Shotcut tutorial · companion page
One flat colour clip, eighteen frames long, masked into a circle and keyframed so it swells out of a background light, swallows the frame, and shrinks into a light in the next shot. No plugin, no preset — three stock filters and two curves.
Reading in another language? Use the translate picker in the header, or your browser’s own translate command — the Shotcut filter, control and value names are marked to stay in English so they still match what is on your screen.
The transition is a single flat-colour clip on its own track. A mask turns it into a circle, one filter animates its size, another animates how solid it is, and the cut underneath happens while the screen is full of light.
The light is #ffb084 — a flat peach made in Open Other → Color. Nothing is shot, nothing is downloaded. Shotcut names the clip #FFFFB084 after its own hex value.
Ben’s one stated rule: pick a colour close to the bokeh lights already in both shots. Not exact, but similar. Mismatch it and the eye reads a coloured disc instead of a light going out of focus.
Nine frames over the outgoing clip, nine over the incoming one. At 24 fps that is three quarters of a second — long enough to read as motion, short enough that nobody studies the edge of the circle.
Zoom runs 4.9 % → 405.5 % → 30.1 %. Opacity runs 10 % → 100 % → 10 %. Together they are the whole effect; the first one alone looks harsh.
[ the key to make this thing as seamless as possible is to make sure that the bokeh lights that you’re going to be using are of not necessarily exact color but similar colors ]
Ben Espanto · 1:19
Click any screencap or timestamp to play that chapter from its exact second, right here in the card. Quotes are transcribed from the audio; every number in the captions was read off the interface, not heard.
This video carries YouTube’s automatic chapters rather than Ben’s own, so the headings here were written from the frames. The timings are YouTube’s and are unchanged. One pair was merged where the second chapter added nothing but playback, and the final card is marked derived — the automatic list stops at 17:19, so the tail to 19:38 was worked out from the frames.
“Just like it sounds, it’s going to use the blurred out bokeh lights in the background as a transition point.”
The finished effect, played back at the top of the video. A single soft circle of light grows out of one of the background bokeh lights, fills the frame, and shrinks away into a light in the next shot. The chapter also covers the About Shotcut dialog (version 20.09.27) and loading the two source clips, bokeh1.mp4 and bokeh2.mp4, end to end on V1.
“In order to do that, let’s right click the current track — we’re going to insert a new track right here — and then we’re going to go to open other, we go to color.”
Right-click the track head and choose Insert Track (Ctrl+I). The new track becomes V2 and carries nothing but the coloured circle — the footage on V1 is never filtered. The same chapter then goes to File → Open Other → Color to make the light itself, typing #ffb084 into the HTML field.
“In testing this transition I found that the best length for this transition is 18 frames. So while this cursor is at the beginning of this particular clip we’re going to use the right arrow key on your keyboard and we’re going to count 18.”
Park the playhead at the clip start, tap the right arrow eighteen times, then Split at Playhead and delete the excess. On this 24 fps timeline eighteen frames is three quarters of a second — long enough to read as a bloom, short enough to stay a cut. The whole project runs 00:00:10:02.
“Position it right about the center, so half of it is covering up the end of the first clip and half of it is covering up the beginning of the second clip.”
The clip sits astride the cut, nine frames either side. With it selected, Filters → + adds Mask: Simple Shape. It opens on Operation Overwrite, Shape Rectangle, Horizontal and Vertical both 50.00 %, Width and Height both 10.00 %, Rotation 0.0 deg, Softness 20.00 %. Shotcut names the colour clip #FFFFB084 after its own hex.
“If you notice, it’s a lot longer than it is taller, so we’re going to need to stretch the height a little bit to form a perfect circle.”
Switch Shape to Ellipse and the mask comes out wider than it is tall, because both percentages measure against a 16:9 frame. Dragging the top handle lifts Height from 10.00 % to 16.76 % while Width stays at 10.00 %. That pair is what makes it read as a circle rather than an egg — it is the only reason the shape looks round.
