FMOD Event Waveform Visualization in Unreal Engine Sequencer

pro1ife · July 30, 2026, 11:28am

Hi FMOD team,

I recently joined a project as a cinematic artist and was asked to use FMOD for all audio work. I was surprised that FMOD Event Control Tracks in Unreal Sequencer do not show any waveform preview.

For cinematic work, this is especially important for placing dialogue and sound effects accurately against animation, camera cuts and timing.

I created an editor-only implementation that displays a real FMOD Event waveform directly in Sequencer. I also added the Event name, 2D/3D status, one-shot/looping status and duration in seconds.

The implementation uses a separate NOSOUND_NRT FMOD system and does not affect runtime playback, FMOD Play/Stop, assets or packaged builds.

It was developed and tested with Unreal Engine 5.7.4 and FMOD 2.03.11. I have attached a comparison screenshot with a standard Unreal audio track.

I would be happy to share the code or submit a pull request. Please let me know which repository branch and contribution method you would prefer.

github.com/fmod/fmod-for-unreal

Add editor-only FMOD Event waveform visualization to Unreal Sequencer (#88)

2.03-UE5.7 ← forsenkappa:feature/sequencer-event-waveforms

opened 11:28AM - 30 Jul 26 UTC

forsenkappa

+2748 -1486

## Summary This contribution adds editor-only waveform visualization for FMOD… Event Control Tracks in Unreal Sequencer. The waveform is generated automatically for FMOD Events referenced by Play keys and displayed directly inside the Sequencer section. ## Motivation Waveform previews are important when synchronizing dialogue and sound effects with animation, camera cuts and other cinematic timing. Standard Unreal audio tracks already provide this visual reference, while FMOD Event Control Tracks currently do not. ## Features - Real FMOD Event waveform displayed in Sequencer - Automatic generation without clicking the section - Event name - 2D or 3D status - One-shot or looping status - Event duration in seconds - Stop keys limit the visible waveform range - Duplicate Events are processed once per GUID ## Implementation Waveforms are generated using a separate editor-only FMOD Studio `NOSOUND_NRT` system. A DSP callback reduces the rendered audio to compact mono peak data. Full PCM audio is not stored. Sequencer only reads the cached peak data and renders it through Slate. All changes are isolated to `FMODStudioEditor`. The implementation does not modify normal FMOD runtime playback, Event instances, Play/Stop evaluation, FMOD assets, MovieScene serialization or the runtime FMOD system. ## Current limitations Waveform generation currently supports finite one-shot Events with a valid duration. Looping Events, programmer Events and Events without a valid duration continue to work normally, but do not display a waveform. ## Tested with - Unreal Engine 5.7.4 - FMOD Studio 2.03.11 - Development Editor build - Automatic waveform generation when opening Sequencer - Normal FMOD Play and Stop behavior ## Screenshots Comparison between a standard Unreal audio track and the FMOD Event Control Track with waveform visualization:

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FMOD Event Waveform Visualization in Unreal Engine Sequencer

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