Dissolve (filmmaking)

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In film editing, a dissolve is a gradual transition from one image to another. In film, this effect is created by controlled double exposure from frame to frame; transiting from the end of one clip to the beginning of another.

In video editing or live video production, the same effect is created by interpolating voltages of the video signal.

In non-linear video editing, a dissolve is done in software, by interpolating gradually between the RGB values of each pixel of the image. The audio track optionally cross-fades between the clips. A dissolve effectively overlaps two clips for the duration of the effect. The lengths of the two scenes can be adjusted by trimming, which, if desired, can change the original durations of the scenes before the dissolve was added.

The cut and the dissolve are used differently. A camera cut changes the perspective from which a scene is portrayed. It's as if the viewer suddenly and instantly moved to a different place, and could see the scene from another angle. Obvious hard cuts may startle the viewer. For that reason, a dissolve is often used in continuity editing to "soften up" jump cuts or similar problematic cuts.

[edit] See also

• Crossfading - sound transition
• Georges Méliès

[edit] External links

• Shot transitions - From Introduction to The Basics of Video Editing