“In order to do that I’m going to load a second filter, and that one is going to be size, position and rotate — which used to be called rotate and scale, which is my favourite filter of all time.”
Stacked below the mask, Size, Position & Rotate opens at its defaults: Position 0, 0, Size 1920 × 1080, Zoom 100.0 %, Size mode Fill, Horizontal fit Center, Vertical fit Middle, Rotation 0.0°. Order matters — the mask cuts the circle out, this filter moves and scales it.
“While this is selected I’m just going to lower the zoom. You can actually grab the handles and make it as small as possible, like so.”
The Zoom slider comes down through 81.2 % (1559 × 877) and 21.4 % (411 × 231) to 4.9 %, which shrinks Size to 94 × 53 — about the width of a single out-of-focus light in the plate. That dot is where the whole move starts.
“What I’m trying to do is I’m trying to move this thing here to cover up this thing here. So I’m just going to go right there, right on top of that. Deselect that, and then let’s zoom back out to 100%.”
Dragged onto the light Ben picked out, Position settles at 1028, 610 with Size still 94 × 53. The “back out to 100%” in the narration is the player zoom control under the preview, not the filter’s Zoom — that stays at 4.9 % right through this chapter.
“I want to lock down the size using keyframes, and you do that by going to size and position while it’s at the starting size that you want it to be — you go into this particular keyframe and that locks down that size.”
With the playhead on the first frame, clicking the stopwatch beside Position writes the opening keyframe at 4.9 %. One keyframe covers Position, Size and Zoom together — a point Ben spends a full minute on, because the single stopwatch looks like it only governs the row it sits beside. At the midpoint the Zoom field is then typed up through 300, 400 and finally 420 % (8064 × 4536 at −3072, −1728), which is what buries the frame in light.
“Let’s go 50%. No. Let’s go 30%. You can grab the handles to make adjustments. But right about there. Okay, so now we’ve created all our keyframes.”
At the last frame the circle comes back down to 30.1 % — 578 × 325 at 643, 443 — sitting over a light in the incoming shot, so the bloom appears to collapse into it. Returning to the middle keyframe afterwards reads 405.5 %, the typed 420 % having been nudged by a handle drag. The chapter ends on playback, which is where the original auto-chapter split a second card off with nothing new in it.
“Right now it’s a little harsh, especially when it gets to these parts here. It doesn’t really look like the bokeh light is growing. So we’re going to need to load another filter, and that filter is opacity.”
Opacity goes on top of the stack and carries exactly one control, Level, sitting at 100 % with its keyframe stopwatch still unlit. Without it the circle simply appears at full strength on frame one; with it, the light can fade up as it grows.
“The one thing that’s guaranteed is we know that by the time it gets to the middle it needs to be at 100% opacity. So this is what we’re going to lock down.”
Counter-intuitively the middle is keyframed before either end. Park the playhead on the centre frame, leave Level at 100 % and click the stopwatch — it lights blue. That fixes the peak, so the two ramps either side have something to run to.
“Now while we’re in the keyframe section let’s then go to the very beginning, and let’s drop that opacity down all the way down. Let’s say 10%.”
Back at frame one, Level goes to 10 %. Shotcut interpolates between the two keyframes, so the light now fades in as it expands instead of snapping on. Ben steps the slider through 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 to show the ramp a step at a time.
“We want to do the same thing in the second part here, but in reverse. Let’s go one step before that and let’s set this to 10%. So it went from 10%, 100%, 10% again.”
One frame short of the clip end, Level drops to 10 % again. The finished envelope is 10 % → 100 % → 10 % across eighteen frames, running against the Zoom envelope of 4.9 % → 405.5 % → 30.1 %. Those two curves together are the entire transition.
“These are large files so there’s a little bit of a jutter, so what I’m going to do is I’m going to export this for you. So this is 75%, which is what I usually set it to.”
