Which Cross-Fades to Use When...?

Soniclight-2.0 wrote on 11/30/2025, 10:03 PM

I've always been a bit puzzled which cross fades to use between events - the ones shown in the first screenshot that have been in Vegas for a long time. So I asked ChatGPT to 'splain them by column.

I created a PDF for each of the 5 columns, but I couldn't include the PDF itself, so below is a forum version of it. Any correction to the descriptions are welcomed.
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Column 1 – “LINEAR (use these most)”

Behavior: Neutral, straight-line fades.

Best for: invisible dissolves, everyday editing, anything where you don’t want to see the fade or change brightness.

Column 2 – “GENTLE EASE (slow in/out)”

Behavior: Starts a bit slower then speeds up (or the reverse). Soft ease curves.

Best for: slightly smoother, more “gradual” feel than linear, but still not wild.

Column 3 – “SMOOTH S-CURVE (cinematic)”

Behavior: Stronger S-shape; very soft in and soft out.

Best for: emotional / cinematic fades where you want a bit of personality.

Column 4 – “SHARP / PUNCHY”

Behavior: Steeper curves, more aggressive change through the middle of the fade.

Best for: punchy transitions, energetic sections where the fade should be felt.

Column 5 – “OVERSHOOT / BOUNCE (stylized)”

Behavior: Big arcs / “bouncy” curves; these can dip or spike brightness.

Best for: very stylized transitions only; almost never for normal cutting.

Comments

Dexcon wrote on 12/1/2025, 12:39 AM

With all the Vegas Pro versions I've had (since VP10), the 4th dissolve in Column 4 is and has been the default dissolve and is the dissolve I have almost always used. Personally, I wouldn't describe that dissolve as being sharp and punchy; rather, I find it to be better described as per the description in Column 1. Where there has been a need for another dissolve, I've generally next used the 1st dissolve shown in column 1 - but because there's no curve in or out of the dissolve, I've found it to be more obvious a dissolve than the default dissolve where the in and out curves make for a much smoother and less obvious dissolve. Otherwise, there may be times when one of the other dissolves looks better when taking into consideration the image content of the outgoing and incoming video events (e.g. a daytime shot dissolving to a nighttime shot). Overall, the best dissolve to use is the editor's creative choice based on the genre of the project, the emotion wanted to be conveyed, and does the chosen dissolve curve assist in storytelling.

BTW, I'm way more likely to use a range of in/out fades or dissolves instead of the default for audio events.

EricLNZ wrote on 12/1/2025, 1:26 AM

the best dissolve to use is the editor's creative choice based on the genre of the project, the emotion wanted to be conveyed, and does the chosen dissolve curve assist in storytelling

@Dexcon Well said, that sums it up nicely.

3POINT wrote on 12/1/2025, 2:26 AM

I almost use only hard cuts. A cross dissolve rarely and when just a few frames, time to short to notice a used curve. A fade in/out I use frequently.

EricLNZ wrote on 12/1/2025, 3:06 AM

With video I also mainly have a hard cut. But with one project I'm working on most shots will have 1 sec crossfade as it fits the mood of the video.

Audio from my camera is a different matter. When I use it I usually have it crossfade to the next clip's audio by 1/2 sec. That's because I find an audio hard cut can be more noticeable than a video hardcut. For example going from a quiet scene to one with street noise.

3POINT wrote on 12/1/2025, 4:30 AM

Audio from my camera is a different matter. When I use it I usually have it crossfade to the next clip's audio by 1/2 sec. That's because I find an audio hard cut can be more noticeable than a video hardcut. For example going from a quiet scene to one with street noise.

For that purpose I use sometimes J/L cut.

Dexcon wrote on 12/1/2025, 5:20 AM

Audio from my camera is a different matter. When I use it I usually have it crossfade to the next clip's audio by 1/2 sec.

@EricLNZ ... I take it that you mean that you're using a hard video cut but ungroup the audio and extend the audio event into the next audio event by .5 sec. This is what I also do but usually the overlap into the next audio event is 10 frames (25 fps project) - no particular reason for 10 frames other than it sounds okay to me. The overlap will likely be much longer if the outgoing audio event includes sound of a siren, tram, train, aircraft, pealing bells etc particularly if the next shot is in the same location.

EricLNZ wrote on 12/1/2025, 6:19 PM

@Dexcon Yes that's it except I normally use 12 frames with a 25 fps project.

Soniclight-2.0 wrote on 12/3/2025, 1:15 AM

Yes, as alluded by others here, the type of transition does depend on both the material and the pacing of the events.

My material is somewhat ethereal and so I like crossfades, I never use hard cuts. Also since it is for somewhat minimalist videos for my music that is quasi cinematic and between 54 and 75 bpm that I compose and export from Steinberg Cubase Pro, I'm most familiar with the use of Bezier curves with audio events.

I don't do any music editing in Vegas since I import a ready-to-use master track from Cubase.

3POINT wrote on 12/3/2025, 1:55 AM

@Soniclight-2.0 I almost always edit with hardcuts at the measure of music, which is seldom less than 100bpm, a hardcut is also easier to place/adjust than a transition. For dreamy movies/slide shows with such low bpm underscores I can imagine that long transitions are useful.