user16370: I'm a software engineer but as the junior member on the team I was tasked with making a looping demo for our product that will be played continuously at an upcoming convention.  The video is not only an advertisement for our software but also for some of the hardware platforms that it runs on, so I have to introduce a number of products and logos.
After a month of working on this I've trimmed and snipped down to a tight 4 minutes, but some transitions between clips and stills just feel off to me.  I've tried a one-size-fits-all-but-not-really with "Cross Dissolve".  I've also tried a spectrum of slides, wipes and dissolves but it feels like someone's PowerPoint presentation from the late 90's (minus the stock sound effects).  Does this community have any guidelines that they follow when creating transitions in their own projects?

user6031: Use cuts for most all transitions. Some exceptions...
Use transitions which convey a meaning: 

A clockwise wipe indicates the passage of time.
Dreamy blur (with harp music) for a daydream sequence.
Cross dissolve for gentle moments/sensitive topics.

One absolute exception: When doing a kids video (made for kids), add plenty of silly transitions. The more obnoxious the better. Dinosaur transition, use it. Shark transition, use it. Volcano transition, use it. They'll love it.

user1950: The least noticeable transition is a cut. Any transition, even a dissolve takes some time and draws attention to itself to some extent. That means a transition (and here I'm using transition to mean anything else but a hard cut) becomes part of the story that you're telling. 
For example a dissolve would seem at first glimpse to be a way of merging two shots, but it actually has the effect of separating them, implying that the second shot is occurring later or at a different location; it's a bit like the box in the corner of a comic frame saying "meanwhile…" or "later…". Other transitions draw even more attention to themselves and become part of the look and content of the film. Don't use them just because they look cool, they have to be motivated by the story you're trying to tell if they're not going to look like they've been hot-glued on.
The problem is that cuts can also be noticeable. Any cut from one shot to a similar shot, e.g. two similarly framed shots of an interview subject, will jump - it's called a jump cut. Counter intuitively the way to make a cut less apparent is to make the two shots it separates different from each other. So if you want to cut two shots of the same subject together you go from a close to a wide or vice versa. Another way to motivate a cut is with movement. Matching movement within the frame will often sell a cut that wouldn't work with static content. Entrances and exits to the frame likewise will motivate a cut.
There has been a lot of study done about this; basically what I'm describing is the craft of editing - as opposed to knowing how to use editing software which lots of people mistake for being the same thing. Edward Dmytric's On Film Editing is a good read, as are Walter Murch's books particularly In the Blink of An Eye

user6273: A while back I ran some introductory video editing workshops. I used to tell the participants about a particularly cool effect that I once found in Pinnacle; it was a pinhata that came swinging into the first video along with a stick that hit the second video out of it and it unfolded across the screen.
The point of this anecdote is the following: Don't use transition presets. Like, at all. Sure it looks cool in the preview reel, but all those fancy swipes, wipes, slides et c. are just distracting and ugly. Of course it depends on what kind of video you're making, but I would always try if it works with no transitions at all first (i.e. hardcuts). If it doesn't, maybe try a simple, short cross dissolve (like, 0.5 seconds max) or maybe a dip to black. But keep your hands off all the other transition presets. 
My rules of thumb are the following:

Don't use transitions.
If you have to use transitions, use as little as possible and be consistent. 

The second point is particularly important, even if you're a fan of transitions. Be consistent with (a) what type of transition you use and (b) when you use them. For example, if you use a transition to visually seperate two scenes for the first half of your movie and then suddenly start using a transition for every cut in a scene, it's confusing and distracting. And if you drop different transitions every time, it looks like a crappy Youtube AMV made by a 12 year old. 
For example, watch Star Wars (the prequels). They use those swipes and slides with soft borders all over the place. I don't really like those, but at least they're consistent with it. 

but some transitions between clips and stills just feel off to me

This may be opinionated, but in my experience a transition looks weird as soon as you notice it. The best possible transition is the one you don't notice, because a transition is a tool to better tell your story, not a story element itself. And the easiest way to have a transition that you don't notice is to not use one at all.