Preview stutter on the timeline is the file sizes, not the effect. The export goes out as mp4 / libx264, Rate control Quality-based VBR, Quality 75 % (crf=13), GOP 120 frames, B frames 3, Codec threads 0. The video then closes on the rendered result and the channel outro.
Every number below was read off the screen in the video. Nothing here is a recommended-sounding guess — if a value is not stated, it is because it was never shown.
Both clips need out-of-focus point lights in frame, and they need to be roughly the same colour. The transition pretends one of those lights grows — if there is no light to grow out of, there is nothing to sell.
Drag both onto V1, butt-joined. Neither clip is filtered at any point — everything happens on the track above.
Right-click the track head in the Timeline and choose Insert Track, or press Ctrl+I. The new track becomes V2.
File → Open Other → Color, then type the hex into the HTML field. Drag the result onto V2.
Put the playhead at the clip start, press the right arrow eighteen times counting as you go, then Split at Playhead and delete the remainder. Slide what is left until nine frames sit over each side of the cut below.
Eighteen frames is Ben’s own tested figure, not a Shotcut default. On a faster timeline you would keep the duration, not the frame count.
With the colour clip selected, open Filters and add Mask: Simple Shape. Set Shape to Ellipse, then raise Height until the shape stops being an egg.
This is the one place where “make it a perfect circle” means unequal settings. Both values are percentages of the frame, and the frame is wider than it is tall, so matching numbers give an ellipse. Softness stays at its default 20.00 % for the whole build — that soft edge is what makes it read as light rather than a disc.
Second filter on the same clip. It opens at Position 0, 0, Size 1920 × 1080, Zoom 100.0 %, Size mode Fill, Horizontal fit Center, Vertical fit Middle.
In older builds this filter was called Rotate and Scale. The mask must sit above it in the stack: the mask defines the shape, this filter moves and scales what the mask left behind.
Pull Zoom right down, then drag the circle over a bokeh light that is actually in the outgoing shot. The video passes through 81.2 % and 21.4 % on the way.
Zoom the player in while you do this — a 94 × 53 circle is nearly invisible at fit-to-window. Put the player back to 100% afterwards. That control is not the filter’s Zoom, which stays where you left it.
Playhead to the first frame of the colour clip, then click the stopwatch beside Position. That one keyframe pins Position, Size and Zoom together — all three, despite the single icon.
Move to the middle frame and type the big number into Zoom; a keyframe is written the moment the value changes. Then move to the last frame and bring it down to 30.1 %, positioned over a light in the incoming shot so the bloom looks like it collapses into it.
Third filter, top of the stack, one control: Level. Park on the centre frame, leave it at 100 %, click the stopwatch. Then go to the start and drop it, and one frame before the end and drop it again.
Keyframing the peak before the ends is the trick worth stealing. The 100 % midpoint is the one value you know for certain; fix it first and the two ramps have somewhere to run to.
Preview stutter on the timeline is the source files, not the effect. Export and watch it properly.
Read directly off the frames of the video. Where a value changed on screen, the tuning path is shown separately below.
