Create 2 Surprisingly Seamless & Effortless Transitions in DaVinci Resolve 17

DaVinci Resolve 17 comes with a number of great built-in transitions but these can be a bit basic and mundane. To spice up your videos and add interest it’s worth having some dynamic transitions at your disposal. Making your own seamless transitions and saving them as presets for future use is a great way to improve your videos and add some additional functionality to DaVinci Resolve.

Part 1: Create a Simple Whip Transition in DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve 17 allows you to create your own transition presets by changing the built-in transitions. We will take a simple cross-dissolve and change it into a seamless whip transition.

1. Add a standard Cross-dissolve node to 2 clips in the timeline on the Edit page.
2. Right-click on the Cross-dissolve and change it to a Fusion Cross-Dissolve node.
3. Right-click on the Cross-dissolve again and choose Open in the Fusion page.
4. In Fusion delete the Cross-dissolve node and replace it with a Transform node.
5. Select the Transform node then, in the Inspector right-click on center and choose Modify with > Vector Result.
6. Now click on Modifiers to use this tool.
7. Right-click on distance and select Modify with > Anim Curves. This modifier animates this parameter over any duration of the clip which means you can apply this transition dynamically once finished.
8. Change the Curve to Ease in to smooth the transition then chance the In/Out to Expo.  This will create the whip motion we need by accelerating toward the end.
9. Copy the Transform node and link it to your second MediaIn then link these 2 clips with a Merge node. Swap the inputs if the wrong clip is in the front.
10. In this second Transform node, all you need to do is change the X Origin to -0.5 so the second clip starts out of view and whips into view as the first clip whips out of view.
11. To finish up the transition we will add some motion blur by using a Directional Blur node. Add this node after the Merge node.
12. Reduce the Length so the effect is not so harsh and change the Angle to match the direction of the movement.
13. Use the Anim curves modifier on the Length value of the Directional Blur node. Select Mirror so the blur increases to the middle of the transition and then decreases again. Change the Curve to Ease in and In/Out to Expo to smooth the effect as you did before.
14. To save this awesome whip-up transition for future use in DaVinci Resolve go back to the timeline on the Edit page. Right-click on the transition and select Create Transition Preset then give it a name and press ok. Your transition will now be available in the user area of the Video Transitions under the Effects panel.

Part 2: Create a Zoom Transition in DaVinci Resolve

To show you how you can build up a library of your own transition presets for DaVinci Resolve we will take what we learned in Part 1 and use it to create a zoom transition.

1. Add a standard Cross-dissolve node to 2 clips in the timeline on the Edit page.
2. Right-click on the Cross-dissolve and change it to a Fusion Cross-Dissolve node.
3. Right-click on the Cross-dissolve again and choose Open in the Fusion page.
4. This time leave the Cross-Dissolve as it is.
5. Add a Transform node after the Cross-Dissolve.
6. In the Inspector add the Anim Curves modifier to the Size parameter.
7. You will notice that the Size starts at 0 and goes up to 1 while we need it to start at 1 and go up to 2 then come back down.
8. To achieve this change the Offset to 1 and select the Mirror checkbox.
9. Like before, change the Curve to Ease in and In/Out to Expo.

Note: To save this awesome whip-up transition for future use in DaVinci Resolve go back to the timeline on the Edit page. Right-click on the transition and select Create Transition Preset then give it a name and press ok. Your transition will now be available in the user area of the Video Transitions under the Effects panel.

The best part of these transitions is that they are fully adjustable in length when you apply them because we used modifiers instead of manual animations.

Part 3: Easily Add Multiple Transitions at Once in DaVinci Resolve

When you have a big edit with lots of cuts that you want to add your new transition to all at once it can be a little frustrating to do so one cut at a time. Thankfully, there are some quick ways.

1. Make your own transition the Standard Video transition by right-clicking on it and selecting that option.
2. You can apply your transition to any selected cut across any number of selected clips by right-clicking and selecting Add to Selected Edit Points and Clips. Alternatively using the shortcut Alt+T or Option+T applies your Standard Video transition to any selected cut.
3. If you select multiple clips and press Alt+T or Option+T your Standard Video transition is applied to all cuts between all the clips while Ctrl+T or Cmd+T will apply both your standard audio and video transitions.
4. To apply only the Standard Audio transition use Shift+T.
5. Note that DaVinci Resolve will trim clips without sufficient handles to apply the transitions. You will be asked if you want this to happen before you apply the transitions. Click No to skip those clips.

---

Transitions add interest to your videos and DaVinci Resolve 17 has a bunch of good video transitions built-in. Unfortunately, these are a bit bland but Resolve does give you the tools to create your own amazing transition presets.

There is another option as well, for those not interested in making your own transitions or if you are short on time. Motion Array offers awesome transition presets (macros) specifically made for DaVinci Resolve by experts. It’s worth checking them out.