Add sound effects to a video from the Sound FX tab

A whoosh as a title slides in. A click on a button press. A shutter on a freeze frame. Sound effects mark an action and make a cut feel finished. The Sound FX tab holds a searchable library and a generator for the sounds the library does not have.

Browse the library

1. Open Sound FX in the left panel. It opens on Library.
2. Type in Search sound FX. Names in the library include words like whoosh, impact, click, shutter, typing and glitch.
3. Press the play button on a row to hear it. Each row shows the name and the length, plus the author when the source names one.
4. Press the star to favorite a sound. Favorites stay at the top of the list on this browser.
5. Press + to add the sound at the playhead, or drag the row onto the timeline.

Generate a sound

Switch to Generate when the library has nothing close.

1. Describe the sound in the box. "Glass shattering on a tile floor" shows the level of detail that helps. You can also press the microphone button to dictate.
2. Or press a preset chip to fill the box: Whoosh, Impact, Pop, Click, Riser, Glitch, Shutter, Ding or Record scratch. Reword the text before you generate.
3. Open Length and choose Auto length, 1 sec, 2 sec, 4 sec or 8 sec.
4. Open Takes to render one to four versions at once.
5. Press Generate sound.

Finished sounds appear under Generated sound FX, newest first. Generating sounds spends account credits, so audition the library first.

Line it up with the picture

Everything you add from this tab lands at the playhead. Stop on the frame where the action starts, then press +.

For a transition, step the playhead to the cut and add a whoosh from there. A whoosh usually reads best when it starts a little before the cut, so its peak lands as the picture changes. Drag the bar a hair to the left to try that.

When you drag, the bar snaps to the start of the timeline, the cuts between video clips, the playhead and the edges of other clips. A guide line shows what it caught. Hold the bar near a cut and it settles on it.

Shape the sound

Click the bar and use the tabs in the right panel:

• Trim shortens a sound that rings on too long.
• Volume sets how loud it sits against the voice and music.
• Fade out removes a hard tail.
• Speed stretches or tightens the sound without changing its pitch.

Generated sounds also have a More actions menu on their row. Add to Media files the sound with your uploads, and Add to Library saves it for other projects.

Use fewer effects than you think

Each effect should answer a visible event. A click for a button, a hit for a title card, a riser before a reveal. When every cut carries a sound, none of them stands out. Put the effects where the picture needs a push and let the rest of the cut breathe.

Keep effects below the voice. If a sound starts to cover a word, lower its volume or move it so it lands in a pause.

Start a project

Open DepCut, pick a clip, and add one effect where the picture changes. Play it back and see whether the moment feels sharper.