| Setting | Value | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Shotcut version | 20.09.27 | Help → About Shotcut |
| Timeline frame rate | 24 fps | On-screen caption at 3:50; timecode reads HH:MM:SS:FF |
| Project duration | 00:00:10:02 | Player |
| Source clips | bokeh1.mp4 · bokeh2.mp4 | V1, butt-joined, unfiltered |
| Track stack, final | V2 colour clip / V1 footage | Timeline |
| Colour clip | #ffb084 · named #FFFFB084 | Open Other → Color |
| Colour, as RGB | R 255, G 176, B 132 · Hue 21, Sat 123, Val 255 | Colour picker |
| Colour clip length | 18 frames | Centred on the cut, 9 frames each side |
| Filter 1 | Mask: Simple Shape | Colour clip only |
| Operation | Overwrite | Mask: Simple Shape |
| Shape | Rectangle → Ellipse | Mask: Simple Shape |
| Horizontal / Vertical | 50.00 % · 50.00 % | Mask: Simple Shape |
| Width, final | 10.00 % | Mask: Simple Shape |
| Height, final | 16.76 % | Unequal to Width on purpose — this is what makes it circular |
| Rotation | 0.0 deg | Mask: Simple Shape |
| Softness | 20.00 % (default, never changed) | Mask: Simple Shape |
| Filter 2 | Size, Position & Rotate | Same clip, stacked under the mask |
| Size mode | Fill | Size, Position & Rotate |
| Horizontal fit / Vertical fit | Center · Middle | Size, Position & Rotate |
| Rotation | 0.0° | Size, Position & Rotate |
| Filter 3 | Opacity | Same clip, top of the stack |
| Export preset | mp4 · libx264 · Quality-based VBR | Export → Codec |
| Export quality | 75 % (crf=13) · GOP 120 frames · B frames 3 | Export → Codec |
| Keyframe | Zoom | Size | Position | Opacity Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First frame | 4.9 % | 94 × 53 | 1028, 610 | 10 % |
| Midpoint | 405.5 % | 7786 × 4379 | −2932, −1649 | 100 % |
| Last frame | 30.1 % | 578 × 325 | 643, 443 | 10 % |
| Stage | Zoom | Size | Position | Seen at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filter added, defaults | 100.0 % | 1920 × 1080 | 0, 0 | 7:00 |
| Dragged down by handle | 81.2 % | 1559 × 877 | −97, 121 | 7:20 |
| Still dragging | 21.4 % | 411 × 231 | 727, 502 | 7:30 |
| Down to one light | 4.9 % | 94 × 53 | 996, 614 | 7:40 |
| Handle drag at the midpoint | 53.0 % | 1017 × 572 | 452, 254 | 11:10 |
| Typed 300 | 300 % | 5760 × 3240 | −1920, −1080 | 11:20 |
| Typed 400 | 400 % | 7680 × 4320 | −2880, −1620 | 11:30 |
| Typed 420 | 420 % | 8064 × 4536 | −3072, −1728 | 11:40 |
| Nudged by handle, final | 405.5 % | 7786 × 4379 | −2932, −1649 | 12:50 |
Two values in this build are worth reading twice. Width 10.00 % against Height 16.76 % looks wrong and is right — both are percentages of a 16:9 frame, so matching numbers give an ellipse and only unequal ones give a circle. And the “zoom back out to 100%” at 8:29 is the player’s own zoom control, not the filter parameter of the same name; the filter’s Zoom never returns to 100 % after 7:00.
No project video mode, resolution or export resolution is ever shown on screen in this video, so none is stated here. The Size figures above are the filter’s own numbers and imply a 1920 × 1080 frame, which is what the filter defaults to on load.
Machine transcribed from the video audio. Spoken phrasing is left as-is; only the product and filter names Whisper mangled have been corrected. Every timestamp plays the video in the hero from that second.
