I'm not sure if fades are "special effects",but...
I was wondering how to,let's say,"customize" your fades,generally...make them more versatile.Are there more ways to influence your fades than simply dragging two clips into each other,setting up their duration and such? I've seen lots of fades in videos and those fades are much smoother than what I'm getting from my sofware.Not to sound like a noob here,I do realize that maybe some techniques I saw weren't fades at all,but I still want to know are there more ways to execute a "fade".Does combining them with certain effects do anything?
KEEP IN MIND
My software: Sony Vegas 8.0
I'm interested in "between clip" fading the most.

