How to keep external audio track from moving when synchronizing with multiple video tracks?

[Carson Gale]

Alright (this is an edited post)

1. I see what you’re doing, and have explored the function. I didn’t even know that existed in premiere pro! So that was interesting.
2. The way you’re working through your project, maybe this won’t work for you. But the way I would approach this is one of two ways.

a) Bring in two layers. Identical copies of the continuous audio. Bring in your media, and sync it with the ‘sync’ track (one of the full length audio clips). Then group those files (The new clip you brought in, plus the audio) and manually align the two full length audio clips. Now un group, and your new clip is synced with BOTH the sync and stationary audio track, regardless if it pulled the audio forward, or pulled the video forward.
b) It seems to work that it always brings clips forward in time to sync them, and never pushes clips backwards, this is probably because you could run into problems trying to push media into negative space. Imagine if you have a clip that syncs at 1 minute in, and you bring both clips in and start them at 0, now premiere wants to move the audio you have into negative one minute on the timeline. This obviously isn’t plausible.
So, just bring your clip in on a new layer, at the beginning of the timeline, where it will definitely be the clip to be moved forward, select it and the audio layer, and let it bring your new clip forward in time until it’s synced. Next clip the ends of the media as needed and drop it into the layer you need it in.

[Ilya Blokh]

Hi Carson – thanks so much for taking a look into this. That sounds like a great approach, will try it next time I’m doing this.

It does seem like something Premier should address though – a simple setting that tells it to use a specific track as an “anchor” would do the trick I think (and perhaps it would throw a warning if the clip was going to move into negative space).

[Thomas Alberti]

So is the feature totally absent?

[Lalven Sanga]

I was having the same trouble. Thanks Ilya for posting about it. Premier needs to address the issue

[Jason Conrad]

“It seems to work that it always brings clips forward in time to sync them”

-This answered the question for me. Thanks.

[Paul Judd]

Hi, everyone!

It was annoying issue for me for years and finally i’ve got it fixed!

Now if you wanna synchronize one track with another using the last as an “anchor” just put the new one on timeline before or even at the very beginning of the existing clip and use the sync option as usual. Pemiere will move the new one instead of the old one.

Cheers

[Craig Giffen]

Thank you!

This is kind of an esoteric/counterintuitive fix, but hey it works! I just shoved everything on the timeline over to the right a bit. Then one by one, I drag the clip to the start, then sync with my audio track…and it puts the video track in the right spot. Repeat.

Thanks again. This has bugged me for awhile now.

[Kevin Perkins]

it’s insane that even years later this is still an issue, but first of all, thank you so much for the (100% accurate) response!

Putting the new vid to be synchronized at the beginning of the timeline does the trick. It’s amazing that by linking previously imported clips to the master timeline makes sync unavailable for any new vid/audio to be synchronized.