The movement from one shot to another is called a transition. These transitions suggest different ideas to the audience and it is important to choose the right one, as it creates mood, effect and can sometimes give insight into how the film or television show is going to progress.
This is the most common transition and is known as 'invisible' due to its instantaneous speed. The transition isn't noticeable unless looked for, and keeps up both pace and the idea of reality. These are used a lot in soaps when a sequence of events are happening in one scene, however it is devised of multiple shots that need to link together. If they don't link together, it breaks the illusion. An example in this scene from Eastenders in which two characters fight. We see multiple characters get involved to restrain the men, and they appear almost in cannon from different camera angles. Also, as one man goes to fight another, there's a zoom in to the individual, which would've required a single camera to be moved completely, or a cut to a different camera altogether. The second option is more likely due to time consuming.
Dissolves
A dissolve transition is when one shot appears on the screen whilst the previous disappears. This means that at the mid-point, both scenes show at once, which shows their link to each other as well as a transition. One of the first persons to use this was George Meliés in 1899, in his short film 'Cinderella'. A majority of scenes overlap each other, for example the ball scene fading back into the house. This could also be used to show contrast, as the ball scene is very lively and visually appealing, whereas the house is quiet and boring.
Fades
A fade transition is a gradual darkening or lightening of an image until to scene ends with a black or white or just block colour screen. This can be used to show a section of time changing to another in the narrative. Also, it can be used to show an unusual image, and emphasise the symbolism of it. For example in the 'Oasis' video for 'Don't look back in anger', each new person introduced into the shot with a blurred and faded filter, as well as the video itself beginning with a fade from black and ending with a fade to black. It's a quick transition, but still used very effectively.
Wipes
This transition is when one scene or image pushes another off of the screen. They can be pushed in any direction, however the most common transition is when it is pushed to the left hand side. This isn't only to change the scene, but also make it more visually appealing and show how they relate to each other without using subtle continuity. The film series of Star Wars uses wipes at least every few scene changed in every film. Below is a montage video of all the times it has been used in a single film. The transition is of course very obvious, which makes the Star Wars filming effect so iconic.
Graphic Match
This is the most advance transition in my opinion, as it isn't just a decision the editor makes, but the film director themselves. It is created when things of similar shape in one shot transitions into something else when put next to each other. By doing this, it shows that the link is important, or to create a more visually exciting shot scene. An example of this is the famous 'shower scene' in Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Here, we see the dead girls eye become a drain hole, which could've been decided as some sort of symbolism or to show how the events have caused this outcome.
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