The present article has only review type and doesn’t pretend to be like an universal description for every effects. For more detailed information we invite you to get to know other materials on our site.

The classification of the different effects, transitions, dissolves, color and light corrections is too relative. Naturally, every film editor has a deal with video material of the diverse quality and importance. If the man is going only to edit home video, and it’s not important for him how well his film looks, so this film editor uses only two-three video effects from his store. It happens that video edits hardly, joint to joint. If to take typical film editor the number of effects in his work may vary between 7 or more. So those top 7 of most usable effects we will trying to expose.

It will be not quite convenient and too foolishly if we start to examine our “hit parade” bottom-up. This is not so principled for our case.

Number "zero" in our list is been given to the hard joint. For convenience. We carry out our top 7 because such an arranging type of the plan doesn’t do for same description “effects”. No doubt, many film editors very often use the hard joint. Even that who’s always accustomed to excel in appearance of his work by means of mixed character of the effects on timeline he understands a need sometimes to back to “classics” of the editing use. For the news subjects on TV the hard joint is a standard, and a specific character of the TV cutting doesn’t assume an outing of these uses. There’s the speed and efficiency like more valuable qualities.

We leave "zero" position out of scope of our competition and we’re going to determine finally who ranks number one in our list.

It’s not difficult to guess because these are well-known dissolves. The present video transition is widely usable and popular everywhere. The true classic of the film editing. The essence of this transition: two pictures unite by dissolve one on other in the point of assembly. The length of dissolve can be different right up to 100% of one plan. In this case the image on screen will only emphasize its presence by shroud on timeline. As other effects the dissolves need for sufficient reserves or for overflow. In other words, this is a clipping region of the plan which uses like a consumable material for overlapping of the next plan. In order to create a film editing with knowing full well about using the protracted transitions when filming it needs to keep every plan a long time. The moent of the transition work is a demonstration of the cut areas from the plan on timeline. Most frequent mistakes of some film editors is a hurry with installing transitions, when their length exceeds the length of the reserves in time. So, on their place comes “outside” undesirable plan.

In artistic point of view the dissolve is a most consisten, none high-flown and strict transition that adds a smoothness, elegance and… poetical shade to the cut video. For example, an usual short video scene with using dissolves and soundtrack looks more effective on screen than with using the hard joints.

Second position in our chart belongs among two pair effects “fade in” and “fade out”. Per se, they look like dissolves, they use not on the joints of the plans, but strongly for one episode. Of course, an effect “fade in” is used there where it needs “to appear” video, and an effect “fade out” it should to remove it. They also can be characterized by time of action, by structure of realization, by color, etc. This effect is distinguished by nothing among the others, however, in use statistics, is quite popular.

On third place is settled “frozen” frame. Though, in many video editing programs one can use a method “stop-frame”, but the freezing of the picture is considered more professional as well it spends a lot of resources. The need for this effect usually comes when one wants to get a static plan from an unskillful filmed material. What’s meaning “unskillful”? Not always this is a bad work of the cameraman, simply the film director (or film editor) will be in need for some object from many plans which is been filmed with a scanty exposure in time or this object behave unstably on screen. But the principal rule for the film editor having frozen frame is to use this method for movable objects as rare as possible (or never). The same as an immobilized photo in time which is filmed off-hand by cameraman and the film editor put it on dead frame even for human eye will be visible like a photo but not like a video. What can we tell about movable frame?! Thus, the human eye is fully capable to detect a frozen plan in the stream of video on screen. The present method of cutting is more the forced step than an effective trick.

As a rule, these tricks are the way of TV practice. If the professional film editor uses the freezing of the frame he also uses other stylistic effects with it. As a result, such an unexpected outcomes can appear which one hasn’t been planned.

Fourth row of top 7 belongs to the effect that is favorite enough among film editors and film directors: acceleration and deceleration. In professional use it names like a line and graphic distortion of the duration. In most cool editing programs there’s a panel which gives the diverse amplitude to the distortion. As a rule, for the beginner this instrument gives rise a lot of troubles to use it in practice. It’s almost understandable with line distortion: you set down the quantity of percents for acceleration or deceleration from initial plan (there’s another select of the value beside of the percents), and the picture on screen will behave strongly linear without accelerations or decelerations. Totally, we have that you had to get. All kinds of plays with speed, acceleration, deceleration, circulation, cycle happen only with using a graphic curve. In order to set trajectory of this curve correctly you need for great skill to handle an instrument in video editing program.

On TV the managers like “making over” those things that cameraman has filmed. For example, the long pan becomes shorter if it’s accelerated. Sometimes, the result of the abuse of time distortion is “slow” video without accounting how much of frames in one second the camera can produce. Ultimate video material becomes torn and uneven. Extremely, it’s absurdly if one use a possibility of time distortion when nothing is readjusting but video is just turned over, that is the frames run back to front. If there’s a deficiency of video material on TV, so the salvational long pans are often turned over and used iteratively. One time, I have an occasion to watch the film editor has madden a funny and awful mistake. When turning over the video fragment with focus on movable items he turned over everything that he could see on the picture: autos, people, birds, etc. And during this turn all movable object always repeated this funny trick. It’s good if you can laugh for a while but it’s grievous if the material like this goes to air.

