A Glitchy Alternative to the Boring Crossfade
Block Dissolve is a pixelated, glitchy way to transition between shots — instead of a smooth fade, your image breaks into blocks that dissolve away, revealing the next shot. It's perfect for music videos, hype edits, or anything where you want personality. Way more interesting than a standard crossfade, and it works especially well on cuts with rhythm.
Settings used
- Block Width: 50
- Block Height: 50
- Feather: 25
- Soft Edges: Off
Add the effect from FX → Transition → Block Dissolve. Block Width and Block Height control the pixel chunk size — smaller values (5-10px) feel more organic and less glitchy, larger values (40-60px) feel extremely pixelated and retro. Feather softens the block edges. The completion parameter animates from 0 to 100 automatically during export, or you can keyframe it manually for custom timing.
When to use it
Use Block Dissolve for music videos, montages, or any stylized edit where you want personality. It works great on cuts that hit on a beat. Combine with sound design — the glitch feel should match the audio. Smaller block sizes (10-15px) work for modern tech/gaming content, larger sizes (40-50px) for retro or lo-fi aesthetics. Mix with other transitions for variety.