Transitions

Transitions live in their own tab, split into Basic single-clip animations and Complex multi-clip transitions. Hover any preset to preview it before applying.

Basic

Single-clip transitions. Select one layer, click a preset, and adjust the parameters in the modal that opens. Each animates the layer's own transform properties — nothing is added above it on the timeline.

• Fade In / Fade Out — opacity animation at the layer's start or end.
• Slide Left / Right / Up / Down — animates position in from off-comp, with adjustable distance and overshoot.
• Scale In / Scale Out — animates scale up from (or down to) a start size, with optional overshoot.
• Spin In — combines scale-in with a configurable number of rotations.

Every Basic preset exposes a duration in frames and an easing choice (Linear, Ease In, Ease Out, Ease In Out). Slides add distance and overshoot; scales add a start or end size; Spin In adds a rotation count.

Complex

Multi-clip transitions that animate between two adjoining clips rather than animating a single layer. These require exactly two selected layers — the outgoing clip and the incoming clip — and the transition is built around the cut between them. Your original layers are left alone: the transition is placed above them, so the rest of your edit is untouched.

• Distorted Lens — a lens-distortion whip across the cut, with chromatic separation and a glass-like warp.
• Fast Shutter — a snappy shutter-style cut, short and percussive.
• Prism Lens — a prismatic dispersion that splits and recombines across the cut.

Each one comes in a 9:16 and a 16:9 build, and MotionLab picks the one matching your composition. If your composition is neither shape, you'll be warned before anything is applied — the distortion is authored for a fixed frame and won't look right stretched to something else.

Your clips need a little room

Each transition draws frames from either side of the cut — up to about a second from the outgoing clip and a quarter of a second from the incoming one, depending on which you use. Distorted Lens reaches furthest back, Fast Shutter and Prism Lens need less.

If a clip is trimmed tighter than the transition reaches, those frames come from whatever the source footage holds beyond your trim. When there's nothing there — a clip cut to the very start or end of its source — you may see empty frames inside the transition. Leaving a little handle on either side of a cut avoids it.

First use downloads the transition

Complex transitions aren't bundled with the extension, which is what keeps the download small. The first time you apply one, MotionLab fetches it and the card shows its progress; every use after that is instant. Only the build matching your composition is downloaded, not both.

Previews

The panel on the right plays a short clip of whichever preset you're hovering. Preview clips stream from our servers, so the first view of each needs an internet connection — see Troubleshooting if one stays blank. Presets apply normally whether or not the preview loads.