GlossaryPage elements
DISSOLVE TO:
Also: dissolve · cross dissolve
DISSOLVE TO: is a transition where one picture slowly fades into the next, so for a moment both are on screen at once. Writers use it to show time passing or to soften the move between two scenes.
A cut is instant; a dissolve takes a beat. That softness tells the audience something has shifted: hours have gone by, a season has changed, or we are drifting into a memory.
Like other transitions, it sits on the right side of the page in caps. Use it only when the slow blend means something, otherwise a plain new scene heading reads cleaner.
Sam plants the tiny seedling and pats the soil.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. BACKYARD - SUMMER
The seedling is now a tree. Sam reads in its shade.