16370: <p>I'm a software engineer but as the junior member on the team I was tasked with making a looping demo for our product that will be played continuously at an upcoming convention.  The video is not only an advertisement for our software but also for some of the hardware platforms that it runs on, so I have to introduce a number of products and logos.</p>

<p>After a month of working on this I've trimmed and snipped down to a tight 4 minutes, but some transitions between clips and stills just feel <em>off</em> to me.  I've tried a one-size-fits-all-but-not-really with "Cross Dissolve".  I've also tried a spectrum of slides, wipes and dissolves but it feels like someone's PowerPoint presentation from the late 90's (minus the stock sound effects).  Does this community have any guidelines that they follow when creating transitions in their own projects?</p>
 6031: <p>Use cuts for most all transitions. Some exceptions...</p>

<p>Use transitions which convey a meaning: </p>

<ul>
<li>A clockwise wipe indicates the passage of time.</li>
<li>Dreamy blur (with harp music) for a daydream sequence.</li>
<li>Cross dissolve for gentle moments/sensitive topics.</li>
</ul>

<p>One absolute exception: When doing a kids video (made for kids), add plenty of silly transitions. The more obnoxious the better. Dinosaur transition, use it. Shark transition, use it. Volcano transition, use it. They'll love it.</p>
 1950: <p>The least noticeable transition is a cut. Any transition, even a dissolve takes some time and draws attention to itself to some extent. That means a transition (and here I'm using transition to mean anything else but a hard cut) becomes part of the story that you're telling. </p>

<p>For example a dissolve would seem at first glimpse to be a way of merging two shots, but it actually has the effect of separating them, implying that the second shot is occurring later or at a different location; it's a bit like the box in the corner of a comic frame saying "meanwhile…" or "later…". Other transitions draw even more attention to themselves and become part of the look and content of the film. Don't use them just because they look cool, they have to be motivated by the story you're trying to tell if they're not going to look like they've been hot-glued on.</p>

<p>The problem is that cuts can also be noticeable. Any cut from one shot to a similar shot, e.g. two similarly framed shots of an interview subject, will jump - it's called a jump cut. Counter intuitively the way to make a cut less apparent is to make the two shots it separates <em>different</em> from each other. So if you want to cut two shots of the same subject together you go from a close to a wide or vice versa. Another way to motivate a cut is with movement. Matching movement within the frame will often sell a cut that wouldn't work with static content. Entrances and exits to the frame likewise will motivate a cut.</p>

<p>There has been a lot of study done about this; basically what I'm describing is the craft of editing - as opposed to knowing how to use editing software which lots of people mistake for being the same thing. Edward Dmytric's <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0240517385" rel="nofollow"><em>On Film Editing</em></a> is a good read, as are Walter Murch's books particularly <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1879505622" rel="nofollow"><em>In the Blink of An Eye</em></a></p>
 6273: <p>A while back I ran some introductory video editing workshops. I used to tell the participants about a particularly cool effect that I once found in Pinnacle; it was a pinhata that came swinging into the first video along with a stick that hit the second video out of it and it unfolded across the screen.</p>

<p>The point of this anecdote is the following: <strong>Don't use transition presets</strong>. Like, at all. Sure it looks cool in the preview reel, but all those fancy swipes, wipes, slides et c. are just distracting and ugly. Of course it depends on what kind of video you're making, but I would always try if it works with no transitions at all first (i.e. hardcuts). If it doesn't, maybe try a simple, short cross dissolve (like, 0.5 seconds max) or maybe a dip to black. But keep your hands off all the other transition presets. </p>

<p>My rules of thumb are the following:</p>

<ol>
<li>Don't use transitions.</li>
<li>If you have to use transitions, use as little as possible and <strong>be consistent</strong>. </li>
</ol>

<p>The second point is particularly important, even if you're a fan of transitions. Be consistent with (a) what type of transition you use and (b) when you use them. For example, if you use a transition to visually seperate two scenes for the first half of your movie and then suddenly start using a transition for every cut in a scene, it's confusing and distracting. And if you drop different transitions every time, it looks like a crappy Youtube AMV made by a 12 year old. </p>

<p>For example, watch Star Wars (the prequels). They use those swipes and slides with soft borders all over the place. I don't really like those, but at least they're consistent with it. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>but some transitions between clips and stills just feel off to me</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This may be opinionated, but in my experience a transition looks weird as soon as you notice it. The best possible transition is the one you don't notice, because a transition is a tool to better tell your story, not a story element itself. And the easiest way to have a transition that you don't notice is to not use one at all.</p>
