Also known as FADE IN: · FADE OUT. · FADE TO BLACK
Classic bookend transitions: FADE IN: opens a script (or sequence); FADE OUT. or FADE TO BLACK ends it. They mark soft boundaries rather than hard cuts.
On the page
Fade
FADE IN:
FADE OUT.
FADE IN: at the top of a draft is industry habit — many readers expect it, and software often inserts it. FADE OUT. (or FADE TO BLACK.) closes the story with a deliberate settle instead of an abrupt CUT TO. Mid-script fades can signal time, memory, or a chapter break, but stacking them every few pages dilutes the effect.
Modern specs vary: some skip FADE IN entirely and open on the first scene heading; others keep the ritual. What matters more than orthodoxy is consistency and meaning. If every act ends with FADE TO BLACK, ask whether you needed a softer landing or were avoiding writing a sharper cut that actually turns the story.
Do not confuse a fade with CONTINUOUS or LATER — those are time-of-day cues on headings, not optical transitions. When you experiment with title cards, crawls, or blackouts between chapters, keep the surrounding scenes clear so production never mistakes a stylistic fade for a missing slugline.
Many professional drafts still open with FADE IN:, but plenty of modern specs start on the first scene heading. Follow the expectation of your target readers; consistency beats superstition.
In practice they are close cousins. FADE TO BLACK names the destination; FADE OUT. is the classic close. Use one form consistently rather than inventing a third synonym mid-draft.
Yes when the soft transition is the point — memory, elegy, a chapter hinge. If you only need a hard scene change, a new heading (and an occasional CUT TO:) is usually cleaner.
Not by default. Act breaks live in story turns. Optical fades are optional punctuation; overusing them trains readers to expect a commercial bumper instead of a narrative pivot.
