When you apply a layout to a scene, Descript does more than just drop in a design—it uses scene structure, layer names, and smart fill behavior to automate and align your content.
This article covers:
- What happens when you apply a layout to an empty scene
- What happens when you apply a layout to a scene with existing content
- How smart fill layers work
- What to expect with multicam or complex scenes
Start with these Help Center guides to get up to speed:
Prefer to watch instead of read? This short walkthrough shows how layouts interact with your script, scenes, and media layers.
Apply a layout to an empty scene
When you apply a layout to a scene with no script content, Descript adds all the original content from that layout—including any prebuilt media, text, or smart layers.
This is especially useful for adding repeatable elements like:
- Podcast or show intros
- Sponsored segments or ads
- Outro or closing scenes
Apply a layout to a scene with existing media
When applying a layout to a scene that already contains media, Descript does its best to preserve your work and match content intelligently:
- Layer names are matched: Descript looks for layout layers with names that match existing layers in your scene. When there’s a match, Descript updates the element properties but keeps the original content.
- Unmatched layers stay put: If a layer in your scene doesn’t match anything in the new layout, it’s preserved and added to the scene.
- Smart fill layers will auto-fill with the most relevant media when applicable. See details below.
How smart fill layers work
Text layers in gallery layouts are set to smart fill by default. When enabled, Descript will automatically pull in the most relevant content based on the scene, script, speaker label, and media type.
Smart fill is enabled by default in gallery layout packs. To enable or disable it in your own designs, open the layout pack menu in Drive view and adjust the setting in your custom layout pack.
Multicam layouts and complex scenes
Multicam layouts work best when both the layout you’re applying and the scene’s existing script content include sequences with the same number of media tracks.
If the layout has more tracks than your scene
- Descript will insert placeholder layers for the extra tracks.
- You can delete the placeholders or update the layout to fit your scene.
If you change the layout
- If a layout layer hasn’t been edited, Descript removes it and replaces it with the new layout’s version.
- If you’ve made changes to a layer, Descript preserves your edits and updates only the untouched layers.
This behavior lets you experiment with different layouts while keeping your customizations intact.