A Step-by-step Guide to Creating Instagram Transitions in Reels (with 5 examples)
Instagram Reels are a great way to show off your creativity and entertain your customers. But what if you want to make your Reels even more engaging and impressive?
Adding transitions is a great way to do just that. They can make your Reels more visually appealing and highlight the video’s key points.
Basically, transitions can level up your short-form videos and encourage potential customers to watch your videos longer.
The main purpose of transitions on Instagram and TikTok is to connect two different videos into one creation seamlessly. Most of the time, the tone or subject of the video changes when the video transitions from the “before” to the “after.”
There are many creative ways to use Reels transitions in your videos. Maybe you’ve seen videos where someone is in their PJs, and then the video transitions to them in their work clothing, or maybe the video transitions between before and after a makeup reveal. I also love the transitions that show people in bed and then being on vacation.
Creating these types of Reels takes a lot of practice and time. More importantly, shooting these before-and-after transition videos takes a creative mindset.
Some of the most engaging examples aren’t filmed on the same day. Instead, you can record these videos over different days—sometimes even years.
There are two ways to record videos for Instagram transitions: you can use Instagram's built-in tools or you can use videos you create with your phone/camera (okay, there are three methods if you count using another app, but I haven't done this yet).
In this article, I want to show you how to add transitions to your Reels from videos you’ve already created. *Here is a blog post about how to use the Instagram app to create Reel transitions for your short-form videos.
How to create evergreen Instagram Reels transitions for your short-form videos:
1. Schedule time to create mass B-roll footage for videos. Film a variety of short videos of you working and hanging out. You can shoot "before" videos of yourself before getting ready in the morning (short clips of you looking tired, waking up, yawning, etc.). Then shoot the "after" footage of you all put together and working hard. This will make it easier to create Reels in the future because you'll have a lot of content to choose from.
One key to transitioning between videos is ending the "before" videos with something over the camera lens, and starting your "after" videos with something in front of your lens again. You can align the videos when you're editing and they'll flow seamlessly. You can use your hand, clothing, foot, or an object, like a book or even a glass of wine. Get creative! You don’t always need to have something covering the lens; it just makes for a smooth transition.
Here’s a tutorial for a vacation transition from @TheReelsCoach (they share a LOT of examples on their Instagram page, so definitely check them out).
For an easy way to get started with Instagram Transitions in Reels, you can also simply move within the frame, see this video for an example:
2. Save all of your videos to the same place. This could be a saved Reels folder on your Instagram or TikTok app (be careful not to sign out of your account because you may lose all the work you did), in your camera roll, or even in Dropbox or Google Drive.
3. Choose your Reel transition videos. Go through your footage and select the best before and after videos. Usually, you want the videos to be around 4-10 seconds each, but you can make them shorter or longer depending on the video. Pro tip: always shoot your B-roll LONGER than you need. You can always trim it down, but you can't add more if you didn't record enough.
Here is a video from Drake’s Brewing in the East Bay. I love how simple their Instagram transitions are when switching up each person. A video like this could easily be shot over a course of a few days with employees and edited together.
4. Find the audio you want to use. If you want to use your own audio, ensure it's high quality. Sometimes you want to create your videos based on what others are doing with the same audio, though. You can often find trending audio of songs or dialogue on Instagram Reels that you can use for your video. When you do that, I recommend creating those video transitions within the app itself. That way, you can sync up what you are doing with the audio.
This clip from Tank Winery in Calistoga (named one of my favorite wineries to follow for their Instagram Reels) is a great example of using traditions and short clips to accompany trending audio.
5. Add your short video clips to your Reel. Edit your videos down to the best parts. When you're editing, try to focus on short, punchy clips that are easy to understand. You don't want your Reel to be too busy or confusing. You'll need to select two clips that you want to use for your transition. Make sure the clips are similar in length, content, and overall aesthetic. Then you can line up the two clips with each other. Make sure that there are no gaps or spaces between them, and keep the end of the first clip and the beginning of the second clip very quick.
Show off steps behind the scenes of how you make your products with Instagram Reels like this pizza place in NYC:
6. Preview your transition video to see how it looks. If you're happy with the results, simply add a caption and some text, and save or share your Reel!
Adding transitions to your Instagram Reels is a great way to make them more engaging and polished. By following the steps above, you can easily add transitions that will take your Reels to the next level!
