Introduction

In the world of content creation, whether it’s podcasts, video blogs, interviews, or presentations, editing is key. However, editing can often become complicated when you have multiple audio and video tracks, layered effects, and various collaborators making changes. This is where Descript shines as an all-in-one editing platform designed to simplify your workflow.

Descript is a software tool that combines transcription, audio and video editing, screen recording, and even AI-powered voice synthesis. It’s widely used by podcasters, video producers, educators, and marketers who want a user-friendly yet powerful way to craft professional content. One of the most important features in Descript is the concept of a composition.

A composition in Descript is essentially your project timeline—where you arrange your audio clips, video tracks, and text transcripts side-by-side. It’s your workspace to shape the raw recordings into a final polished piece.

But when you finish editing, you don’t want to keep juggling dozens of tracks and layers forever. You need a way to finalize your project into a single, shareable file. This process is called flattening a composition.

Flattening a composition means merging all your tracks, edits, and effects into one consolidated audio or video file. This step simplifies your timeline, reduces computing demands during playback, and prepares your project for export or sharing.

In this detailed guide, we will explain exactly what flattening means, why and when you should do it, and provide a clear step-by-step walkthrough on how to flatten your compositions in Descript. Along the way, we’ll share expert tips, best practices, and solutions to common issues. By the end, you’ll feel confident using this essential feature to deliver smooth, professional results.

What Does “Flattening a Composition” Mean?

Before diving into the “how,” it’s important to understand the what and why behind flattening in Descript.

In a typical editing workflow, your project timeline (or composition) in Descript can contain:

Multiple audio tracks (voiceovers, music, effects)
Video clips on different layers
Transcripts aligned to audio
Edits like cuts, fades, and rearrangements
Annotations or markers
Overlapping clips or crossfades

This layered editing setup gives you flexibility to tweak everything at once. However, all these layers require Descript to actively process and mix them together in real time during playback.

Flattening a composition means rendering all those layers into one single audio or video file. This new file “bakes in” all the edits, cuts, and effects so you no longer have to manage multiple tracks separately. The flattened file becomes your finalized master copy.

Why is flattening important?

Finalizing your content: Flattening locks in all your creative choices. Your final podcast episode or video no longer depends on multiple individual clips or edits.
Simplifying playback: Multi-track compositions can strain your computer or device’s CPU. Flattened files are easier to play back smoothly, especially on mobile or lower-power devices.
Preparing for export: Many platforms (YouTube, Spotify, social media) require or work best with single audio/video files. Flattening streamlines the export process.
Sharing with collaborators or clients: Flattened files are easier to review since they show exactly how your content will sound or look, without needing the full Descript project.
Archiving and backup: Storing flattened versions of projects ensures you have a fixed snapshot of your final work that won’t change accidentally.

When Should You Flatten a Composition?

Flattening is a key milestone in your editing process, but it’s important not to flatten too early. Since flattening merges your edits into one file, the flattened version becomes much harder to edit or reverse.

Here are the ideal times to flatten your Descript composition:

After final editing and review

Once you’ve completed all your cuts, filler word removals, transcript corrections, and audio clean-up, flattening consolidates everything into a clean master file. Think of this as “locking” your project.

Before exporting or publishing

Flattening is usually part of your export workflow, ensuring you produce a single high-quality audio or video file that’s ready for upload to hosting platforms, social media, or podcast directories.

When consolidating edits from multiple collaborators

If multiple team members worked on different parts of your project, flattening can unify all changes into one file for final polish or distribution.

When experiencing playback issues

If your multi-track composition is causing lag or stuttering during playback in Descript, flattening can help reduce CPU load by simplifying the timeline.

Step-by-Step: How to Flatten a Composition in Descript

Now that you understand the what and when, here’s exactly how to flatten your composition in Descript. The steps below apply to recent versions of the software, but interfaces may vary slightly depending on your plan or updates.

1. Open Your Project

Start Descript and open the project that contains the composition you want to flatten. Navigate to the composition timeline view where your audio and video clips are laid out.

2. Review Your Composition Thoroughly

Before flattening, it’s critical to ensure all your edits are final:

Play through your timeline from start to finish.
Remove any unwanted filler words, background noise, or silences.
Correct any transcription mistakes or misalignments.
Ensure all audio levels are balanced.
Confirm that video clips are trimmed and transitions smooth.

Since flattening locks in your edits, this review step prevents having to undo or redo later.

3. Select “Publish” or “Export” Options

Flattening is usually triggered during the export or publish process.

In many Descript versions, you’ll find Export options in the top menu under File > Export.
Alternatively, click the Export or Publish button visible in your project interface.

