• Thanks to the video-editing programs available on most new computers, a person no longer needs to be an expert to make his own video. Likewise, these videos are easy to publish on dozens of websites or blogs. Understanding how to use transitions in a video can help amateur filmmakers create a more professional-looking product.
  
  

Cuts

• A cut is perhaps the most simple transition used in videos. The cut features no special effects. When you are seeing one shot and then immediately see another shot without any sort of special effect, this is a cut. This kind of shot is used often in news reports when there are only a few seconds to show multiple shots.
  
  

Crossfade

• The crossfade transition includes one shot coming into a frame before the shot that is currently on screen disappears. It is called a crossfade because as one of the shots gradually fades in until it encompasses the screen, the other shot gradually fades out until it is completely gone. Crossfades are often used when a television show goes to commercial.
  
  

Pans

• A panning transition doesn't include going from one shot to the next as much as it includes moving the camera from one subject to the next. For example, a shot could be focused on an item while a voice can be heard speaking of the item. Gradually the shot pulls back and scans over from the item to include the speaker as well.
  
  

Windmill

• The windmill is not a transition that typically is used by professional film producers. This transition features the appearance of a windmill-like shape that begins to turn as a windmill until it has encompassed the previous shot. This kind of shot might be more prevalent on internet videos made by amateurs.
  
  

Wipe

• A wipe is the transition that gradually replaces a shot with some kind of a stroke or pattern. One of the most common wipes is a simple line that moves from either left to right, right to left, bottom to top or top to bottom. A wipe often has a thick border on it that allows the viewer to distinguish the new screen coming on from the screen that is being wiped off. Although wipes can be used at different times, one of its most effective uses is to show a change in location. For example, a change from an underwater scene to a scene on a boat might be shown by a wipe.