How to create Fade In and Fade Out effects in After Effects

Mastering how to fade in After Effects will be one of the most valuable lessons you can learn. You’ll use it in nearly every project, whether transitioning between clips or gently fading the music. Using fade effects will make your editing cleaner and more professional, too.

In this blog, Motion Array will show you 3 different types of fade: in videos, elements, and audio tracks. Let’s dive in.

Why is the fade in After Effects so powerful?

What makes the fade in After Effects and other video editing programs so powerful? In short, it’s really versatile! It also helps with the story, pacing, and final look.

Fades prevent jarring cuts, making your work look expertly polished. They can also show time and places passing, or shift tones and moods, helping the audience understand the story better.

Fades are used to sync audio transitions with the video so that changes in music or sound effects match the visuals. They also blend out shots, hiding small differences in color or lighting. You can use them to control pacing or balance the energy in scenes. But they’re not used just for practical reasons, either.

Fades enhance the emotions of a scene. For example, a slow Fade Out can evoke finality or sadness, while a slow Fade In builds anticipation. Instead of cutting from one scene to another, fades allow for more subtle shifts, letting the weight of a scene linger or gently introducing the next. You can use them creatively to show transitions, represent beginnings and endings, or highlight dreams and memories. Editors can use fades with other effects to create unique styles, such as fading to or from a specific color.Overall, the fade is a diverse and impactful tool that enhances a movie or marketing campaign’s narrative, and emotional and visual quality, making it essential in any editor’s toolkit.

Part 1: How to create Fade In and Fade Out transitions in After Effects

To Fade In and Fade Out in After Effects, first open your project. Below, we’ll look at the steps for making a basic fade from scratch. You can get much more creative and add blurs, zooms, and more to your fade effect — or even zoom blurs! But it all starts here.

1. Select the clip you want to fade into and press T on the keyboard.
2. Move the playhead to the clip’s start and click on the stopwatch to set a keyframe.
3. Set the Opacity to 0%.
4. Move the playhead to where you want the Fade In effect to end. Generally, 1 second works well. 
5. Set the Opacity to 100%.

So, that’s Fade In. Let’s look at Fade Out.

1. To Fade Out, move the playhead to where you want the Fade Out to start.
2. Create a new keyframe by clicking on the diamond.
3. Move the playhead to where you want the Fade Out to end. At this set point, the clip will disappear entirely.
4. Set the Opacity to 0%.

Align multiple clips on the timeline so they Fade In and Out of one another. Or keep them separate if you want them to Fade In and Out to black.

Part 2: How to Fade In and Fade Out elements in After Effects

Another way to Fade In and Out of elements in After Effects is to use a preset. This is a quick way of applying a fade, but the trade-off is that you’ll have slightly less control.

1. Go to the Presets menu and search for Fade. You’ll see multiple options in the Behavior section.
2. To apply a preset, simply drag it onto the relevant clip.
3. Fade In Over Layer Below will Fade In a clip over the layer beneath it for the duration of the clip.
4. Fade Out Over Layer Below will do the same, but fade it out.
5. Use the Fade In+Out – Frames and Fade In+Out – msec presets for more control over how long your fade lasts.

Once you’ve applied these presets, you can drop down the Effects panel on the clip in the timeline and choose the number of frames or milliseconds you want the fade to last. You can even make your own transition preset if you want.

Part 3: How to Fade In and Fade Out audio in After Effects

The principle of fading audio in After Effects is the same as with visuals. The difference is that you’ll change the audio track’s levels rather than a video track’s opacity. Before you start editing audio, ensure you’re completely comfortable adding audio to After Effects.

1. Select the audio track you want to fade.
2. Move the playhead to the start of the clip. Click the stopwatch next to Audio Levels to set a keyframe.
3. Set the Levels to 0db.
4. Move the playhead to where you want the Fade In effect to end. Generally, 1 second works well. 
5. Set the Levels to the maximum volume you want.
6. To Fade Out, move the playhead to where you want the fade to start.
7. Create a new keyframe by clicking on the diamond.
8. Move the playhead to where you want the fade to end and the audio to stop completely.
9. Set the Audio Levels to 0db.

Now you know how to fade audio in After Effects, why not try some other cool audio effects?

---

And that’s it! When learning to cut in After Effects, take the time to learn how to Fade In and Out of videos and audio tracks, too. You can manually adjust the opacity of a video or levels of an audio track to Fade In and Out, or you can apply a simple preset to do the work for you. Both are great options. 
Knowing how to fade in After Effects will take your project to new levels. Motion Array has plenty of other tips for After Effects if you need more inspiration.