A hard cut is the default transition, and it should stay the default for most of your edit. Transitions communicate meaning — a passage of time, a change of location, a shift in tone — so use them deliberately, not decoratively.
The Cross Dissolve
The cross dissolve (one clip fades out as the next fades in) is the workhorse transition. Drag it from the Effects panel (search "dissolve") onto the boundary between two clips. It signals a soft transition — time has passed, or the scene is changing gently.
Default duration is about 1 second, but adjust it by dragging the transition's edges in the timeline, or double-click it to type an exact duration. Shorter dissolves (10-15 frames) feel snappy; longer ones (1-2 seconds) feel dreamy or slow the pacing down.
Fade to Black / Fade from Black
Applying a dissolve where one side has no clip (just empty timeline) creates a fade to or from black. This is the standard way to open and close a video — start on black, fade in; end by fading to black before the outro. It signals a firm beginning or ending, distinct from a mid-video scene change.
When Not to Use a Dissolve
New editors often reach for transitions to smooth over a cut that feels awkward. Resist this — a dissolve doesn't fix bad pacing or a mismatched cut, it just makes the problem last longer. If a cut feels wrong, the fix is almost always trimming the in/out points, not adding a transition on top.
Avoid "flashy" transitions (spins, zooms, page-peels) unless your content specifically calls for that energy (fast-paced social content, gaming montages). For most talking-head, tutorial, or narrative content, a hard cut or simple dissolve covers 95% of cases.
Basic Color & Exposure Adjustments
Even before dedicated color grading (covered in a later course), two adjustments fix most exposure problems:
- Lumetri Color panel (Window > Lumetri Color) — the Basic Correction tab has Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks sliders. Drag Exposure until midtones look natural, then use Highlights/Shadows to recover blown-out skies or crushed shadows.
- White Balance — click the eyedropper next to White Balance and click something that should be neutral gray or white in your shot. This instantly corrects a color cast (footage that looks too orange or too blue).
Speed Changes
Right-click a clip > Speed/Duration to change playback speed. Common uses:
- Slow motion (below 100%) — emphasizes a moment, works best with footage shot at a higher frame rate to avoid choppiness
- Fast forward (above 100%) — compresses a long process (a build, a drive, a sunset) into a few seconds
- Check "Maintain Audio Pitch" if the clip has audio you want to keep intelligible at the new speed
Applying Effects
Effects live in the Effects panel and get dragged directly onto a clip. Once applied, adjust their parameters in the Effect Controls panel (next to the Source Monitor). Two you'll use immediately:
- Gaussian Blur — useful for blurring backgrounds, censoring logos or faces, or softening a transition
- Cross Zoom / Scale — adjusts a clip's size and position within the frame, useful for reframing or a subtle push-in
Every effect you apply is non-destructive — it never changes your source footage, only how the clip displays in this sequence. Delete the effect from Effect Controls to remove it entirely.