Sound Effects

Sound Effects makes sounds from a description, up to four takes at once: footsteps, doors, weather, crowds, whooshes for a reel. It can also give a video its sound, timed to what happens on screen.

Open Sound Effects in the sidebar. The page has three tabs, Explore, History and Sound for a video. On the first two, the composer sits at the bottom.

Explore

Explore is a library of sounds made in Cinara, each with its waveform, category and length.

• Choose ▶ to play a sound, and again to pause. One sound plays at a time.
• Choose a point on a waveform to play from there.
• Narrow the list with the category chips (Transitions, Impacts, Foley, Ambience, Weather, Crowds, Animals, Vehicles, Sci-fi, Interface, Tension), or search.
• Use puts the sound's description and length into the composer, ready to make your own version.
• ↓ downloads the sound.

History

Everything this workspace has made in Sound Effects, newest first. Choose one to open it.

Make a sound

1. In the composer, describe what you want to hear, or choose Use on a sound in Explore.
2. Check the settings on the composer's bottom row (see below).
3. Choose the arrow button, or press ⌘ Enter (Ctrl Enter on Windows). The button next to it shows what it costs.

Takes are usually ready in a few seconds. The result opens on the page, with a player, Edit (opens the take in the Editor) and Download for each take.

Settings

Setting	Choices
Length	Automatic (Cinara picks it), or 1 to 22 seconds.
Takes	1 to 4 versions at once.
How closely to follow the words	Loose (more imagination than words), Balanced (the usual choice), Close, or Literal (follows the words exactly).
Loop	A sound that repeats without a gap, for ambience or engines.

Sound for a video

1. Open the Sound for a video tab.
2. Choose Choose a video or drop it here, or drag a video onto it.
3. Optionally, Describe the sound. Leave it empty and Cinara works out the sounds from the picture.
4. Optionally, describe parts of the video separately (see below).
5. Keep Also return the video with the new sound ticked to get the video back with sound.
6. Choose Create sound.

It usually takes under a minute for a short clip. You can leave the page and come back.

Describe parts separately

Give different moments their own sound, for example footsteps until 0:04, then a door slam.

1. Under Parts of the video, choose Describe parts separately. The video splits into two parts.
2. For each part, set when it ends (in seconds) and describe its sound.
3. Choose Add a part to split the last part again.
4. Choose × to remove a part.

Parts run end to end from 0:00. The last part always ends with the video.

The result

• Text results show Take 1, Take 2 and so on.
• Video results show the Original video, the sound effects, and the video with sound if you asked for it.
• If some takes couldn't be made, you see "N of M takes couldn't be made, so they weren't charged."
• Edit description loads the description and settings back into the composer; for a video, Another video opens the video tab.
• Generate again runs the same request again.
• Back to Sound Effects returns to the tabs.

Limits

• Descriptions up to 450 characters.
• Sound length 0.5 to 22 seconds.
• 1 to 4 takes.
• Videos from 1 second up to 2 minutes, and up to 2 GB. MP4, MOV or WebM.
• Video description up to 450 characters.
• 2 to 12 parts, each description up to 200 characters.

Credits

Describing a sound

• 20 credits per second of sound, per take.
• A set length is charged as set. For example, 5 seconds × 4 takes = 400 credits.
• With Automatic, up to 440 credits per take are reserved (22 seconds), and you're charged for the length made.
• Takes that couldn't be made aren't charged.

Sound for a video

• 100 credits per second of video, rounded up. Putting the sound on the video is included.

If a job fails, your credits are refunded.

Tips

• Describe the source, the action and the space: "A heavy wooden door creaking open slowly in an old castle".
• Make 4 takes and keep the best one.
• Choose Close or Literal when results drift from your words.
• Use a set length when the sound must fit a gap exactly.
• For video, describe parts when the sound changes during the clip.

Related

• Video: clips that already come with sound.
• Music: songs and instrumentals.
• Clean Audio: pull a sound out of a recording.
• API Keys: sound effects are also available from the API.