A/V Synch in After Effects?

liquidthex · Post by **liquidthex** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:31 pm

Hi, noob here (like most =) I'm trying to learn how to do audio/video synching..

I've been learning on Adobe After Effects, and I've learned how to do some neat stuff in it.. but I just can't figure out how to do any kind of realistic synching..

My main problem is that there does not seem to be a way to step over the audio in real-time frame by frame (video frames).

So I can only work with the waveform and audio preview... but when I do that, most of my effects are out of synch a little bit..

When I use Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 I can step over the audio frame by frame in real time, hear each beat, and my synch comes out much cleaner.. But I dislike premiere.

I'm currently waiting for my Total Training for Premiere 2.0 to arrive, so maybe it will answer some questions and make premiere easier for me to use.. But at the moment I prefer after effects.

Minion · Post by **Minion** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:45 am

after effects is NOT for making the video. is it as the name implies. for effects.
you do your editing in premiere.

you can listen to the audio by either holding ctrl while you scrub, or doing a RAM preview.

liquidthex · Post by **liquidthex** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 5:47 am

Thanks for the reply.

I guess I'm just trying to use After Effects for more than it's meant for.

I'll try to learn more about Premiere.

Brad · Post by **Brad** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 6:18 am

This is my #1 issue with AE. I love what it does and it's a program I'm likely to end up using in my future line of work, but I've always hated how it deals with audio.. If it dealt with audio the same way Premiere did, I would feel waaaaay more comfortable working in it (aside from the fact that it's a resource KILLER, and how it deals with vector graphics imported from other programs, but thats not really an issue for AMV's).

However, one thing that might help you is holding down the Ctrl key while scrubbing, and you will hear the audio.

BauziOLD · Post by **BauziOLD** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 6:43 am

Or press the "," key at your numpad for a short audio-only preview.
(you can set how long this preview is in the settings. If I remember right the default is on 5 seconds).

liquidthex · Post by **liquidthex** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:01 am

All good stuff..

I think I'm going to be forced to learn premiere though.. ctrl+scrubbing is nice but I don't think it really cuts it for fast paced music synching..? Not like premiere's ability to simply hit left/right between frames..

As I said before I'm waiting for training videos to arrive, but I've given a shot at learning it intuitively a couple times recently, and I just can't get the hang of it..

I can only do very simple effects with it, and if after effects is only designed to do effects I'm apperently missing something on integration because when I try to import an after effects project or comp I get an error telling me I need adobe production studio..

I believe After Effects was not just designed to create effects, which you author in your videos elsewhere (like in premiere) I believe it was designed as a full authoring studio, like premiere.. Just with special effects in mind as the key element.

I'm curious if anyone can tell me, aside from the audio synching, what can premiere do that after effects cannot (or can do easier/better than AE) ?

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:01 am

What i've been doing for audio in AE is placing in/out markers in premiere around the section i'm working with, marking off beets with the little marker tools, pulling the out point to each marker, and using the time code to sync stuff. It may be a bit long, but it works quite well.

Zarxrax · Post by **Zarxrax** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:15 pm

I normally just sync through the ram preview (0 key). I'll hold down ctrl and scrub to find the general location I need, then fine tune with the ram preview.

If you are trying to line up a video clip to the audio, yes it is a huge pain in the ass. For the kinds of things I use it for though, I don't really have a problem with it. Usually you will only be working with a very small section of the timeline at a time, about 1-2 seconds or so. In such a small scale I don't find it hard at all to sync something properly.

The problem is syncing video vs syncing stuff you make yourself. With video, you just have a clip there, and you might need to time some random section in the middle of the clip to a certain part on the audio. Its hard to do.

With things you make yourself, you can see the edges of the layers, and the positions of your keyframes. This makes it very easy to know exactly where you need to place something. To help out on video layers, you should try making some layer markers on it, or add some dummy keyframes.