> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.descript.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Visual and Audio Effects Overview > Descript has a variety of audio and video effects to help clean up sound, enhance visuals, or add stylized polish to your content. Descript's effects come in two kinds: audio effects that clean up and shape sound, and visual effects that enhance or stylize the picture. For step-by-step instructions on adding, adjusting, or removing effects, see [Applying and adjusting effects](/effects-animations-transitions/apply-adjust). ## How effect order works Descript processes effects **from top to bottom** in the order they appear in the **Properties panel**. This order can affect how your audio or video sounds and looks. For example, placing **Reverb before EQ** will sound different than placing **EQ before Reverb**. You can reorder effects anytime by dragging them up or down in the panel. **Note:** Effect order only matters for effects stacked on the same layer or region. Effects on different tracks are processed independently. ## Visual effects Visual effects can be applied to individual [layers](/visuals/working-with-layers-and-clips-overview) or to entire [scenes](/getting-started/scenes): * **Layer-level effects** apply only to the selected layer. * **Scene-level effects** apply to all visuals within that scene. * Visual effects are scene-specific. If a clip spans multiple scenes, apply the effect to each scene or use the **All scenes** toggle in the scene editor. The table below describes each visual effect, including what it does, which settings you can adjust, and where to learn more. For effects with additional options or usage tips, click the **Learn more** links. | Visual effect | Description | Settings & Parameters | More Info | | -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Ascii** | Renders the video as a grid of text characters, brighter areas using sparser characters and darker areas using denser ones. | - **Color mode**: Toggle between Mono (monochrome) and Source (original colors) - **Mono color**: Custom color used when Color mode is set to Mono - **Transparent background**: Toggle to make the character background transparent - **Background color**: Custom color used when Transparent background is off - **Grid size**: Scale of the character grid | – | | **Blur** | Applies a soft blur to the selected visual layer. Does not affect other layers. | - **Amount**: Adjust blur intensity | – | | **Blur speaker background** | Applies depth-of-field blur behind the subject to reduce distractions. | - **Amount**: Adjust blur intensity | [Learn more](/effects-animations-transitions/blur-speaker-background) | | **Center active speaker (beta)** | Automatically reframes your video around whoever's speaking without manually cropping the frame or adding scenes. | **–** | [Learn more](/visuals/center-active-speaker) | | **Chroma key** | Removes a solid-colored background (like green or blue) from your video. | - **Color**: Choose the key color - **Similarity**: Strength of removal - **Smoothness / Spill**: Blend edges and clean up borders | – | | **Color adjustments** | Modify exposure, contrast, temperature, saturation, and tint to refine your visuals. | - **Exposure**: Brightness - **Contrast**: Light vs. dark separation - **Temperature**: Warmth or coolness - **Saturation**: Color intensity | [Learn more](/effects-animations-transitions/color-adjustments) | | **Color tone** | Converts video to monochrome and tints it with custom colors. Defaults to a sepia look. | - **Highlight**: Color used to tint lighter areas - **Shadow**: Color used to tint darker areas | – | | **Eye Contact** | Uses AI to simulate eye contact by adjusting gaze direction toward the camera. | – | [Learn more](/effects-animations-transitions/eye-contact) | | **Film grain** | Adds a grainy, analog texture for a vintage or cinematic look. | - **Amount**: Grain intensity | – | | **Glass blur** | Uses the selected layer as a mask to blur content beneath it with a frosted-glass effect. | - **Amount**: Adjust blur intensity | [Learn more](/effects-animations-transitions/glass-blur) | | **Green Screen** | Removes your background using AI—ideal for talking heads and recorded calls. | – | [Learn more](/effects-animations-transitions/green-screen) | | **Invert** | Inverts the colors of the layer for a film-negative look. | **–** | – | | **Pixelate** | Applies a blocky, pixelated effect for style or light obfuscation. | - **Size**: Pixel block size | – | | **Portrait Lighting** | Keeps the main subject lit while dimming the background, so they stand out in the foreground. | - **Strength**: Overall intensity of the effect - **Foreground brightness**: Brightness applied to the subject - **Background brightness**: Brightness applied to the background | – | | **Selective color** | Keeps a selected color in the video and converts everything else to black and white. | - **Hue**: Color to keep - **Hue range**: Range of hues to preserve - **Hue feather**: Softness of the edge between color and grayscale | – | | **Shadows** | Adds a soft drop shadow behind elements for separation or visual depth. | - **X / Y**: Horizontal and vertical offset - **Blur**: Shadow edge softness - **Color**: Shadow color and opacity | – | | **Threshold** | Converts the image to pure black and white based on brightness for a high-contrast graphic look. | - **Threshold**: Brightness cutoff between black and white - **Feather**: Softness of the transition | – | | **Uplighting** | Automatically brightens the whole video for low-light footage. | - **Strength**: Overall intensity of the brightening - **Foreground brightness**: Brightness applied to the subject - **Background brightness**: Brightness applied to the background | – | | **VHS** | Adds a retro analog-tape look with softening and noise. | - **Strength**: Overall effect strength - **Softness**: Blurriness, simulating reduced bandwidth - **Color noise**: Per-pixel noise and tape grain - **Sharpening**: Enhances edge detail and boosts color saturation, especially on skin tones | – | | **Vignette** | Darkens the edges of the frame to focus attention on the center. | - **Strength**: How dark the edges become - **Roundness**: Vignette shape from oval to circle - **Center X / Y**: Position of the focal point - **Feather**: Softness of the transition | – | | **Zoom blur** | Creates radial motion blur centered around a focal point—adds energy to visuals. | - **Amount**: Blur strength - **Center X / Y**: Origin point for blur | – | ## Audio effects Audio effects apply to script layers or sequence tracks and persist across all scenes the layer appears in: * Audio effects can't be applied to [scenes](/getting-started/scenes). They must be added to specific [media layers](/visuals/working-with-layers-and-clips-overview) or [sequence tracks](/script-editing/sequence-editor). * To apply effects to a specific voice or recording, use the [Sequence Editor](/script-editing/sequence-editor). * **Studio Sound works differently:** it's applied directly to the original media file and enhances the entire source. The table below describes each audio effect. For effects with additional options or usage tips, click the **Learn more** links. | Audio effect | Description | Settings & Parameters | More Info | | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Studio Sound** | AI-powered cleanup for voice; removes noise, echo, and enhances clarity. | - **Intensity**: Controls level of noise suppression | [Learn more](/effects-animations-transitions/studio-sound) | | **Compressor** | Reduces volume differences between loud and soft audio. | - **Presets**: Choose from saved configurations - **Threshold**: When compression starts - **Ratio**: How strongly it's applied - **Attack**: How fast compression engages - **Release**: How fast compression disengages - **Knee**: Smooth vs. sharp transition - **Input**: Visual meter showing input signal level - **Reduction**: Visual meter showing compression amount applied | – | | **Limiter** | Caps volume peaks to prevent distortion—ideal for mastering. | - **Ceiling**: Max volume allowed - **Threshold**: When limiting begins - **Release**: Duration after the spike - **Input**: This shows the input level of your audio before passing through the limiter. - **Reduction**: This shows how much the limiter is reducing your audio’s volume. | – | | **Lower audio of other layers** | Lowers background audio when speech is detected on the script layer. | - **Amount**: How much to reduce other audio | [Learn more](/effects-animations-transitions/lower-other-audio) | | **Equalizer (EQ)** | 5-band parametric EQ for precise frequency shaping and tonal control. | - **Presets**: Choose from saved EQ configurations - **5 frequency bands:** Each with Frequency (Hz), Gain (dB), and Width controls | – | | **Graphic EQ** | Visual equalizer with 10 frequency bands for precise audio shaping. | - **Presets**: Choose from saved EQ configurations - **Frequency bands:** 10 individual sliders (31.25 Hz to 16 kHz) | – | | **High shelf EQ** | Boosts or cuts all frequencies above a specified point. | - **Presets**: Choose from pre-made EQ configurations - **Frequency**: Cutoff point where effect begins - **Gain**: Amount of boost or cut | – | | **High-pass filter** | Removes frequencies below a set point to eliminate rumble and low-end noise. | - **Presets**: Choose from saved filter configurations - **Frequency**: Cutoff point | – | | **Low shelf EQ** | Boosts or cuts all frequencies below a specified point. | - **Presets**: Choose from saved filter configurations - **Frequency**: Cutoff point | – | | **Low-pass filter** | Removes frequencies above a set point to reduce hiss and high-frequency noise. | - **Presets**: Choose from saved filter configurations - **Frequency**: Cutoff point | – | | **Reverb** | Adds room-like echo and space to dry recordings. | - **Presets**: Choose from saved reverb configurations - **Mix**: Wet/dry blend - **Width**: Stereo spread - **Damping**: Bright vs. warm tone - **Room size**: Small vs. large environment - **Pre-delay**: Delay before reverb starts - **Low Cut**: Removes rumble from effect | – | | **Bitcrusher** | Creates a lo-fi, digital effect by lowering resolution. | - **Presets**: Choose from saved bitcrusher configurations - **Bit Depth**: Controls digital resolution - **Frequency**: Reduces audio fidelity for lo-fi digital distortion | – | | **Distortion** | Adds overdrive or fuzz for stylized audio. | - **Presets**: Choose from distortion presets - **Gain**: Output level control - **Drive**: Distortion amount - **Bass**: Low frequency control - **Treble**: High frequency control - **Distortion** A/B: Toggle different distortion circuits - **Cabinet simulations**: Marshall, ADA, and V-Twin preamp options | – | | **Flanger** | Adds a sweeping, jet engine–like motion to audio. | - **Presets**: Choose from flanger presets - **Mix**: Intensity of effect - **Depth**: Delay time modulation depth - **LFO**: Modulation rate in beats - **Tempo**: BPM for tempo sync - **Mode**: Stereo or mono processing | – | ## Known limitations A few effect combinations and behaviors are worth knowing about: * **Some effects replace everything below them.** Effects like **Threshold** override the layer beneath them rather than blending with it. If you don't see other effects applying as expected, check whether a replacement-style effect is sitting above them in the stack. * **Ascii combined with Shadows can look broken.** This is a known rendering interaction. Apply one or the other for the cleanest result. * **Stacking Portrait Lighting and Uplighting can produce uneven results.** Combining them can look unnatural. Try one at a time and adjust the strength before reaching for the other.