{"id":99956,"date":"2021-12-22T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=99956"},"modified":"2021-12-22T10:18:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T16:18:20","slug":"how-when-why-fade-black","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/how-when-why-fade-black\/","title":{"rendered":"On Fading to Black: The Hows, The Whens, and The Whys"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fading to black is the smoothest dissolve transition there is, but it’s good for more than just endings. Let’s take a look at what it can do.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you’ve read any editing textbook<\/a>, you’ll learn that editing should be invisible. If an editor has done their job right, the work will go unnoticed. It’s only when we see jarring cuts that we lose the sense of immersion. The moment the audience becomes aware of the cut is the moment you’ve failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Blink of an Eye<\/em><\/a>, Walter Murch<\/a> (editor of Apocalypse Now<\/a><\/em>)\u00a0argues that editing should proceed with natural human reaction. For example, if an\u00a0action\u00a0takes place off-screen, and the character looks at the noise, we should cut to the action just\u00a0like we would turn our heads. If a character slides a hidden note to our protagonist, we should cut to a closeup of the message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, fading out to black (or white) is seemingly unnatural. Other than falling asleep (or passing out), when do we see something fade to black? By fading a scene to black, we’re\u00a0pulling the audience\u00a0out of the film. So, why does it work so well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with FilmSound.org<\/a>, Kiran Ganti<\/a> asks veteran editor Walter Murch<\/a> if editors are trying to make the audience aware that it’s happening?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. At the level of a cut from shot to shot, the transition is either below consciousness, as in the classic American School of editing which tries to hide the cut, or it is made conscious, as in the Soviet School. In that sense, Soviet-style cuts are mini-transitions. American-style cuts are not. <\/p>

My tendency, as I think is the case with most editors today, is to fall somewhere in the middle. We realize that there are moments when it is better to emphasize the cut. And then, there are moments in the same film where we want to make the cut almost imperceptible, like butter, as the phrase goes.<\/p>– Walter Murch, Editor<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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When to Fade Out<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"An<\/a>
Fade-to-black is used in stage performances to note the end of a chapter, and gives the crew time to change sets. Image via Kozlik<\/a>. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In part, the fade-to-black or dissolve-to-black (since it’s technically a dissolve to a black matte) also works well because it’s an unmistakable theater throwback. In theater, a fade-out\/fade-down (again called a fade-to-black) is in complete darkness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a practical sense, this\u00a0is\u00a0when the crew changes the set and the actors change costumes. But, in a symbolic and narrative\u00a0sense,\u00a0the fade-to-black\u00a0concludes the entire scene. And, in essence, that’s what this classic move is in filmmaking\u2014the visual conclusion of a chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with most aspects of filmmaking, there’s no single set way to do one thing. However, the fade-to-black transition tends to work best in the following circumstances:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Fading from the end of a theme to the beginning of another.<\/li>
  • Fading from one character’s narrative to another.<\/li>
  • Fading into a later date.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    If you were to fade out from a family dinner scene, which lacks a definitive thematic ending, to a scene later in the night (in the same location), the transition wouldn’t feel natural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We can see these principles in action in any blockbuster trailer, such as the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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