Add transitions between clips

Place a standard cross-dissolve between the two A-roll clips on V1 and extend it to 12 frames. Ensure the dissolve applies equally to the video and any linked audio if required by the director, then play back the transition at full speed to check for an audio dip or abrupt level change.

Before finalizing transitions for approval, make them easy to evaluate: surface transitions’ durations next to the cut, show a quick before/after render of the first three seconds through the dissolve, and flag where a dissolve would hide a continuity error versus where a straight cut is stronger.

I added a 12-frame cross-dissolve and it visually softened the cut, but the L-cut audio now feels like it ducks awkwardly mid-phrase. The producer wants smoothness but audible continuity. Is the transition length the likely culprit or should I switch to overlap audio manually and keep a straight cut on video? What’s the best fix that preserves both sightlines and dialogue flow?

I keep defaulting to cross-dissolves to cover jumps and then getting notes that the edits feel soft and lazy. I waste time toggling durations later. What habit should I change — a stricter drafting stage, or a checklist asking when a dissolve is truly editorially justified — to stop over-relying on transitions as a crutch?