GlossaryPage elements
Transition
Also: CUT TO · DISSOLVE TO
A transition is an uppercase cue — "CUT TO:", "DISSOLVE TO:", "SMASH CUT TO:" — that marks how one scene gives way to the next. Set flush right, transitions signal an edit. Modern spec scripts use them lightly, since a hard cut between scenes is already implied.
Transitions describe the editorial join between scenes. "CUT TO:" is the default and is now usually omitted, because the next slugline already implies a cut. Stylised transitions — "DISSOLVE TO:", "MATCH CUT TO:", "SMASH CUT TO:" — are kept for moments where the join itself carries meaning.
Transitions are typed in uppercase, flush right, with a colon. "FADE IN:" opens a script flush left; "FADE OUT." closes it.