producing visually smooth productions

Transitions

Transitions are used to show the viewer that you have changed locations or the emphasis within a location. The smoother your transition, the better your production.

Zooms

Use a zoom to change the emphasis within the shot. Example: During an interview, the opening shot is of the interviewer and the interviewee. Later you want to emphasize the person being interviewed. Zoom in from the shot of both people to just the interviewee’s face.

Pans

You pan to include or exclude parts of the camera shot. By panning you can direct your audience’s attention to the most important part of the picture. Example: A narrator talking about video recording where the shot includes both him and the video person. As the narration continues, the camera may pan to a shot of just the narrator or just the camera person.

Tilts

This transition would be the same as the pan, only the camera shot moves up or down.

Fades

Most cameras have fade buttons that cause the picture and sound to fade out or to fade in. Example: During a dramatization, you need to show a lapse of time. At the end of one scene, you fade out the picture and then stop the tape. Begin taping the next scene with the camera faded out and let the new scene fade in. Have the action begin but no important lines said during the fade. That way, your audience sees what is happening and gets accustomed to the new scene before you say anything important.