Overview
Pauses can be added to AI narration to control the pacing of a scene. This is useful when you want the narration to better align with on-screen text, screen recordings, visual transitions, animations, or other elements in the scene.
A pause is added directly inside the narration text. When the narration is previewed or played, the pause is included as part of the scene timing.
Pauses give editors a reliable way to control narration timing without using workarounds such as extra spaces, punctuation, or placeholder characters.
Adding a Pause
- In the Studio, open the scene that includes the narration you want to edit.
- Open the narration editing dialog.
- Place your cursor where you want the pause to be added.
- Click Add pause.
A 1-second pause is added at the cursor location. Pauses can be added at the beginning, middle, or end of the narration.
Note: If you place your cursor in the middle of a word, the pause is added before the word. Mid-word pauses are not supported.
Editing a Pause
After a pause is added, you can change its duration.
- Type a new duration directly into the pause field.
- Use the arrows to increase or decrease the duration.
- Double-click an existing pause to edit it.
Pause durations can include up to two decimal places. For example, you can enter 1.5 or 2.25 seconds.
The maximum duration for a single pause is 20 seconds. If you try to increase the duration beyond 20 seconds, the pause remains at the maximum allowed duration and a message is displayed.
Previewing a Pause
After adding or editing a pause, preview the narration to hear how it affects the scene. The pause is also reflected in the live preview, so you can review how the narration timing works with the visual elements in the scene.
The scene duration takes the added pause into account.
Note: Pauses do not affect closed captions.
Deleting a Pause
To delete a pause, select it in the narration text and remove it using your keyboard. You can also remove a pause by changing its duration to 0 seconds.
If you copy and paste narration that includes a pause, the pause is copied and pasted along with the text.
Working with Translated Videos
When a pause is added to narration in a video that includes multiple languages, the pause is also applied to the translated narration. Adding or changing a pause may trigger retranslation.
The pause is placed in the translated narration based on its relative position in the source narration. Because translations may vary by language, review the translated versions after adding pauses and adjust them if needed.
Note: If your account uses credits for translation, retranslation may use credits.
Working with Personalization
Pauses can be used in narration that includes personalization, including message by audience variations and personalization tokens.
As with any personalized narration, preview the relevant variations to make sure the pacing works as expected.
Limitations
- Pauses are available for AI voices only.
- Pauses are not supported for recorded voices.
- A single pause can be up to 20 seconds long.
- Mid-word pauses are not supported. If a pause is added in the middle of a word, it is placed before the word.
- Pauses are applied to the narration variation you are editing.
- In translated videos, pauses are applied across languages and may require review after retranslation.
- Although multiple pauses can be placed next to each other, this is not recommended for typical narration timing.