Transitions in film are extremely important. They are vital. They are used to connect one scene to another. They are also used to show a passing of time or possibly convey some sort of message to the audience. A lot of times, it allows one scene to evolve into another. This is less jarring to the audience and naturally guides their focus onto the next series of events that is about to take place without causing as much confusion as to where and when the new place in question may be.
There are many different types of transitions that can be used. Personally, I tend to use cross-dissolve, wipe, push, and zoom the most when I am editing with Premiere Pro at work. There are so many different ones to choose from. They don’t have to be the cut and dried preset transitions in editing software either. As you saw in the example video from the film “Highlander”, they can be a little more creative and tailor-made.
I feel that the use of transitions is so widely accepted as the norm that if they were left out in certain situations, it would stand out like a sore thumb to most members of the audience.