Syncing audio with visual cues in after effects

[Walter Soyka]

[Nic Cross] “Hi I need help on figuring out the best setting for Syncing audio with visual cues in after effects. We need to be able to play in real time the footage in order to determine when best the animation should start/happen. Right now we are playing the footage in Avid and getting the timing of the clip to match it to the animation but its frustrating as its too much back and forth and surely after effects can do things in real time with a proxy?”

AE isn’t a realtime system, so you’re already doing this the best way by timing it out in an external program. When I’m working on a project with lots of audio cues like this, I time it out in FCP and note the frame counter where each effect must begin and end.

Your best option inside of AE is to press the period key on the numeric keypad (to begin an audio preview), and then tap the asterisk on the numeric keypad to add a markers as the audio plays.

You can also twirl down the audio waveform (or select an audio track and hit L twice) to use as a guide.

Finally, you might check out Trapcode Sound Keys, which may or may not help, depending on what effects you need to achieve.

[Nic Cross] “And why when I make proxies the audio always disappears? “

When you add the proxies to your render queue, did you add audio to your output module? It’s not there by default.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
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[Nic Cross]

Ok then After Effects may not be the best choice then…

So is there any other compositing software that works with audio better then After Effects? Pref with motion graphics capabilities…