6 Things That Would Make Descript PERFECT (again)
If you’re a YouTube video creator or an online business owner diving into the realm of content creation, you’ve likely encountered an editing software called Descript. There are so many things to love about Descript. It’s never been easier to create and edit videos and podcasts without having to have a whole lot of technical editing knowledge. However, as much as I love Descript, there are a few things that I think it’s missing. Join me as I unveil my Descript wish list – six features that, in my opinion, would make Descript the perfect video creation tool.
Watch the Video: 6 Things That Would Make Descript PERFECT (again)
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1. Hardware Harmony
Descript has been my go-to for seamless video creation, but recently, I’ve noticed a hiccup in hardware support in the ways that you can connect your camera to Descript to record. And I don’t know if this has anything to do with them acquiring Squadcast. Yes, you can record into Squadcast, but it’s an extra step to record that way. Especially when you’re recording solo talking head videos. Connecting cameras like the Rode Streamer X or Elgato Cam Link results in strange dark shadows, a far cry from the smooth recording experience I’ve grown accustomed to.
This leads to an honest question – what hardware configurations truly work with Descript? It’s not a deal breaker. I’m still an advocate for Descript. And at the end of the day, you don’t even really need software to record videos. You can just hit record on your camera and record directly into your SD card, import that to your computer, and bring it into Descript. I Just really liked how easy it was when it worked before.
2. Project Organization Wizardry
Descript’s project organization is convenient, yet there’s a missing link – a shortcut to project files on external hard drives. Similar to Google Drive’s functionality, the ability to link external files seamlessly to Descript projects would streamline workflow and make content organization a breeze. I wish we could do that with Descript’s project files. It would make it easy to organize and keep all your project files together and have quick access them.
3. Audio Editing Simplicity
I am not an audio engineer, I just want to speak into my microphone and know that it’s picking up the audio. Descript’s studio sound and auto-leveling features are great, but it would be nice if the sound could auto-level automatically. There is an automatic volume level setting, but you have to manually click to auto level each clip separately. It would be perfect if Descript had an AI audio engineer feature that will automatically have the volume at the same level for all your clips.
Related: Video Editing with Descript
4. Precision in Audio Metrics
Descript’s audio meter is a crucial tool, but it’s tiny. And it doesn’t provide the actual decibel readings on the meter. You have to just eyeball it. For a more precise editing experience, I wish Descript would provide actual decibel readings on the meter. This would offer more clarity for adjustments in threshold, ratio, attack, release, and more.
5. Visual Flair: Easing Animations for a Polished Touch
When it comes to animations and adding some visual flair, Descript could take it up a notch. While zooming in and out is possible, it would be nice to also be able to do some smooth transitions with slow ease-ins and quick ease-outs. I wish we could get some more animation presets in here. Because I’ve been taking my edits into Premiere Pro to polish them up, basically.
6. Smooth Transitions with J Cuts and L Cuts
And the last thing that could make Descript perfect, is if it had a way to do J cuts and L cuts. This is another thing that I do when I bring my projects into Premiere Pro to polish them up, is to just smooth out the the cuts with very subtle L cuts and J cuts. So what you see when you watch my videos is not just one long video that I make no mistakes. I, in fact, have a lot of cuts. But sometimes the audio from one clip to another clip can be a little bit jarring. And it’s really easy to to give a little bit of an overlap of the audio. This makes for a smoother transition.
I wish we could do that in Descript. That is maybe at the top of my wish list. There could be a button that just says L cut or J cut, and you somehow have a little slider preset type of a thing. Kind of you do with the audio, the little sliders where you select how many frames you want the cut to cut in. Just making a button for that would be helpful.
Related: Descript Video Editing
Conclusion
As a big fan of Descript, I think it’s so close to being perfect. And some of the things that I think are missing are things that can actually be barriers for somebody who’s new to creating videos. I think Descript could remove some of those barriers to help new content creators, and to enhance the experience for seasoned creators.