How to Quickly Fade to Black in Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is a versatile video editor for all of your projects. One cool feature is the ability to add dramatic effects. One of these is a fade to black in Premiere, added to the end of a video clip.
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to fade to black in Premiere Pro. It’s a very easy process that takes only a few seconds. And you can apply this fade to black Premiere effect to any clip that you work with. Knowing how to add fade to black in Premiere Pro helps you end a clip with a punch.
How to Fade to Black in Premiere Pro (Step by Step)
When you work in Adobe Premiere Pro, you’ll often be using unedited footage. By adding a fade to black in Premiere, you’ll close clips with a subtle dramatic effect. Let’s look at how to add a fade in Premiere Pro. It only takes a few quick steps.
To demonstrate, we’ll work with a stock video clip from Envato Elements. Titled Cup of Coffee with Spices and Macaron, you can download it to help you follow along.
Now, let’s look at how to add a black screen in Premiere as a quick fade.
1. Add a Video Clip to the Timeline
To learn how to add black video in Premiere, you’ll first want to choose a clip to work with. Again, we’ll be using the stock footage above, but you can fade to black in Premiere with any footage of your choosing.
Find the Timeline in Premiere Pro. The Timeline is immediately under the Program Monitor, which is the large video preview area. The Timeline shows how multimedia fits into your project. It controls sequence, layering, timing, and more.


To add a clip, browse to a stored video file on your computer. Then, drag and drop it over your Timeline. Placing it on the V1 track, you’ll see it appear. Now, you’re ready to learn how to add fade to black in Premiere Pro.
2. Open the Effects Panel
An Adobe Premiere Pro fade to black is a visual effect. And effects in Premiere can be found on the Effects panel. But it may not always be visible by default. To fade to black in Premiere, we’ll need to open the Effects panel.


To do this, find the Window menu button at the top of your screen. Click to open it. Then, from the list of options on the menu dropdown, choose Effects.
When you click Effects, you’ll see a new sidebar appear on the right side of Premiere Pro. This is the Effects panel. From it, we’ll next see how to add a black screen in Premiere.


3. Apply a Fade to Black in Premiere Pro Effect
Click on your clip in the Timeline. With it selected, navigate to the Effects sidebar. Notice that there are several folders here. The one to use is Video Transitions. Click on its dropdown arrow to expand the contents inside.
Next, open the Dissolve subfolder. Inside are listed several effects. To see how to fade to black in Premiere Pro, choose the effect called Dip to Black.


To add it to your clip, click and drag Dip to Black over the purple video clip in the Timeline. Move your cursor over the end of the clip, and drop the effect into place. Just like that, you’ll see it added!


Now, when you play back a preview of your video, you’ll see a sleek fade to black at the end. This is a subtle, yet dramatic effect! It looks much better than simply cutting off footage without fading.
4. Optional: How to Fade to Black in Premiere Pro at Different Speeds
By default, the Dip to Black effect lasts for one second. In other words, from the start of the effect to full darkness spans this time. But it’s easy to speed up (or slow down) the effect. By doing so, you can control the overall mood of your clip’s end.


To look at how to fade to black in Premiere faster or slower, return to the Timeline. Notice that the fade effect appears as a gray bar on the clip.
With the Selection Tool active, you can click and drag on the left edge of the bar. This changes the duration. Moving to the left slows down the fade, making it take longer. Moving to the right shortens it.
In a few quick steps, you’ve learned how to add a fade in Premiere Pro! As you can see, it’s a simple, yet stunning visual effect that’s amazingly easy to add and edit.
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Think of How to Add a Fade in Premiere Pro Today!
Today, you learned how to fade to black in Premiere Pro. By adding the Dip to Black effect to your favorite video clip, you can quickly enjoy this bit of dramatic flair. It’s as easy as opening the Effects panel and finding the effect right inside.
So, what are you waiting for? Think of how to add a fade in Premiere Pro to your next project. You - and your audience - will enjoy this sleek, easy-to-build effect. Get started today!



