Descript includes a wide variety of audio and video effects to help you clean up sound, enhance visuals, or add stylized polish to your content. You can apply effects from the Properties panel while editing a script, sequence, or video layer.
This article covers
- Where and how effects are applied
- How effect order impacts your project
- Reference tables for visual & audio effects
Want to learn more?
Explore all our getting started videos, feature tutorials, and workflow guides at Learn Descript.
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.
How effects work in Descript
Descript applies effects differently depending on whether they’re audio or visual, and whether they’re applied to a layer/clip or an entire scene.Â
Visual effects
- Visual effects can be applied to individual layers or entire scenes.
- Scene-level effects affect all visuals within that scene.
- Effects are scene-specific: if a clip spans multiple scenes, the effect must be applied to each one—unless you choose Apply to all scenes from the Properties panel.
The table below provides a quick reference for each visual effect in Descript—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 to view their dedicated Help Center guides.
| Visual effect | Description | Settings & Parameters | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eye Contact | Uses AI to simulate eye contact by adjusting gaze direction toward the camera. | – | Learn more |
| Green Screen | Removes your background using AI—ideal for talking heads and recorded calls. | – | Learn more |
| Chroma key | Removes a solid-colored background (like green or blue) from your video. |
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| Blur speaker background | Applies depth-of-field blur behind the subject to reduce distractions. |
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Learn more |
| Center active speaker (beta) | Automatically reframes your video around whoever’s speaking without manually cropping the frame or adding scenes. | – | Learn more |
| Blur | Applies a soft blur to the selected visual layer. Does not affect other layers. |
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| Glass blur | Uses the selected layer as a mask to blur content beneath it with a frosted-glass effect. |
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Learn more |
| Film grain | Adds a grainy, analog texture for a vintage or cinematic look. |
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| Pixelate | Applies a blocky, pixelated effect for style or light obfuscation. |
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| Zoom blur | Creates radial motion blur centered around a focal point—adds energy to visuals. |
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| Color adjustments | Modify exposure, contrast, temperature, and saturation to refine your visuals. |
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Learn more |
| Shadows | Adds a soft drop shadow behind elements for separation or visual depth. |
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Audio effects
- Audio effects apply to script layers or sequence tracks and persist across all scenes.
- To apply effects to a specific voice or recording, use the Sequence Editor.
- Audio effects can’t be applied to scenes; they must be added to specific media layers.
- Studio Sound works differently: it's applied directly to the original media file and enhances the entire source.
The table below provides a quick reference for each audio effect in Descript—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 to view their dedicated Help Center guides.
| Audio effect | Description | Settings & Parameters | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio Sound | AI-powered cleanup for voice; removes noise, echo, and enhances clarity. |
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Learn more |
| Compressor | Reduces volume differences between loud and soft audio. |
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| Limiter | Caps volume peaks to prevent distortion—ideal for mastering. |
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| Lower audio of other layers | Lowers background audio when speech is detected on the script layer. |
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Learn more |
| Equalizer (EQ) | 5-band parametric EQ for precise frequency shaping and tonal control. |
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| Graphic EQ | Visual equalizer with 10 frequency bands for precise audio shaping. |
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| High shelf EQ | Boosts or cuts all frequencies above a specified point. |
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| High-pass filter | Removes frequencies below a set point to eliminate rumble and low-end noise. |
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| Low shelf EQ | Boosts or cuts all frequencies below a specified point. |
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| Low-pass filter | Removes frequencies above a set point to reduce hiss and high-frequency noise. |
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| Reverb | Adds room-like echo and space to dry recordings. |
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| Bitcrusher | Creates a lo-fi, digital effect by lowering resolution. |
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| Distortion | Adds overdrive or fuzz for stylized audio. |
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| Flanger | Adds a sweeping, jet engine–like motion to audio. |
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