Add a fade to a video
A hard cut at the start of a clip looks like a mistake. A fade from black, half a second or a second long, makes the same clip look finished — and the sound fades with it.
How to add the fades
- Add the video, or up to five at once.
- Set the fade in, the fade out, or both, in seconds.
- Press Add the fades and check the result.
Set one side to 0 if you only need the other. A fade can never be longer than the clip itself.
How long should a fade be?
| Length | Feels like | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| 0.2 – 0.4 s | Barely noticeable | Hiding a jump cut, softening a hard start |
| 0.5 – 1 s | Neutral and clean | Most social clips, tutorials, product videos |
| 1.5 – 3 s | Deliberate, a little cinematic | Intros, trailers, slides that stand alone |
| 5 s and more | A scene change | Endings, credits, ambient footage |
One second at each end is the safe default: long enough to be felt, short enough that nobody waits for the picture to appear.
Picture and sound together
Both fade at the same time. Fading the picture while the sound arrives at full volume is the classic giveaway of an amateur edit, so the tool never does one without the other. A clip with no audio track simply gets the picture fade.
What a fade cannot do
It fades from and to black, not between two clips: for a cross-dissolve where one video melts into another, the two files have to be joined first with the merge tool, then faded. And a fade uses the clip's own beginning and end — if the first second is unusable, trim it first and add the fade afterwards.
What happens to your file
Uploads are deleted when the job ends, results within the hour. No account, no watermark, no e-mail needed.
Questions about Add a fade
Can I fade to white instead of black?
No, the fades go through black. Fading to white would need a different colour pass, which is not offered here.
Is the sound faded too?
Yes, the audio fades alongside the picture, which is what makes the edit look deliberate.
What if I set the fade longer than the video?
The tool stops with a message: a fade cannot exceed the clip length. Lower the value or trim the clip.
Can I fade only the beginning?
Yes — set the fade out to 0. The same works for the end only.
Can I fade several clips at once?
Yes, up to five. They all get the same fade lengths and you can download them as a ZIP.