A crossfade is a transition effect that overlaps two events at the transition point, used in video editing and still image slideshows. DJs use it to switch between songs without stopping the music. Audio crossfades are more challenging and require matching beats per minute.
A crossfade is a transition effect between two movie clips, two still images, or two audio tracks. The crossfade goes by gently overlapping the events at the transition point so that both are visible or audible at the same time before the first event disappears completely at the second.
A crossfade differs from a simple fade transition in that the latter does not use an overlap point where both events exist at the same time. The first event vanishes, then the second event vanishes consecutively. With a crossfade, the transition occurs when one event “crosses over” into the next.
Crossfades can be used in video editing to join clips or a series of movie files, such as home movies shot with a digital video camera. It is also a popular transition effect for producing still image slideshows. Besides being a nice effect, a crossfade is a poignant way to show the passage of time.
A crossfade transition can be short in duration or longer. Many factors play into the best duration for any given instance depending on the effect the author wants to create, the tempo of the clip and the content of the events. A visual crossfade that is too short will make the viewer feel like the clip is being sped up, and a transition that is too slow will make the clip appear to drag.
Disc jockeys (DJs) also use crossfading to switch from one song to another “without missing a beat”. By using crossfades to mix music tracks, the music literally never stops. Crossfading is the key to keeping a nightclub going.
A successful audio crossfade must match the beats per minute of both audio tracks before fading the new track into the output track. If the beats don’t line up, the new track confuses the old one and the dancers can’t keep up because there’s no clear beat. DJs typically wear headphones over one ear and use the controls to speed up or slow down the incoming track before increasing the volume on the existing track. Both tracks play overlaid for a series of beats as the new track increases in volume and the old one decreases.
Audio crossfades are more challenging than visual crossfades. Most dance music hovers around 120 BPM for the very reason that it makes the job easier for DJs and dance music record makers want to play in clubs. The challenge is more difficult when two very different audio tracks have to be superimposed, such as crossfading between musical genres, or for example, from 120 BPM to a ballad. In most cases a longer crossfade is used to give listeners (or dancers) a chance to unwind from the old track and transition to the new one.
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