Writer's Portal Guide 22: Sound Effects & Music

Sounds

Implementing Sound FX and Music

1. sound [identifier]
2. music [identifier]
3. music off
4. sound off

Helpful Video

• SOUNDS & MUSIC 

You can play short sound effects, musical clips and ambient or musical loops in your story. There are 4 important commands to know for this.

1. To play a sound or music effect once, without looping, use the sound command with the sound’s identifier from the sidebar on your script page.

Sound/Music Once Syntax:

sound [identifier]

Example:

sound baby_crying

Creative Note

Multiple sounds can play at a time, so long as there is at least one line of dialogue or directing command between them.

1. To make a music or sound effect loop, use the music command with the identifier.

Looping Music/Sound Effect Syntax:

music [identifier]

Example:

music ambient_birds

Helpful Note: Only one looping sound can be playing at a time. If there are two music commands in a row, the later one will cancel out the previous.

1. To stop the looping music, you have to insert a command into the script.

Stop Looping Music Syntax:

music off

1. You may also need to cut sound effects short occasionally, though this will be more rare, since sound effects are already generally short on their own.

Stop Sound Effect Short Syntax:

sound off

IMPORTANT

1. You must stop music with the music off command by the end of your story, otherwise it will play through the episode break and into the next episode.
   
   
2. A sound cue will only work if it is followed by dialogue or direction. If you are inserting a sound/ music cue at the end of a chapter, you will need to either insert it before an action that is already in the script, or add @pause for a beat. This includes the music off cue.

CREATIVE NOTE

The “music” command is not strictly for music and the “sound” command is not strictly for sound. Short pieces of music coded in as "sound" can be used to transition smoothly between scenes, or introduce a character. These short pieces of music are called stingers.

Controlling Volume

To set the volume of sound, use the volume sound command followed by the volume level (0-100) and the length of time (in milliseconds) you want the volume setting to take. 

Setting the Volume of Sound Syntax:

volume sound X S

X = volume level, 0 to 100

S = length of time, in milliseconds

Example:

volume sound 80 2000

The above command will bring sound volume to 80% over the span of 2000 milliseconds (2 seconds).

To set the volume of a music effect, use the exact same code above but replace “sound” with “music.”

Setting the Volume of Music Syntax:

volume music X S

Example:

volume music 0 4000

The above command will bring sound volume to 0 over the span of 4000 milliseconds (4 seconds), making the music appear to slowly fade out.

If you want the music or sound volume to change immediately rather than a gradual transition, put 0 where you put the number of milliseconds.

Example:

volume music 70 0

The above command will bring music volume to 70 immediately.

IMPORTANT

1. You must start your story with 2 volume commands determining what the volume levels will be. You can change them again later in the script.
   Example:
   volume music 0 0
   volume sound 100 0
   
2. Volume commands will override any other volume commands within their time-frame. This means that if you have an active volume fade that lasts 10 seconds, but the user taps through the content in that scene in under 10 seconds, the next volume level specified will override the active fade. The best way to avoid this is by making sure that you have 2 lines of dialogue for every 1 second of volume fading. This is one of the more intuitive choices that you will make while directing, since you’ll occasionally want to do a very slow fade and will have to consider how long it might take a reader to tap through X number of lines of dialogue, and therefore how much time you can give to the fade.

CREATIVE NOTE

1. Fading music in can be an effective way to subtly introduce it and a new scene. To do this, have the music volume set to 0, then let it fade in over a few seconds to a volume of your choosing.
2. Musical or ambient loops can become annoying over time depending on the volume. Decreasing music volume can help, or fading it out altogether and fading in a short stinger over it, to help with the transition.
3. Fading music out as you transition out of a scene is a great way to move the reader seamlessly into the next part of your story, especially if you remember to fade in the music and visuals of that next scene together too!