Sound2026-06-04· 6 min
The 12 sound cues every edit actually needs
Not every project needs a composer. But every edit needs these twelve cues, mastered right and used sparingly.
There are exactly twelve sound design cues that appear in every edit we've ever finished: three whooshes, three risers, three impacts, and three transitions.
That's it. If the twelve are mastered correctly and used sparingly, an edit sounds intentional even without a composer. If they're used constantly, the edit sounds like a stock library.
Master them at -14 LUFS integrated with a true-peak of -1 dB. Use them at the head of a movement, not the middle. And always duck the music underneath by 3 dB when a cue lands.