Visual and audio effects overview

Descript includes a variety of audio and video effects to help you clean up sound, enhance visuals, or add stylized polish to your content. This article is a reference for what each effect does and how visual and audio effects differ in scope.

For step-by-step instructions on adding, adjusting, or removing effects, see Applying and adjusting effects.

This article covers

How effect order impacts your project
Reference tables for visual & audio effects

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 or to entire 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
Center active speaker (beta)	Automatically reframes your video around whoever's speaking without manually cropping the frame or adding scenes.	–	Learn more
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
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
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
Green Screen	Removes your background using AI—ideal for talking heads and recorded calls.	–	Learn more
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. They must be added to specific media layers or sequence tracks.
To apply effects to a specific voice or recording, use the 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
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
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.