Dissolve from black (or white) to the scene. Opposite of Fade Out, and regularly (though not always) occurs after such. Often, the very first instruction in a script or screenplay.
Don't confuse with Fade Forward.
Examples:
Anime & Manga
- City Hunter: All four seasons of the anime plus a couple of the movies use the musical variation. At the end of every episode, the ending theme slowly fades in as the action and dialog come to a close – the scene itself stops on a still frame before cutting to the ending animation the moment the music intro ends and the first verse starts.
- The Daichis - Earth's Defense Family: In the alternative episode 11, the screen fades in from black when showing a flashback of Seiko proposing to get married by Mamoru in a bar. This is the scene after the screen fade to-black right before the divine chain keyhole fills up the screen.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Each Story Arc begins with a fade-in from black to showcase the introduction before having the main title appear on the screen.
Films — Animation
- Turning Red: There is a fade in to a sunrise after the scene of Mei and Ming driving away from Tyler's birthday party Fades to Black.
Live-Action TV
- Interview with the Vampire (2022):
- "Is My Very Nature That of a Devil" begins with a black screen which then Dissolves into a scene with Lestat de Lioncourt and Louis de Pointe du Lac reading on a park bench at Jackson Square.
- "What Can the Damned Really Say to the Damned" starts with a black screen before dissolving into a bird's eye view of a winding dirt road surrounded by a snowy landscape riddled with the debris of war vehicles/equipment, some of which are on fire.
- "Do You Know What It Means to Be Loved by Death": The black screen after the Episode Title Card dissolves into a close-up of the Fame Restraining Pegasus statue at the Pont Alexandre III in Paris.
Music
- "Turn to Stone" from Electric Light Orchestra's Out of the Blue starts by fading into the middle of a synth solo.
- Metallica's Kill 'Em All Album opener "Hit the Lights" begins with a riff fading in from silence.
- The Supremes' "Come See About Me" fades up on its opening drum beats, making it the first hit pop song to use that technique.
- Tears for Fears: "The Tipping Point
" music video starts with a black screen which then gradually illuminates to reveal a vase with red roses on a table.
- An obscure 1961 instrumental, "Green Grass of Texas" by The Texans,note opens with a guitar playing a solo at about half-volume, then slowly fades up for about 30 seconds as the rest of the band joins in. The song spent a single week on the Billboard Hot 100 at #100, and may well be the Ur-Example of this trope for a song that made the charts.
Video Games
- 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel: The transition from the menu to a match, a puzzle, or the credits, or the other way around, uses a fade in.
- ANNO: Mutationem: Several cutscenes consist of starting with a fade-in transition before resuming gameplay onwards.
- So uh, a spaceship crashed in my yard.: This is how the game transitions from a scene showing Mark walking into his house to a scene with ARIA's spaceship. First the scene with Mark does a Fade to Black before showing the ship.
Western Animation
- Looney Tunes: In "Hare We Go", this is used for a Gilligan Cut. Bugs announces to the crew that they reach land tomorrow, after hearing it from Chris. There is then a Fade Out and then a Title In reading Weeks Later No Land in Sight, followed by the enraged crew chasing Bugs all over the ship.