How to Create a Transition in Filmora: 2 Ways to Do It

Transitions liven up your videos. Here are two ways to create them in Filmora.

Transitions are a great way to add some creativity and visual stimuli to any video. In this article, we're going to show you two ways you can add transitions to your video clips in Filmora. The first is the easiest since you only need to apply a preset. But the second will require a bit of editing on your part. Let's begin.

Getting Started

Both Windows and Mac users can use Filmora. There is a free version with some limitations, such as getting a watermark on your video and not having access to a lot of the effects and features. But you get a free three-day trial for the full version when you first download the software.

Download: Filmora for Windows | Mac (From $106.95 per year, free trial available)

How to Make a Transition in Filmora With Presets

Using preset transitions in Filmora is easy. But there are some functions you need to become familiar with and some preparations you need to make to your clips in order to use them. Let's jump right in.

1. Load up Filmora and import your video or multiple video clips. Go to Media at the top left, select Project Media from the menu, and import your files from there. We used some sample clips provided by Filmora for this example, accessed from Shared Media.

   
2. Drag your video into the timeline. If you're working with two or more clips, put them on the same layer right next to each other.
3. If you want to create transitions on one singular video, we recommend splitting it into clips. Select the video, drag the red cursor to where you want to split it, and click the Scissors icon to create the split.

4. Now we're ready to add the transitions. Locate Transitions at the top and select it. This will open a window with a long list of transitions to choose from. A lot of them will be free.

   
5. Scroll through the transitions to see what catches your eye. You can hover over it to see a preview of what it will look like.
6. To apply a transition, click and drag it to a clip on the timeline.

7. The effect will play out wherever you place it on your clip, but transitions do actually exist to transition from one clip to the next. So in order to use it the "right" way, make sure you drag the transition effect to the center of two joining clips.

   
8. To modify the transition effect, double-click it on the timeline, and its settings menu will open. Here, you can change the duration of the transition, effectively making it slower or faster. We recommend leaving Transition Mode on Overlap.

Play back the results to see if you like it. And you're done. Beyond getting to learn how to use all these functions, basically, all you need to do is drag a transition effect onto your clips, and Filmora takes care of the rest. No fancy editing techniques required.

To export your video, go to Export at the top, select your format and location, and your masterpiece will be saved to your computer. You need to have an account to do this.

How to Make a Transition in Filmora With Keyframe Animations

Keyframes in Filmora are still a relatively new thing, which means they're not very customizable. But they're still useful, and you can use them for a limited number of simple transitions as well.

Let's show you how. And keep in mind that you'll need the paid version in order to utilize keyframes.

1. Import your files and drag your clips into the timeline. Again, ensuring you have at least two clips to work with.

2. Double-click on the first clip to select it. This will also bring up a window of editing tools; go to Animation > Customize. This is essentially the keyframe editor.

   
3. Drag the red cursor to wherever you want the transition to start on the first clip—we recommend around one second away from where the clip ends.
4. From the Animation window, click Add. This will add a keyframe. Alternatively, click on the keyframe icon in the toolbar (yellow plus inside diamond icon). You can drag a keyframe's placement on a clip if needed.

5. Drag the red cursor to the second last frame on the same clip (make sure it's not the very last frame). And add another keyframe.

   
6. We're going to leave the first keyframe alone, and only edit the second one. Click on the second keyframe to select it.

7. Now we're going to animate it from the Animation window. You can change the Rotation, Scale, Position, and Opacity. For this example, we animated the frame to the left, aka entered a negative value in the X Position. To change the Position, you can also manually drag the frame around in the playback window.

   
8. In order to complete the transition, we need to animate the second clip with keyframes as well. We're going to do the opposite of what we did for the first clip. Double-click the second clip to select it.

9. Place a keyframe on the very first frame, and another one about a second away from where the clip begins.

   
10. Select the first keyframe to edit it. Since our first clip is animated to move out of frame to the left, we're going to let the second clip enter the frame from the right, so it looks like some type of loop. To do that, we gave the X Position a positive value. Leave the second keyframe alone.

And you're done.

When we play our entire transition back, the first clip moves to the left, and soon after, the second one comes in from the right. Like some type of film roll. Since Filmora's keyframe editor isn't very comprehensive, and the program doesn't feature a Mirror Edges effect, we'll have to settle for that bit of black background peeking through during the transition. But it's a transition nonetheless.

You could always add something more aesthetically pleasing to the background peeking through. Simply drag all the clips to the second layer (don't worry, it keeps all the effects you've applied to it), and add something to the first layer. We like this solid blue color more than the black, so we went with that. But you can definitely get a lot more creative.

Add Cool Transitions to Your Clips in Filmora

Sometimes, an editing style with no transition effects works well. But other times, you just want to spice it up a little. Transitions are the perfect way to do that. And there are endless types of transition effects and techniques you can apply to your clips. Refer back to these tutorials to easily create transitions in Filmora.