In this video I will show you a tutorial on a technique I would like to call the
bokeh light transition. Just like it sounds it’s going to use the blurred out
bokeh lights in the background as a transition point so stay tuned. I’m just a
normal person with no video editing background. I wanted to start making
YouTube videos and maybe cool transitions and effects. I don’t really plan on
being a professional video editor so I was looking for a free easy to learn
video editing software. Luckily I stumbled on Shotcut, a free open source video
editing program that can do many of the tricks you can do on more enterprise
video editors like Adobe Premiere or DaVinci Resolve but with a much simpler
and leaner interface thus dramatically shortening the learning curve. It just
takes using your imagination so let’s learn together. So here we are in
Shotcut. Before I get started I want to show you which version I’m using for this
tutorial just to make sure that you have at least the version that I have. So
this one is 20.09.27. Okay I took the liberty of loading the two videos that
I was going to use for this tutorial. Now the key to make this thing as
seamless as possible is to make sure that the bokeh lights that you’re
going to be using are of not necessarily exact color but similar colors. So the
first one here is going to be this one and I think I’m going to be using this
light right here this tiny orange one right here and this is the second one
and I actually have a lot to choose from and I think I’m going to be using
maybe this one here or maybe this this light here. Okay so let’s load the
ingredients that we’re going to be working with. So let’s pick this first
one let’s drag it into the timeline and it’s going to create a track and then
let’s grab the second one let’s drag it into the timeline as well on the same
track. So at this point if we play this this is what it looks like and what we
want to do is we want to use one of the bokeh lights to transition from this
video to this video. Okay first things first we’re going to need to create
that orange circle shape that we’re going to use as a transition point for
the bokeh lights and so in order to do that let’s right click the current track
we’re going to insert a new track right here and then we’re going to go to open
other we go to color and then we’re going to load up that orangey color
like this one here. So and that’s probably right around here. I already have it
preloaded so that’s the color just in case you’re using hex bin colors. And once
that’s covering up your screen all you have to do is left click and drag it
right into the track that you just created. We’re going to zoom in here a
little bit. So this is loaded here and in testing this transition I found that
the best length for this transition is 18 frames. So while this cursor is at
the beginning of this particular clip we’re going to use the right arrow key on
your keyboard and we’re going to count 18. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,
14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and then we’re going to click this split at playhead icon
and delete the access. And there you go. And then zoom in here and we’re going to
position it right about the center. So half of it is covering up the end of the
first clip and half of it is covering up the beginning of the second clip right
there. Okay so let’s make the circle. Zoom in here just a little bit to make it
easier. Okay while you have this clip selected we’re going to go to filters
and we’re going to create a mask using the mask simple shape filter. And luckily
with this filter there are some preloaded shapes right here and we’re
going to choose ellipse. And then if you can if you notice it’s a lot longer than
it is taller so we’re going to need to stretch the height a little bit to form
a perfect circle. So grabbing this handle here we’re just going to drag it a
little bit until it’s right about what we think it’s a circle. So we’re
going to go right about there. So now this is what it looks like. So I’m going to play
it right before to transition.
So the idea is to make it look like one of these bokeh lights around here I’m
going to choose this one right here. Expands to cover up the screen to then
introduce the second video. And so in order to do that I’m going to load a
second filter. Oh let me bring this back to visible and that one is going to be
size, position and rotate which used to be called rotate and scale which is my
favorite filter of all time. Okay so now that that’s loaded I’m going to need to
match the size of this particular bokeh light. And so while this is selected I’m
just going to lower the zoom. You can actually grab the handles and make it as
small as possible like so. Let me take these handles off and
let me zoom into this image so you see what I’m talking about. Let’s see where
is that. So this thing here. So what I’m trying to do is I’m trying to move this
thing here to cover up this thing here. So I’m just going to go right there
right on top of that. Deselect that and then let’s zoom back out to 100% and you
can’t even tell the difference. So right now
that’s what it looks like. So what I want to do using size and position I want this
it is then covering up the entire screen so while I have that selected actually I’m
going to go to the beginning of this clip I want to lock down the size using
keyframes and you do that by going to size and position while it’s at the
starting size that you want it to be you go into this particular
keyframe and that locks down that size. I know that since they’ve implemented this
new change to this filter it’s a little confusing for everyone because it only
looks like there’s one keyframe and people think that this keyframe only
applies to this setting this setting and then this one only applies to this
setting. What did I just do? But actually this keyframe applies to all three of
these. So what we need to do is we need to create a circle which we’ve already
created this tiny little circle here that expands to fill up the screen so it
covers everything up and then it shrinks back down to introduce the next
video clip. So starting with the dimensions that we’ve already created in the
size and position filter we’re going to choose the keyframe icon but you just
make sure that the cursor is at the beginning of your clip so that we can
lock that dimension down. While that’s locked down we’re going to need to go
back to the timeline. Let’s zoom in a little bit here. We’re going to need to go
to that center point. Go back into the keyframe while that’s selected or then
going to need to make this circle cover up the entire screen. Let’s make sure
that that’s in the middle here then I’m just going to go right here into the
zoom dimension. I’m going to type in 200. Let’s see if that covers up. Nope. Let’s go
300. Close. Maybe 350. Okay maybe 400. Should be pretty close. Let’s just expand
that a little bit more. Maybe four. Let’s say 420. That should be pretty good. And now
it’s added this keyframe here. Let’s go back to the timeline and see what that
looks like. Let me deselect that and let me deselect the grids here. So we
managed to do the first part. Right. Now we then need to shrink this circle. And I’m
going to choose this little bokeh light here. And I need to make sure that when
we get to this point here that it’s shrunken down to then overlap that
circle that I just pointed out. So I have my cursor at the right place. We go back
to the keyframes again. We need to make sure that we’re in the right filter
which is size, position and rotate. And we’re going to go ahead and shrink the
circle. And then move it around to make sure that it’s taking up. Let’s go 50%.
