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Scenes overview

Descript editor with red rectangles hightlight scenes in a composition

The concept of scenes

Before we get into how scenes work, it’s important to note that, to get the most out of Descript, you kind of need to rewire your brain — especially if you’ve worked in other video editors before.

In tools like iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Premiere, or Camtasia, you do most of your editing in a timeline. But in Descript, you’re hardly going to touch the timeline. Instead, you’ll use the script and scenes to edit your video. The script works like a word doc. Scenes work like slides in a presentation tool, like PowerPoint or Keynote.

Getting your head around these concepts is key to learning the new Descript. Holding them in your mind will help you understand everything that follows on this page.  

What are scenes?

Scenes work like slides in a presentation. They allow you to divide your composition into discrete segments and then add visual elements like titles or overlays. Basically, you’ll add a scene anytime you want to change the visuals in your composition.

Scenes are not included in audio-only composition

For content that doesn't need video, you can set the composition to be audio-only. These compositions will not contain any scenes. Learn more about audio-only compositions.

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