When you apply a layout to a scene, Descript uses context, layer names, and smart fill behavior to place your content. Descript prioritizes your camera footage, images, videos, and text, then fits them into the new layout’s design. It removes decorative elements from previously applied layouts, such as background gradients, logos, or graphics.

If Descript removes any layers during this process, you’ll see a notification and can restore them.

This article covers:

• How Descript matches your content to a new layout
• What happens to layers that don’t fit
• Applying layouts to empty scenes
• How smart fill text works
• Working with multicam layouts

How Descript matches your content to a new layout

Camera and media layers are interchangeable

Descript treats talking-head footage and other media layers, such as images or video clips, as interchangeable when matching them to a new layout:

• If your scene includes camera footage and the new layout contains only media placeholders, Descript places your camera footage into those media slots.
• If your scene includes images or video clips and the new layout contains talking-head placeholders, Descript places your media into those slots.

This flexibility lets you switch layouts without losing your content, even when placeholder types don’t match exactly.

Matching layers by name

If you rename layers in your scene, Descript looks for layers with matching names in the new layout. When it finds a match, Descript keeps your content and applies the new layout’s styling and position. Descript ignores hidden layers during this process.

When multiple layers compete for one spot

If several layers qualify for the same placeholder, Descript selects the layer highest in the canvas layer stack.

Smart fill layers

Some layouts use Smart Fill to automatically generate contextual text like titles or section headings when applied. Learn more about Smart Fill.

What happens to layers that don’t fit

If a layer from your original scene doesn’t match any placeholder in the new layout, Descript removes it and shows a notification listing the removed layers.

From this notification, you can:

• Restore individual layers by selecting them one at a time
• Restore all layers using the Restore All button
• Dismiss the notification if you don’t need those layers

When you restore layers, Descript keeps their original order and places them where you can see them on the canvas.

Apply a layout to an empty scene

When you apply a layout to a scene without script content, Descript adds all content included in the layout. This approach works well for reusable elements like intros, sponsored segments, ads, or outro scenes.

Smart Fill and text layer types

Smart Fill uses AI to automatically generate editable content for text layers when a layout is applied. It analyzes your script content, scene context, and the layout's design to create contextual text like titles, intros, or section headings.

Smart Fill does not affect text layers set to dynamic types (Speaker, Timer, Marker, Composition name). For example: a text layer set to Speaker will continue showing the active speaker name; a text layer set to Timer will continue displaying the countdown/countup Learn more about text layer types.

Smart Fill is enabled by default in gallery layout packs. When you create your own layout packs, you can enable or disable Smart Fill for each layout. Learn how to create and save custom layouts

Multicam layouts and complex scenes

Multicam layouts work best when both the layout and the scene include sequences with the same number of media tracks.

If the layout has more tracks than your scene

Descript inserts placeholder layers for the extra tracks. You can delete these placeholders or adjust the layout to fit your scene.

If you change the layout

• If you haven’t edited a layer, Descript replaces it with the new layout’s version.
• If you edit a layer, Descript preserves your changes and updates only untouched layers.