4. Choose Flattening Option

When the Export or Publish dialog opens, look carefully for an option related to flattening. This might be labeled:

“Flatten composition”
“Merge tracks”
“Export as single file”
Or similar wording

Check this box to instruct Descript to combine all tracks into one audio or video file.

How does this impact your file?

Instead of exporting each track separately, or an editable multi-track project, the flattened export contains all your edits rendered into one continuous track. This is what makes it easier to share or upload.

5. Confirm Export Settings and Proceed

Finalize your export settings:

Choose your desired output format (e.g., MP3, WAV, MP4, MOV).
Select audio quality or video resolution.
Name your export file.
Choose an export destination folder.

Click Export or Publish to start the flattening and rendering process.

Depending on the length and complexity of your project, Descript may take a few moments to process the flattening. Once done, you will have a standalone, flattened file that can be shared or uploaded anywhere.

Tips & Best Practices

Flattening can feel like a big step, so following these tips will help keep your projects safe and your workflow smooth:

Always keep a backup of the unflattened project

Before flattening, save a version or duplicate your project inside Descript. You never know when you might need to revisit the editable multi-track timeline for revisions.

Avoid flattening early if you’re still actively editing. Keep the unflattened project for ongoing tweaks, and flatten only at the final stage.

Leverage version history and manual saves

Descript offers version history, so you can revert to prior states if you accidentally flatten too soon or want to undo changes.

Label your exported files clearly

When exporting flattened files, use clear naming conventions to distinguish them from project files (e.g., “Episode1_Final_Flattened.mp3”).

Clean up audio and transcripts before flattening

Removing filler words, tightening silences, and fixing transcription errors improves the quality of your flattened file.

Optimize export settings

Select appropriate audio bitrates and video resolutions based on your target platform to keep file sizes manageable without sacrificing quality.

Common Issues and How to Avoid Them

Flattening in Descript is usually straightforward, but here are some common problems you might encounter and how to fix them:

Can’t find the flatten option?

Ensure your Descript app is updated to the latest version.
Flattening is typically available on paid plans; check if your subscription includes this feature.
Look carefully in the export or publish menus as options may be nested or labeled differently.

Accidentally flattened too early

Use Descript’s version history to revert to an unflattened state.
Always save manual backups before flattening.

Exported file missing tracks or edits

Review your timeline thoroughly to ensure all clips are enabled and visible.
Check for muted or hidden tracks that might not export.
Re-run the export with flattening checked.

Flattened file size too large

Adjust export quality settings to lower bitrates or resolutions.
Compress the file using audio/video compression tools post-export if needed.

Playback issues after flattening

Test the flattened file on multiple devices and media players.
Re-export with different codec or format settings if necessary.

Deep Dive: Why Flattening Helps Your Workflow

Many users ask: Why not just keep editing multi-track compositions indefinitely?

While multi-track editing offers flexibility, it comes with trade-offs:

Resource intensive: Multiple tracks, effects, and real-time processing require powerful hardware. Flattened files reduce this load.
Complex to manage: Long timelines with dozens of tracks get hard to navigate and review.
Sharing challenges: Collaborators or clients often don’t have access to your project or the software to open it.
Version control: Flattened files provide a clear “snapshot” that can be archived or compared later.

By flattening, you simplify your workflow, reduce errors, and create files optimized for your publishing platforms.

Real-World Example: Flattening a Podcast Episode

Imagine you’re producing a podcast episode with three audio tracks:

Host recording
Guest interview
Intro/outro music

In Descript, you’ve edited out ums, uh’s, and pauses, cleaned audio, and trimmed clips. The timeline shows multiple layered tracks with crossfades and volume adjustments.

Once satisfied, you check “Flatten composition” on export. Descript renders all tracks and edits into one stereo audio file. You upload that flattened file directly to your podcast host.

The benefits:

No risk of tracks shifting or edits breaking.
Smaller file size and smooth playback.
Easy to share with sponsors or team members who don’t use Descript.

Additional Resources

For further learning, Descript offers helpful tutorials and official documentation:

Descript Help Center
Exporting and Publishing in Descript
Video tutorials on YouTube covering project export and flattening techniques

Conclusion

Flattening a composition in Descript is an essential step that turns your multi-track, editable project into a polished, consolidated file ready for publishing, sharing, or archiving. It reduces playback complexity, optimizes CPU usage, and produces a master version that reflects all your edits.

Use flattening wisely — only after final edits are complete — and always keep backups of your unflattened project to preserve flexibility.

Experiment with flattening on test projects to get comfortable before working on important episodes or videos. Mastering this feature will improve your content production workflow and help you deliver professional results every time.

How to Flatten a Composition in Descript: A Step-by-Step Guide