Windows Movie Maker: Tips for Using Fade to White

One of the most complex of all the basic video transitions or video effects in Windows Movie Maker is the Fade to White. Fade to White works the same way as other Windows Movie Maker video effects where you apply it to the specific video clip instead of the transition track between clips. In this way you have special limitations and benefits that do not come with the cross fade.

The Fade to Black has been a common transition and effect in filmmaking since its earliest incarnations, yet the Fade to White is a alteration on this original theme. Because of this, you have to approach it in a specific way.

The first thing you have to recognize is how these video effects, or transitions, are used. First a Fade to Black is meant to indicate the end of something or a significant change in time and place in between clips. The Fade to White indicates the same thing, except has an effect on the viewer where the image implodes on itself and seems to blind the screen. It is best used when you have established white as a visual motif that the picture is returning to, or you have used bright colors as a significant role in the finalization in your film.

Windows Movie Maker puts the limitation on video effects that it has to encompass an entire clip, and the intensity is finite. What you need to do then if you are going to be using a Fade to White is to cut the final clip so that it is relatively short and the fade does not take too long. This is more true with the Fade to White than it is with the Fade to Black as it is more dramatic and unexpected.

You are going to notice that the Fade to White is often suspended for longer than a Fade to Black. The white period in between clips extends longer than normal, mostly because it is intended to be focused on as a visual characteristic that is in line with the film as a whole. Try to put a white color solid in between a Fade to White and a Fade In.