Match Cut in Adobe Premiere Pro
So, in Premiere, it’s pretty straightforward once you get the idea. Say I’m cutting from a dude throwing a ball to a car tire spinning—something about the round shape matching up. Here’s how I’d do it:
First, I’d drop both clips into my timeline. Let’s call ‘em Clip A (the ball throw) and Clip B (the tire spin). I’d scrub through Clip A to find the exact frame where the ball’s at its peak—like, right when it’s big and centered in the shot. I’d hit Ctrl + R (or Cmd + R on Mac) to split the clip there, so I’ve got the buildup separate from the rest.
Then I’d jump to Clip B, scrub to where the tire’s spinning and looks kinda similar in size or position to that ball frame. Split that one too, so I’ve got the start of the spin ready to line up. Now, I’d drag the end of Clip A and the start of Clip B so they overlap a tiny bit—like half a second—on the timeline.
Here’s the trick: I’d right-click the overlap, pick “Add Transition > Cross Dissolve,” and tweak it super short, maybe 10 frames, so it’s snappy but smooth. Then I’d zoom in on the timeline (+ key) and nudge the clips with the arrow keys till the ball and tire line up just right in that dissolve. Play it back (Spacebar), and if it feels off, I’d trim a frame or two from either end till it clicks.
Sometimes I’d mess with speed too—like, slow Clip A down a bit (Ctrl + R to time stretch) so the ball hangs longer, matching the tire’s vibe. Oh, and audio—I’d fade out Clip A’s sound and fade in Clip B’s under the transition so it’s not jarring. That’s it, pretty much—looks slick when it works!
Match Cut in After Effects
Now, After Effects is a whole different beast, but I love it for match cuts ‘cause you can get crazy precise. Let’s stick with the ball-to-tire idea. I’d start by importing both clips—File > Import, drop ‘em in the project panel. Then I’d make a new comp—Composition > New Composition, 1920x1080, 30 fps, maybe 5 seconds long, name it “MatchCutTest.”
I’d drag Clip A and Clip B into the timeline, stacking ‘em on separate layers. Clip A on top, Clip B below. Scrub through Clip A, find that sweet spot where the ball’s perfect—hit Alt + ] to trim the layer right there. Then on Clip B, find the tire frame that matches—Alt + [ to trim it from the start. Slide Clip B so it starts right where Clip A ends.
For the transition, I’d overlap them a smidge—like 10 frames. Select Clip A, hit T for opacity, and keyframe it from 100% to 0% over that overlap. On Clip B, do the reverse—0% to 100%. Play it back (Spacebar), and it should fade from ball to tire. But here’s where AE shines: if they don’t match perfect, I’d tweak position or scale. Hit P for position, S for scale, and nudge the tire layer so it lines up with where the ball was. Maybe even rotate it (R) if the angle’s off.
If I’m feeling fancy, I’d add a mask—grab the ellipse tool, draw a circle around the ball, and keyframe the mask path to grow or shrink, blending into the tire. Or throw on a Blur effect (Effects > Blur & Sharpen > Gaussian Blur) and animate the blurriness to hide any rough edges. It’s more work than Premiere, but you can nail it pixel-perfect.