Adding Overdub to your script

There are two ways you can use Overdub in Descript:

• Generating speech from scratch
• Correcting your recordings

Write Overdub audio from scratch (text-to-speech)

Before getting started, create a project or open an existing one.

1. Enter Write mode

Write your script from scratch using Overdub audio in Write mode, which is one of three script modes in Descript. To enable Write mode:

1. Press W, choose Write mode in the top left corner of the script, or simply choose Start writing in a blank project. Keep in mind that no AI audio will be generated until you add a speaker label to your script.
2. You'll know Write mode is enabled when the  Write icon appears in the top corner, and there is a blue border around your script editor.

2. Apply speaker label

Speaker labels are used to distinguish between speakers in your script, and to generate Overdub audio.

1. Type the shortcut @ into your script, or click the + button on a script line and choose Speaker label.
2. Choose one of the Overdub voices from the Create from Voice list. You can choose a custom Overdub voice, or scroll down and choose one of our high-quality stock voices.

This will do two things:

• Create a speaker label for your project
• Link an Overdub voice to that speaker label

You can further manage speaker labels in a project by clicking a speaker label, then clicking  Settings in the speaker label dropdown menu.

3. Type or copy + paste in your script

Now start creating! As you type, Descript will begin generating the Overdub audio of the assigned voice. You can even create a full dialogue by using your Overdub voice (if you've create a custom AI voice), or one of our stock voices.

Copy + pasting in an existing script

• Some text formatting may not be supported in Descript
• If it is a long script, we recommend copy and pasting the script into smaller sections.

While you type, you'll see blue text with a dotted underline. This means your Overdub audio is processing. Once the underline is gone and an Overdub audio clip appears in the timeline, you'll be able to hear and edit your AI-generated audio during playback.

Editing with Overdub (replace existing audio with Overdub)

Before getting started, make sure to create a project or open an existing project.

1. Get audio or video into Descript

You'll need to add some audio or video into your script and transcribe it. There are two main ways to do this:

• Import and automatically transcribe an existing recording
• Record and transcribe directly in Descript

2. Add a speaker label

Speaker labels are used to distinguish between speakers in your script, and to generate Overdub audio. If you did not add a speaker label when importing a file or recording, you'll need to add a speaker label and assign an Overdub voice to it before you can start using Overdub.

1. Type the shortcut @ on a new line in the script, or click the + button and choose Speaker label.
2. Click Settings in the dropdown
3. Add a speaker label name and assign an Overdub voice to it

This will do two things:

• Create a speaker label for your project
• Link an Overdub voice to that speaker label, so any time you choose to replace existing audio with Overdub, Descript will use that voice to generate a correction

You can further manage speaker labels and linked Overdub voices by clicking the  Settings in the speaker label dropdown menu.

3. Edit your recording

With your speaker label and assigned Overdub voice, you can start using Overdub to make corrections.

1. Highlight a word or phrase you want to replace
2. Press the D or choose Replace > Overdub in the selection toolbar.
3. Type the word you want to generate, type Return (Mac) or Enter, or press the Overdub button.
4. Your text will turn blue with a dotted underline. This means your Overdub audio is processing. Once the underline is gone, you'll be able to hear your AI-generated audio.