No. Let’s go 30%. Let’s see if that’s... Which one did I choose? Let’s say we’re
choosing this one here. Because it’s a little bit more centered.
You can grab the handles to make adjustments. But right about there. Okay. So
now we’ve created all our keyframes. And let’s see what that looks like.
Okay. Pretty cool so far. Let’s play the clip.
Okay.
I think that’s all we need to do with this particular filter.
Okay. Now we’re going to need to make that transition look a little bit more gradual
so that it looks more realistic. So right now this is what it looks like. It’s a
little harsh. Especially when it gets to these parts here. It doesn’t really look
like the bokeh light is growing. So we’re going to need to load another filter.
And that filter is opacity.
Opacity basically controls how transparent or opaque
that file or whatever you select it is. So let’s go right here in the middle.
So right now it’s at 100% opacity. Which means that is 100% opaque.
And if we go to 0% opacity that means it’s at 100% transparency. And then 50% opacity
is 50% transparency. So as I move it up and down
you notice the transparency gets more and more transparent or more and more opaque.
And so what we want to do is we want to start this one here at the lowest opacity.
Get to this midpoint here. Get to 100% opacity. Then go back here.
And again at a low opacity. So
the one thing that’s guaranteed is we know that by the time it gets to the middle
it needs to be at 100% opacity. So this is what we’re going to lock down. So while
this cursor is right at this midpoint where we want it to be 100% let’s lock that down with a keyframe.
So that’s locked down. Now while we’re in the keyframe section let’s then go to the very beginning
and let’s drop that opacity down all the way down. Let’s say 10%.
And so right now this is what that looks like.
See now it’s becoming more and more gradual. We can actually look at each individual step. So
20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100. Okay.
Seems pretty gradual and we want to do the same thing
in the second part here but in reverse. And so all we have to do is go to the very end of this one
here. Go to the keyframes. Actually let’s go one step before that and let’s set this to 10%.
So it went from 10%, 100%, 10% again. And so this is what that looks like.
And that folks is pretty much how to do the bokeh lights transition.
Let’s play at the very beginning. It’s a really short clip anyway. Let’s play it so you get the full effect.
These are large files so there’s a little bit of a jutter. So what I’m going to do is I’m going to
export this for you. So this is 75% which is what I usually set it to. And I’m going to export the
file. Let’s call it bokeh. Just wait for this to process which is pretty quick.
So there it is. The bokeh light transition.
I just wanted to remind you that if you haven’t yet go visit my channel.
I’m sure you’ll find tons of Shotcut related videos.
And don’t forget to subscribe so that you know when I drop a new Shotcut related tutorial.
Every video on my channel was done on Shotcut. So aside from examples of what Shotcut can do,
you can also visit my playlist of tips and tutorials. All geared toward the beginner.
Visit my Shotcut tips and tricks playlist and learn all the tips and tricks I’ve learned during
my journey toward video editing. So once again please subscribe and I’ll see you next time.
