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Add music and sound effects to a video clip

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The Nodespell soundtrack recipe scores a silent or rough clip. You generate a music bed with Music Generator and individual sounds with Sound Effects Generator, connect them and the clip to a Timeline node, line them up on separate tracks, balance the levels, and render one video with the mixed audio. The music, effects, and picture stay separate nodes, so you can replace any one of them later.

What you need

  • A video clip: a generated shot (for example from Turn an approved still into a video shot) or an uploaded video.
  • A note of the clip’s length and the moments that need a sound, such as a door closing at 3 seconds.
  • Credits for each music and sound-effect generation.
  • A current Chromium- or Firefox-based desktop browser; the Timeline editor needs one.

Graph at a glance: Video clip + Music Generator + Sound Effects Generator (one per sound) → Timeline → render → download

Stage 1: Generate the music bed

Section titled “Stage 1: Generate the music bed”
  1. In Create, choose Music Generator.
  2. Pick a model. For example, Google Lyria 3 Pro is built for longer, structured tracks.
  3. In Prompt, describe genre, instruments, mood, and tempo. With Lyria 3 Pro you can add section tags such as [Intro], [Verse], [Chorus], and [Outro] to guide the arrangement; they are not exact timeline markers.
  4. Set Generations to 2 or 3 and select Generate.
  5. Listen to each result and keep the best one. See Music Generator.

Stage 2: Generate each sound effect

Section titled “Stage 2: Generate each sound effect”

Make one sound per generation. Short, specific prompts work better than one prompt for a whole sequence.

  1. In Create, choose Sound Effects Generator.
  2. Describe one sound, for example “heavy wooden door closing in a large hall”.
  3. Set the length and loop options the model shows. ElevenLabs Sound Effects V2, for example, has a duration setting and a Loop switch for ambient beds.
  4. Select Generate. Repeat for every sound you need.

See Sound Effects Generator.

Stage 3: Collect everything in a Timeline

Section titled “Stage 3: Collect everything in a Timeline”
  1. Switch to Graph mode.
  2. Press Tab and add a Timeline node.
  3. Connect the video clip, the Music Generator node, and each Sound Effects Generator node to the Timeline Assets input. It accepts many connections.
  4. Select the Timeline node. The Timeline editor opens in the Design panel.

See Timeline.

Stage 4: Arrange the tracks

Section titled “Stage 4: Arrange the tracks”
  1. Open Media. Everything connected to the Assets input is listed there.
  2. Select Add all to timeline, or drag each item onto a track. Use Add to timeline on a single item to place just that one.
  3. If there is no free audio track, select Add track and add an audio track, so music and effects sit on separate tracks.
  4. Drag each sound effect to its moment. Turn on Snap to align clip edges, and use J, K, and L to shuttle playback while the timeline has focus.
  5. Trim the music to the clip length with the Trim tool, or split it with Split at playhead.

Stage 5: Balance the mix

Section titled “Stage 5: Balance the mix”
  1. Select the music clip and open Inspector. Lower Gain so it sits under the effects, and set Fade In and Fade Out.
  2. Select each effect clip and adjust its Gain.
  3. If the video has its own generated audio you do not want, use Mute track on that track, or select the clip and choose Detach audio to work with it separately.
  4. Open Mixer to compare track levels while you play the timeline.

Stage 6: Render and download

Section titled “Stage 6: Render and download”
  1. Open Export.
  2. Set Range to Whole timeline, and make sure Include audio is on.
  3. Choose a preset, or set Format, Resolution, and Frame rate.
  4. Select Render. When it finishes, select Download.

The render also “Feeds the Video output of this node”, so you can connect the finished video to other nodes. The render status reads Out of date after you change the timeline; select Render again to update it. See Export.

Check the result

Section titled “Check the result”
  • Play the rendered file outside the editor at normal volume. Effects should be clear over the music.
  • Scrub to each effect and check it lands on the right frame.
  • Check the last second: the music should fade, not cut.

Variations

Section titled “Variations”
  • Score to the picture. In Graph, model nodes such as Sonilo V1.1 Video to Music take the video as input and generate music that follows its pacing. Connect the clip, run the node, and use its audio on the Timeline.
  • Sound design from the video. Mirelo Video To SFX and MMAudio V2 generate sounds that follow the footage. Use them when timing should follow on-screen action.
  • Several shots. Put several clips on the video track before adding music; see Extend a shot.
  • Dialogue too. Add a Voice Generator take on its own audio track; see Make a talking video.

Frequently asked questions

Section titled “Frequently asked questions”

Does rendering the Timeline use credits?

Section titled “Does rendering the Timeline use credits?”

Rendering assembles media you already have and does not generate new AI media. Credits are spent when you generate the music and sound effects.

Why doesn’t my audio show up in Media?

Section titled “Why doesn’t my audio show up in Media?”

Media lists what is connected to the Timeline Assets input. Connect the Music Generator or Sound Effects Generator node to that input, and make sure the node has a take.

Can I change the music after rendering?

Section titled “Can I change the music after rendering?”

Yes. Generate a new music take, choose it on the Music Generator node, then select Render again on the Timeline. The render status shows Out of date until you do.

Why is there no audio in my export?

Section titled “Why is there no audio in my export?”

Check that Include audio is on in Export and that no audio track is muted.

Section titled “Related”