Add music and transitions to a video: films and ads work differently

In Nova, films and ads take different routes to music and transitions, and you can do different things on each. Here they are one at a time. All the music and transition settings on this page are free.

1. Films: upload your own audio, or generate it

For a film, music goes in the production room. Among the episode's materials there's a "🎵 Background Music" row with two tabs:

"⬆ Upload Audio": upload an MP3, WAV or M4A file. When you merge, the music loops to fill the whole episode.
"✨ AI Generate": pick a "Music Style" (Epic, Suspense, Romance, Emotional, Horror, Action, Upbeat, Comedy), or write your own description, then click "🎵 AI Generate BGM".

Both are 0 credits, and so are merging and downloading.

→ Lessons 05-T2 "The production room: clips, seven material rows, the final merge" and 05-09 "The export desk: merging is free, "Generate" on intro/outro isn't"

2. Films: fine-tune in the editor

Open the fine-cut editor and the music comes over from the production room automatically:

Adjust the music's volume, fade in and fade out, and turn on "🔉 Duck under dialogue" so it drops when someone speaks.
Each seam between clips has a "◆". Hover over it and it says "Hard cut (click to add a transition)"; click it to add a transition to just that seam.
When you're done, click "⬇ Export video". That's 0 credits.

→ Lesson 05-T3 "The fine-cut editor: cut in the browser, render on export"

3. Ads: transitions between shots

For an ad, transitions are set on the delivery page. Open "🎛 Post-production (watermark / logo / subtitles / music)" (it's collapsed by default). Its "Transition between shots" menu has five options:

hard cut (ad default)
fade
dissolve
wipe
slide

The "Transition between shots" menu in the delivery page's post-production panel, set to "hard cut (ad default)"

Pick anything other than a hard cut and a "Duration" slider appears, from 0.2 to 1.2 seconds. The whole ad uses the same transition.

When you're done, click "Combine it". That's 0 credits. Post-production settings are all free, so change them and combine again whenever you like.

→ Lesson 01-T4 "The delivery page: post settings, the ending, combine, and what appears after"

If you want your own track on an ad, the delivery page has a way into the timeline (the same one films use). The lesson doesn't walk through it, so we won't either.

FAQ

Does adding music cost credits? No. Uploading or generating film music and merging are all 0 credits.

Can I upload my own music? For films, yes: upload an MP3, WAV or M4A in the production room's "🎵 Background Music" row.

Can each cut use a different transition? On the ad delivery page, the whole ad uses one. For films, you can add one seam at a time in the fine-cut editor.

Where to start

Just looking: sign up free, no card needed, and watch the free lessons.
The film production room and editor (05-T2, 05-09, 05-T3) are in the Advanced Pack, in Creator and Studio. Ad delivery (01-T4) is in the Starter Pack, from Starter up. Compare courses
For subtitles, see AI subtitles; for voiceover, see AI voiceover.