Podscript borrows established sound-production terms. If you’re not steeped in audio
production, here’s what they mean in plain language and how they map to the language. You
never have to use the jargon — most terms have a plainer alias. The normative
definitions live in SPEC.md; this is an informative reference.
| Production term | Plain meaning | In the DSL |
|---|
| Bed | A continuous background layer (music or ambience) that voices sit on top of. | bed (alias music) |
| Ambience / atmos / room tone | The quiet background “sound of a space” (café, rain, room hum) under a scene. | bed (alias ambience / atmos) |
| SFX | A one-shot sound effect that fires at a single moment (a whoosh, a click). | sfx |
| Stinger / sting | A very short musical accent used as punctuation between segments. | sfx (alias sting) |
| Bumper | A brief music/voice clip that bridges segments or ad breaks (“back in a sec…“). | a short bed between scenes |
| Drop | A pre-made clip (a catchphrase, a listener voicemail) dropped in on cue. | sfx |
| Cold open | Content that plays before the intro/titles. | a scene (convention) |
| VO (voiceover) | Narration not tied to an on-scene character. | a speaker in voices |
| Production term | Plain meaning | In the DSL |
|---|
| Ducking | Automatically lowering one layer (music) while another (speech) plays, so the voice stays clear. | duck-under |
| Fade in / out | Gradually raising from / lowering to silence over a span of time. | fade-in / fade-out … over <dur> |
| Crossfade / segue | One bed fading out while the next fades in, overlapping — a smooth handover. | crossfade <dur> |
| Pot up / pot down / fade under | Old radio terms for raising/lowering a level (e.g. “pot the music down under the VO”). | gain automation |
| Sweetening | Adding music/SFX/polish to a raw recording. | what the whole mix stage does |
| Headroom | The safety margin in dB left below digital clipping (0 dBFS). | renderer concern |
| Production term | Plain meaning | In the DSL |
|---|
| LUFS | The standard loudness measure for delivery. Podcasts target −16 LUFS. | meta: lufs |
| True peak (dBTP) | Peak level accounting for playback overshoot; kept below ~−1 to avoid distortion. | meta: true_peak |
| Normalize | Adjust a program to a target level (we use loudness normalization, to LUFS). | final render pass |
| dBFS vs dB | dBFS is absolute (0 = digital max); plain dB in gain clauses is relative attenuation. | gain -6db = 6 dB down |
| Production term | Plain meaning | In the DSL |
|---|
| Plosive / pop | The thump from “p”/“b” sounds. | tamed inside a preset |
| Sibilance / de-essing | Harsh “s” sounds, and the processing that softens them. | tamed inside a preset |
| Wet / dry | ”Dry” = no effects; “wet” = with effects (reverb, EQ). | configured in a preset |
| Radio voice | The warm, compressed, EQ’d broadcast vocal tone. | a named preset |