one scene to the next. Jump cuts are the most commonly used transition in video and can be used to quickly move a scene along.

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Fading Transitions

A fading transition is one in which one scene dissolves into another. This type of transition can be used in Windows Movie Maker to add a bit more drama or suspense to a scene change. As one scene dissolves into the next, it gives the viewer the chance to reflect on what just happened while anticipating what is to come. In some cases, a fade transition may be used to fade to black before the next scene begins. This, once again, provides the viewer with a chance to reflect on what has happened before moving into the next scene.

Special Effect Transitions

There are also special effect transitions that can be used in Windows Movie Maker. These transitions are ones that do things like take the image on the screen and flip it around to reveal the next scene. Although special effect transitions in Windows Movie Maker aren’t necessarily ideal for movies, they can be useful in catching and keeping the viewer’s attention during things like presentations. In addition, special effect transitions may not be the best when you want to convey a serious topic, but if you’re presenting light-hearted material, they may work to get some smiles.

Keep the Pace Moving

Finally, keep in mind that transitions in Windows Movie Maker are used to keep the pace moving. Even if your movie is slower in pace, you’ll want to have frequent transitions. Today’s video viewer has been conditioned by television and movies to expect a transition between various shots about every three seconds or so. If you simply have one static shot that never changes, the viewer might become bored. As a result, try to change up shots in Windows Movie Maker using transitions fairly often. You don’t have to make changes every few seconds, but you should at least try to insert transitions a few times per minute.

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