Designed effects with ElevenLabs

Design only what reality can't give. Write each effect as a plain physical description with its length.

The template

{source and action}, {material or texture}, {how it starts and ends},
{space: dry studio / small room / large hall / outdoors},
{perspective: intimate close / medium / distant}, {length} seconds

Rules [official guidance], with one practitioner finding [single strong source]:

• Name the model on every API call (a request sent to ElevenLabs by software): model_id: eleven_text_to_sound_v3. The older default (v2) is removed on 1 March 2027, and the docs say to set the model explicitly.

• Plain sound terms, not industry or genre labels: impact, whoosh, braam, drone, glitch, one-shot, loop. One practitioner found that "radio imaging" pulled an unwanted impact into a wipe, while "whoosh" worked [single strong source].

• "Riser" is not on the official term list. If it is misread, describe what it does: "a rising airy swell that builds over 2 seconds".

• Set the duration (0.1–30 s). Use loop for beds and ambiences.

• Never ask for a tempo, a key or an exact count. The docs say counts ("hit 4 times") are not always followed, and no one shows that a tempo or key holds. A hit that must land on the beat is a one-shot placed on the measured beat in the edit. A loop gets its length from the bars and the tempo (bars × 4 × 60 ÷ BPM seconds, in 4/4); check its onsets on the waveform before you use it. Build repeats in the edit.

Settings

API or app, and the cost

Use the API first, and the web app as the fallback. The app's page says 40 ElevenLabs credits a second with a set duration (your ElevenLabs plan's credits, not Higgsfield credits); the API price page lists about $0.12 (US dollars) a minute (read 19 Oct 2026). They don't obviously match, so confirm the real charge on the first job before you cost a long pass. Estimate rows × variations × seconds. Keep the ElevenLabs total apart from Higgsfield credits and Suno credits: the totals are never added (see Planning, budgets and takes → Costs and the estimate).

ElevenLabs' Instant Soundtracks (video in, music and placed effects out) may give a quick idea pass on the assembly, only if the client's non-disclosure agreement (NDA) allows the upload; the final effects are still placed from the sound list.

Name each file by its shot and description, with a version number, and note its prompt and settings in your take log.

Worked prompts, written for this guide (brands invented):

Beauty, S04, designed, close, 0.7 s — high influence, 4 variations:
A light breathy air whoosh settling into a small porcelain cap clicking shut,
intimate close perspective, dry studio, 0.7 seconds

Sport, S11, hard effect, close, 1.0 s — high influence:
A hard rubber basketball slapping a polished wooden court, a sharp smack
then a short squeak of sneakers, indoor arena air, close perspective, 1.0 seconds

Comedy, S02, designed, close, 0.5 s — high influence:
A quick springy boing with a wobbling downward pitch, a soft rattle at the end,
dry, close, 0.5 seconds

Night interior bed, all shots, ambience, distant, 30 s — loop on, low influence:
A quiet bedroom at night, a ceiling fan turning slowly, faint traffic far below
through a closed window, low and steady, 30 seconds

Tension, S19, designed, medium, 3 s — low influence:
A deep hollow metallic hum slowly climbing in pitch, cold and airless,
a large concrete stairwell, cuts off sharply, 3 seconds

Logo sting for the invented brand Halva Lane, S12, designed, close, 1.5 s — high influence:
A soft round low thud with a short warm brass shimmer fading out,
calm and assured, dry studio, 1.5 seconds

Sources

• ElevenLabs, Sound effects, product overview and Sound Effects v3 (official); Brad Barlow, radio practitioner (plain terms over "radio imaging").