Creating custom transitions with FFmpeg
Tutorials – Video Editing
Most video editors supply you with a generic catalog of transitions, usually in the shape of tired wipes and fades. But what if you wanted something a little more special? FFmpeg to the rescue.
A transition is a way of moving a film's narrative from one scene to the next. It differs from a cut in that a transition is gradual: The new scene wipes in from the left or fades in while the old scene fades out, etc. A cut, on the other hand, just jumps to the new scene.
Transitions in videos are like transitions in Powerpoint presentations: Unless used ironically or in Star Wars movies, they are generally considered tacky and old-fashioned. The stock transitions that come with most graphic video editors are the worst in that respect. However, custom – let's call them "vanity" – transitions can be fun, especially if they are over the top, which is what I was aiming for when I started this project.
In preparing a promotional video for an issue of Raspberry Pi Geek [1], instead of using the stock transitions, I thought it would be fun to have an animation cross the screen, uncovering the next scene in its wake. You can see the effect at the 30-second mark in Figure 1.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.
-
Ubuntu 25.04 Coming Soon
Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin) has been given an April release date with many notable updates.
-
Gnome Developers Consider Dropping RPM Support
In a move that might shock a lot of users, the Gnome development team has proposed the idea of going straight up Flatpak.
-
openSUSE Tumbleweed Ditches AppArmor for SELinux
If you're an openSUSE Tumbleweed user, you can expect a major change to the distribution.
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.