How to Use Reverb Depth to Simulate Movement

Automating panning in order to create a sense of side-to-side movement in a mix or track is a tried-and-true stereo trick. But you can also create a sense of front-to-back or back-to-front movement using a reverb. Start by putting a reverb plug-in on a separate auxiliary track. Use settings that convey a sense of location and depth (in other words, a room or other physical space setting instead of a plate or spring reverb). Then, on your source track, set up a send to that auxiliary track. Configure your send so that it is pre-fader, so that any subsequent processing, panning, and fader adjustment on that track will not affect the send level. Now automate the reverb send on your source track; the more signal you send to the reverb, the farther back in space your source material will sound. You can use this to add subtle motion or drastic special effects, such as bringing a pitch riser that begins in the distance right into your face as the pitch gets higher.