Re: Syncing Audio with Vision on clips not sequences

That's just how Avid is! :-) Just kidding.

Avid's timelines grow as you put more media into them. If you want a long, blank timeline you can cut in a piece of media (say a cut of music), then lift out all but the last few frames or seconds. For example, if I drop a 3 minute music track into a blank sequence and lift all but the last second, I have a three minute timeline with 2:59 of blank. Then you can disable the source side audio tracks and insert edit 10 times to drop filler in for another 30 minutes. Now you have a thirty minute timeline with no media except for the last second.

Having said that--you'll likely get frustrated with Avid if you try to use it this way. It isn't designed like that. If you need to insert a shot into your timeline, you should use Insert Edit. It will keep everything in sync for the tracks you have selected and will drop your shot in where you have your In or Out point marked.

To sync Video to Audio--load the video into your source monitor. Find a good sync point (the clap of a slate, for example), and mark an In. Load the audio into your source monitor, find the same sync point (the CLAP! sound). Mark an In. In your bin, select the audio and video and go to your Bin menu and choose Autosync. Choose to sync by In point (if the audio and video have matching timecode you can skip marking an In point). It will make a new clip that contains the Audio and Video in sync.

Or, you can lay your Video and Audio out in a sequence and sync them there. Then Drag your sync sequence to your source monitor to edit. or choose your sequence and do the Autosync again. It will turn the sequence into a synced audio/video clip. Edit!

That said, if you're learning Avid by coming over from another editor (FCP or Premiere or Edius or Vegas, etc...), it is best to try to forget how the other system works. Avid works differently than any other system I've sat down at, and it's best to just accept it as is and try things the "Avid" way. It will frustrate you at first, but it starts to make sense as you embrace it. Trust me, I cursed a blue streak trying to learn FCP after I had been using Avid for a while.

Michael.