Audio out of sync after inserting transitions between clips

[rhetfield]

Hi all,

I have been working on a project. I brought in mpeg2 files from my Sony HDD cam. I then split out the audio from some of the clips. I then cut up the clips and inserted new scenes (the video switches back and forth between speaker/singer and audience). So far, so good. The problem comes if I insert transitions between the scenes to allow smooth fades between scenes. Once this is done, the audio ends up out of sync.

Does anybody know how the insertion of transitions affects the time line and what the best way to keep the audio in sync with the video when inserting them is? This is important, since most of the audio will eventually have to be split off, exported, filtered for background noise, then brought back in.

Thank You,
Randy

[Black Lab]

A transition is actually an overlapping of two clips. Say you have two clips, one is 4 seconds long and the other is 3 seconds long for a total of 7 seconds. If you insert, say a 1 second crossfade in between, the last second of the first clip and the first second of the second clip will overlap each other, and your resulting project will now only be a total of 6 seconds long. (Try this using two of the short sample clips VideoStudio provides for a clearer understanding of how this works.)

So, if you have split the audio before inserting transitions, then yes, your audio will be out of sync, as you have discovered. I think your easiest option is to do all of the editing of your clips, including adding transitions, with the audio still intact. After your edits are complete, then you can split the audio. An alternative would be to use both the voice and music tracks to overlap your audio clips to mimic the overlap caused by the transitions.