live waveform drawing during drag on Premiere timeline

[Ivan Eldredge]

Hello Tim,

Unfortunately, Premiere doesn’t show waveforms while you’re actively dragging a clip on the timeline. The waveform only updates after you drop it, and yeah, it does make manual syncing kind of a pain.

That said, if you’re trying to sync two recordings of the same audio (like camera scratch audio and external mic), there’s a quick way around it: just throw both clips on the timeline, select them, right-click, and choose Synchronize. Then use the “Audio Track Channel” option—it does a solid job of lining them up based on waveform matching.

If you’re working with music or other elements without a shared audio source, one trick is to use markers. You can place a marker on the timeline where you want the sync point, and another on the clip itself (in the Source Monitor or in the timeline). As you drag the clip, Premiere will snap the clip marker to the timeline marker, making alignment a lot easier without needing to see the waveform move.

Hope that helps!
Best,

Ivan Eldredge G.

[Tim Neighbors]

Thanks Ivan. The marker tip is a good one. It’s unfortunate that Premiere can’t do this, but your tip will help.