Cutting on motion is a common editorial trick for drawing the viewers eye and it can be used to smoothly transition from one scene to another if it relates. In this example, we can have WOMAN 1 ball up a sheet of paper and throw it down out of frame. Cutting on the motion of the paper ball leaving frame and the next shot is a paper ball entering frame on the floor in another scene. We just took the viewer back in time to MAN in scene 1 looking at his earlier drafts balled up. The audience will connect with the movement and still understand the geography. This can even be used in a more abstract sense of following the movement without the object (or person) be the same as long as the screen direction matches, the audience's eye will follow.

Caption: Make sure to keep some continuity in the motion of the traveling object.

Fast panning, or "whip pans" can also form a semi-abstract cut and the movement can take the audience out of one scene and into the next, continuing the camera movement. Cutting in the middle of the wild camera move, since the image is a smeared blob, also cuts without startling the viewer.

As with all transitions, overuse can lessen the impact. Transitions, even natural ones, should be used to emphasize the change in scenes. Sometimes a straight cut can get you from one place to another. Other times, you really want to emphasize the change - like in a storyline or movie where you are telling a story non-linearly. If you are jumping from two different storylines, the jumps between parallel action might warrant some kind of emphasis on the transition.

Caption: A whip pan can get the job done, but it's usually a bit more distracting than most other transitions. Use sparingly. To create one, you would subtly swish the camera to the left from scene one so the shot blurs, and use only a few frames here before you cut to the next shot of the camera swishing from the right and settling on the new subject. It's a difficult technique to master.

In narrative storytelling, like short films and features, most NLE transitions might rip the audience out of the believability of the scene. In something like a documentary, reality show, or industrial/commercial video - traditional transitions are more common because they are acceptable. Use your best judgment, Watch our online video demo for more and good luck!

Peter John Ross is an award-winning filmmaker and author of Tales from the Front Line of Indie Filmmaking.