Fifth and sixth positions top 7 of most usable effects are ranked respectively between 2D and 3D effects of the real time. So far as 3D transitions have more specific use for many film editors they are behind 2D effects by one position. The latter by-turn classify several groups which also have some their variety in.

So, 2D transitions are good enough, simple and unobtrusive. Any video material cannot be spoiled by them as well the dissolves. Except perhaps if to use the same transition class all the time (plan after plan). Convenience of viewing this kind of video is reduced, the stare looses concentration that because one can always revert to inner mental question “what was in last scene?” 2D transitions can be divided into next classes.

Push transitions. The previous plan is supplanting by next, and the both are moving with equal speed in one direction. The place of appearance of a new frame is free.

Iris transitions. From the point of view of the geometry, no matter which figure is if it uses with this kind of transition. It’s for a taste of the user. There exists many extraordinaire variety and additional to the iris transitions. Sometimes, they look originally, but anytime they must to carry some important meaning. In other cases, they are irrelevant.

Insert and slide transitions. As opposed to push transitions the replaced frame leaves immovable all the time. A new plan appears from the borders of screen cover previous frame.

Radial wipes. As a rule, there’s an axial point (center) which can locate on any part of screen or outside of them, and there’s a line of diameter (at the minimum, with length of screen diagonal) which when moving pulls a new episode behind them.

Dissolve through color (flash). Looks like a ordinary dissolve, but uses any set color in its culmination. By default this color is set black. What is an advantage of this transition? It is widely used on TV when film editor needs to stick together the same plans which vary in dynamic insignificantly. When is he obliged to do this? When interviewing person makes mistakes in his speech or the TV reporter needs to delete some part of speech from the video. Film editor selects white color for transition, and the flash lasts about two frames. Despite of the comfort to use this transition no every news studios apply it. Someone considers it like a nasty taste. That because many cameramen knowing this kind of direction sanctions for a news subject is trying to acquire same additional plans during interview. It may be everything he could notice, for example, a pen on the table, hands, a badge on the suit, a vase with flowers, and may other things. It may be anything that is outside of the room where interview is at all, but some semantic plan which defines the word speaking person.

Outside of news genre the transition with color flash can be used as a method to assign certain additional sense for video fragment.

Multiple insert. All the same as usual inserts but these use two or more components for news replaced plan. The most primitive is a transition by type “doors” when a next frame is cut in two and each half close in the centre of screen.

3D effects are more complicated and impressive on screen. Again, if they are suitable. The principal difference is the same as for a geometric 2D and 3D is Z-axis which allows to turn screen plane. And we again separate all 3D transitions into classes.

Page peel, curl, etc. A very nice transition which looks stylish and consistent. It often uses for individual separation one part from another.

Curtains. The variety of this effect is great number. However, an excessive use this transition can spoil general impression about video material.

Magnifying glass, water effects. This group of effects is only relative in the network of present article. In point of fact, these are different effects, but on the basis of each of them there’s one key feature: all of them use distortion. Water effects of distortion look good enough on screen if they are chosen according to concrete video.

Geometric forms. This group is relative too. There are such transitions which when appearing on screen do defined graphic transformation. In their basis is geometric free form which behaves according to written script. The select of these transitions mustn’t be spontaneous, otherwise again, the present effect will divert a spectator from fundamental idea of the video work.

The original libraries of transitions propose greater choice. They are accessible from the editing program. As a rule, it’s an independent integrated program which permits to edit a behavior of the transition. Besides of that the editor itself allows to create own individual transition or to edit already created in 2D or 3D conditions. Mostly, all presented transitions one can make itself. It should be noticed that today the costly projects include in its plan a creation only individual transitions and effects no simply for one concrete video material which works up in video graphic program.

Let’s leave behind fifth and sixth rows of our hit-parade of video effects. Finally, seventh position is given to the multiple screen effects. Exactly, these are also transitions. The latter use not very often, but they are always in the standard basic collection of any professional film editor. Multiple screen effect is often used on TV, and perhaps, is on the first positions of all effects. You can place no matter how much frames at the same time. Sitting the trajectory of appearance, movement, exclusion of multiple plans, the film editor can fulfill the most extraordinaire the film director’s ideas. The human eye is able to adapt quickly to that it has to observe two scenes on screen at the same time. Here’s a choice for a spectator: which multiple screen to look at. This approach gives to understand that he manage it passively.

One of the most serious mistakes for the film editor when using multiple screens is reduction of any plan to such an extent that viewer isn’t able to discern it. Here’s also a fault of the cameraman, who wasn’t said that this episode will be divided into two or more reduction parts. Every cameraman finds plan and controls it on his display. He’s accustomed to think this plan will be final, it means it will be with the same size as on display. But this is wrong. If on one screen is a speaking man and on another screen is the frames which shows the matter of subject, so the storyteller must be filmed with zoom in order to see him well on screen.

This effect must be used carefully within reasonable limits. If there’s possibility to do without it, the best way is manage it. It’s always necessary to remember that, in the first place, any video material is making comfortable for viewing on standard screen at the average. Not every viewer like when the picture on his screen is reduced thoughtlessly. It forces to stare the details misunderstanding a sense of this method.

Of course, it’s not possible to include all range of the usable effect. We drew only basic seven which meets frequently in arsenal of film editor. We united many things in a notion “effects”, but a great part of them does for other criteria. We expect this article was little useful for you.