The simplest special effect during editing is adding a transition between scenes. A Wipe, Starburst, Explode, Fade Out/Fade In are easy ways to add action and visual interest to your home movie or amateur film, while providing a smooth shift to your next scene. For example, one image fades out while the other fades in. This is sometimes done to suggest a time lapse, especially if the transition is slowed down. A transition is applied by dragging your chosen transition icon onto your editing "timeline," where your footage is laid out and sequenced.
A filter places an effect over an entire image. You can do this in Photoshop with a still image or you can add a filter for a duration of time to a video clip. Some filters can blur, sharpen, distort, create a mosaic effect, add or delete color. For example, you can start a clip in black and white, then fade everything to color.
This can take a while to execute, but the stop-motion effect gives a "flip book" or clay-animation feel to your home video. To create this effect, you cut out single frames from your video clip and line up those frames. This effect can suggest a time lapse or, when synchronized to music, can create a pulse or rhythm.
Another cool special effect you often see on the silver screen is changing the speed of video or reversing the direction of video, so it plays in "rewind." People walk backward and spilled milk leaps back into the cup.
This effect requires a bit of preparation during the filming stage. Film your actor against a blue or green drape or sheet. During the editing process, you will be able to cut and paste your actor onto any other scene. This can create great fantasy or comedy shots. Think of the blue-screen scenes in Forrest Gump when Tom Hanks' character improbably met historical figures such as John F. Kennedy. Creating a screen effect is easier than you may think. During editing, you drag your green-screen footage and your background footage onto the timeline, select and apply the "blue-screen smooth" filter to create a composite clip.