Video transitions · Mac and iPhone
Add transitions between clips, or let Zella place them
A transition should earn its place. The best edits use a clean cut most of the time and save a dissolve or a light leak for a change of scene or a reveal.
Zella gives you both halves: the full catalog when you want a specific move, and automatic placement that is deliberately sparing, so a take with dozens of cuts does not turn into a showreel of effects.
- Mac and iPhone
- Free on every tier
Quick answer
Zella ships the same 25 transitions on Mac and iPhone, free on every plan, including Cross Dissolve, Whip Pan, Spin, Luma Fade, Light Leak, Glitch Cut, Zoom Punch and Film Burn. On the Mac, cut at the join with B, open the Transitions tab and pick a type and a duration; on iPhone, tap a transition on the timeline to change it. Auto-Transitions on the Mac and Auto-Polish on iPhone can place them for you.
How to do it in Zella
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Step 1: Make the cut
Transitions sit on joins. On the Mac, press B at the playhead to split, or run Cut Empty Space to create joins from the pauses.
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Step 2: Mac: open the Transitions tab
Pick a type and a duration, such as 0.5 seconds. The preview shows the two clips really blending at the seam, not a hard cut or a black flash.
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Step 3: iPhone: edit on the timeline
Tap a transition on the timeline to select it and choose any of the 25. Drag it onto a different cut, or press and hold to delete it.
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Step 4: Or let Zella place them
On the Mac, click Auto-Transitions in the sidebar: it chooses per cut, a zoom punch on a jump cut, a dissolve within a scene, a fade on a scene change. On iPhone, Auto-Polish blends the widest-spaced joins with a gentle cross-dissolve.
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Step 5: Put a sound under the cut
A whoosh or an impact makes a transition land. On iPhone, Auto sound at cuts places one matched sound under every transition; on the Mac, Auto Sound does it by cut type.
Why do it this way
The same 25 on both
The catalog is identical on Mac and iPhone, so a project handed from iPhone to the Mac keeps its transitions.
Sparing by design
On a single continuous take, Auto-Transitions places only a handful, because a jump cut usually needs no transition at all.
Titles and zooms carry through
Titles, images, zooms and keyframed motion show on both sides of a transition. On the Mac, text-behind-subject titles, magnifier callouts and background replacement also carry through the blend in the exported file.
What you need
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later (Apple Silicon or Intel), or iPhone on iOS 18 or later
- Video on both sides of the cut, since a transition overlaps the two clips
- Free on every tier: every transition, no watermark, exports up to 2 minutes at 1080p
Questions
How many transitions does Zella have?
There are 25 transitions, the same set on Mac and iPhone, and all of them are free on every plan.
Which transition is best for a tutorial?
Usually none: a hard cut, or a quick Cross Dissolve. Save Whip Pan, Light Leak or Lens Flare for intros, reels and reveals.
Why did Auto-Transitions only add a few?
On a single continuous take, the cuts are jump cuts, and the natural treatment there is no transition. Auto-Transitions spreads a handful across the video instead of one at every cut.
Do my titles disappear during a transition?
No. Titles, images and zooms show on both sides of the cut, and on the Mac keyframed motion keeps playing through the blend as well.
Related tools
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