Sound effects are the icing on the cake. They are the final piece of the puzzle when it comes to bringing your content to life. So knowing how to use them is essential for any filmmaker or content creator. To help you, we’ve put together our top tips on adding sound effects in Premiere Pro.
Audio effects and sound design ensure your film is realistic, immersive, and truly engages your audience.
Whether you’re stuck on where to find them or need help using free sound effects in your content, we’ve got it all covered here. We’ll even explore some clever Premiere Pro sound effects, and share our editing tips and tricks, so you know how to use them effectively.
Where To Download Premiere Pro Sound Effects
Before you download Premiere Pro sound effects, you need to take time to find them. Adobe Premiere sound effects aren’t built-in. This means you will need to find a library or individually track them down yourself.
When choosing sound effects to bring your video or film to life, having a broad range and quality to choose from is everything. This way you can ensure your sound design is always original and sounding professional.👌
How To Use Adobe Premiere Pro Sound Effects
Once you’ve found the sound effects you’re going to use, you need to know how to access them within Premiere Pro. Whether you’ve downloaded from a paid library or you’re making the most of the free sound effects out there — we’ll walk you through how to do it.
Importing Sound Effects into Premiere Pro
Once you’ve found the sound effects you want to use, adding them to your timeline is pretty straightforward.
There are two ways to do this:
- Create a new folder with one or more of your chosen sound effects.
- Open the folder, select your chosen sound effect, and drag and drop it into your Premiere Pro timeline directly.
Alternatively, you can:
- Create a new folder with one or more of your chosen sound effects.
- Go to your Premiere Pro window and find the media browser.
- Click the panel and browse folders to find the file you want to use.
Add to the timeline:
- Once you’ve found it, double-click on the file (or right-click and “import”). It will then appear in the media browser next to your project panel.
- Once it’s here you can drag and drop it into your Premiere Pro editing timeline.
The sound effect will remain in the panel in the folder you imported, so you will be able to access it more easily when editing. Also, check out our other article on importing footage into Premiere Pro.
Tips for Creating Incredible Sound Design
Sound design is an art. When mastered, sound designers can use their skills to create truly out-of-this-world content. Sound design is important for adding realism, enhancing the storyline, and setting the mood of different scenes.
For those new to sound design, there are many ways you can achieve a professional sound. Here are a few of our top tips.
1. Create New Sounds With Layering
By cutting, chopping, and layering different sound effects you can create something entirely bespoke for your film. Premiere Pro comes with audio effects built-in and ready to use. All you need to do is apply them to different layers when editing in Premiere Pro to build depth.
2. Try Out Different Filters Or An EQ
To set the tone of the environment in a particular scene, sound designers use filters or an equalizer (EQ). For example, if the scene is set in an enclosed room or space, a filter can be applied to create an echo. Or, if a song is being played from a mobile phone during a scene, an equalizer can be applied to make it sound like a phone speaker. Using filters and equalizers enable sound designers to up the realism and immerse their audience.
3. Perfect Your Audio Transitions
When editing, sound designers make transitions between clips smooth by fading the audio in and out. This way, they avoid hard cuts and sudden noise shifts when transitioning between two different scenes or sound environments. The end result means the overall viewing experience is more realistic and engaging for the audience.
4. Immerse Your Audience With Ambient Noise
To properly immerse your audience within your film, you should perfect your use of ambient noise. Ambient noise is created by using different sound effects to simulate the environment of a particular scene. Think of thunder cracking overhead, birds tweeting in the morning, or wind rustling through leaves – they all help transport your audience to another place. Also, if you tweak them by adjusting the filter, cutoff, and resonance, you can create something unique for your film.
5. Get Creative With A Pitch Shifter
Pitch shifter is a great audio tool to have at your disposal as it can be applied in a variety of ways. It’s used to distort voiceovers and other sound effects where the scene requires something truly unique. Need to create a creepy whispering in the air as your character explores a haunted house? Then pitch shifter is the way to go. 😉
6. Panning From The Visual Source
This technique is used to up the realism of the scene. It involves finding where a sound is coming from the audience’s perspective. Sound designers ensure the sound on-screen mirrors exactly how it would travel in the real world. For example, if a plane is flying into view from left to right the sound must travel the same way on-screen. Panning is also a very useful tool if you want to direct your viewer’s attention to something in particular.
Start Creating Premiere Pro Audio Effects
In short, the best way to sharpen your skills as a sound designer is to get started and practice! The more you try out different techniques, the more confident you’ll become. Download Premiere Pro sound effects now and install them using our guide to start improving your edit.
