Dissolve Transitions

Soft transitions that let one shot melt into the next instead of cutting.

The first clip fades out while the next one fades in, so for a moment you see both. The calm, classic way to soften a cut or to show that time has passed.

Drag Dissolve from the Transitions panel onto the cut between two clips – Crossfade is its default. Click the transition in the timeline to change it in Properties. It uses a little of the footage trimmed off each clip; where there is none, a frame is held (the drop preview shows that part in red) and the sound cuts at the edit.

• Duration – how long the blend takes, 1 second by default, in whole frames. You can also drag the edge of the transition in the timeline.
• Include audio – also blends the clips’ sound (off by default). Between two clips on an audio track the sound is always blended. Retimed or reversed clips cut their sound at the edit; clips that play separated stems cut it in the preview only (the export blends them).
• Audio curve – Auto (default) picks Equal gain for a cut inside one recording and Equal power for two different sounds. Choose one yourself if you prefer.

Tip: Titles, logos and keyed clips dissolve cleanly too – the old one fades away while the new one appears over whatever lies below.