The "trick" being discussed is the dissolve (aka cross-fade). The article covers this form of scene transition solely from a story telling and aesthetic viewpoint but the technical craft of dissolves is also interesting because there are many different types. Simple dissolves have a constant linear velocity to the alpha blend but in S-curve dissolves the velocity changes with parameters sometimes called ease-in and ease-out. In sophisticated editing software these curves can be controlled with various types of splines. Although the rate is changing, even relatively short S-curve dissolves often feel subjectively smoother to viewers than linear dissolves because more of the duration is dedicated to the beginning and ending phases which tend to be more visually subtle.
In addition to varying velocity dynamics there are many other interesting and useful types of dissolves such as alpha blended wipes, luma fades, strobes, holds, black/white dips, flash fades and a variety of temporal effects. How an editor chooses to deploy these tools can either make them feature elements or merely subtle tonal flavors.
In the early days of non-linear video editing tools there was more development put into creative transitions but recently editing tools tend to offer only a few dozen canned transitions. This requires editors to use separate visual effects software to achieve more sophisticated or subtle transitions. This inconvenience is one reason such effects are less common outside high-end productions although another driver is that the insufficient bandwidth often dedicated to streaming compression tends to degrade any type of visually subtle transition into a macro-block mess. This is especially unfortunate now that higher dynamic range, bit depths and frame rates are widely available to visual story tellers.
That’s a really good point about video compression degrading transitions, and it follows that the blocky compression effects will (and have[1]) been used intentionally to move between shots.
The recently ‘memeified’ Godfather dissolve[2] between mustache and tree feels a lot like the no-key frame video codec transition in how the portions that move grab my attention first.
When I was taking video production classes a couple of lifetimes ago, we spent an entire month on dissolves, what types there are, and when they should (or should not) be used.
Dissolves, like so many other touches, were spot on. He didn't just set it in the 1970's but made it feel like a film from that time. And it works. My daughter saw it at her college and wrote, "Why does no one talk about this film?!" She didn't realize that it was just released.
But what I admired more about this film, besides the impeccable acting and flawless script, was the way Payne hinted at a specific trope and then rug-pulled it away, sometimes dramatically.
They even went to the effort of making the opening titles look like they were not made on a computer. I saw the movie in an old, single screen theater that also uses retro pre-feature announcements and it was such an immersive nostalgic experience that I really wasn't ready for.
No subscription yet so I haven’t read the article. The dissolves were excellent in this film tho. But overall the slower pace and time with little moments is what made it so good for me - to stop and have time for a slow (but so so good) film like this is what was perfect.
> overall the slower pace and time with little moments is what made it so good for me - to stop and have time for a slow (but so so good) film like this is what was perfect.
Other intimate movies I can think of top of mind are: Lost in Translation, Past Lives, Columbus, Before Sunrise, Things to Come. I'll stop there since I'm making these recommendations blind not having yet seen The Holdovers. Actually, since the article opens with a Hal Ashby film (The Last Detail), I'll add another: Being There.
Lucas' best transition was when Luke and ObiWan pick up C3P0's damaged torso and lift it off the ground at the same velocity as the vertical wipe from the bottom edge. It looks like they squat down and pick up the very frame they are in.
In addition to varying velocity dynamics there are many other interesting and useful types of dissolves such as alpha blended wipes, luma fades, strobes, holds, black/white dips, flash fades and a variety of temporal effects. How an editor chooses to deploy these tools can either make them feature elements or merely subtle tonal flavors.
In the early days of non-linear video editing tools there was more development put into creative transitions but recently editing tools tend to offer only a few dozen canned transitions. This requires editors to use separate visual effects software to achieve more sophisticated or subtle transitions. This inconvenience is one reason such effects are less common outside high-end productions although another driver is that the insufficient bandwidth often dedicated to streaming compression tends to degrade any type of visually subtle transition into a macro-block mess. This is especially unfortunate now that higher dynamic range, bit depths and frame rates are widely available to visual story tellers.