Manually Appending Tracks

Hi,

Is it possible to manually append multiple audio tracks to a clip in DR? i.e. select sound sync based on waveform and append tracks, then source the other audio files (e.g. a Lav mic) that DR failed to sync and then add this to the clip. Then all I want to do is simply get DR to append all linked files so if this particular clip is then dragged in to another timeline by the editor, all of the correct multiple audio files come along with it.

The above would be so utterly simple and useful - I just cannot fathom how we can edit our film in DR without some sort of ability to perform this basic elemental task. BM - What am I missing??

I have tried using compound clips as a workaround, however there appears to be bugs (DR 17.1) When I view certain assembled timelines made of compound clips, many of the audio clips have been substituted by audio clips with the name of the video clip and contain no audio - the original synced audio clips have vanished.

Also if I could manually append a clip, then if the editor chooses to use just a single audio track, there may be a way of creating a conformed AAF file for export that would contain all of the original audio as the dialogue editor who would want all of the audio channels of that particular scene. All would still be in sync because the original clips used had all audio synced in the first place. (Hope that makes sense).

Help!

Kind Regards,

Lee

Is it possible to manually append multiple audio tracks to a clip in DR? i.e. select sound sync based on waveform and append tracks, then source the other audio files (e.g. a Lav mic) that DR failed to sync and then add this to the clip. Then all I want to do is simply get DR to append all linked files so if this particular clip is then dragged in to another timeline by the editor, all of the correct multiple audio files come along with it.

You could do another Sync Audio -> Append based on timecode? If they have matching timecode this will work.

There's also the manual audio sync in the Media page, but I believe that only allows manually syncing a single external audio clip.

Those Sync Audio options are the only way to add tracks to a clip inside Resolve. What I really wish we had was some kind of UI for adding audio tracks - like a timeline view on an individual media file where you could then drag in any audio clips you wanted, and manually position them, and then these manually added audio files would be embedded in the clip.

EDIT: I added a feature request for this: Timeline UI for manually syncing audio clips to video files.

As a workaround, you could:
- Create a timeline from the media file, with the same resolution and frame rate as the media file.
- Manually drag in the extra audio clips.
- Sync the audio clips, either by eye or using the in-timeline "Align Audio" based on timecode or waveform.
- Once done, Deliver in Single Clip mode, with the option to "Render as discrete audio tracks" and "All Timeline Tracks".

- Then use the newly rendered file in place of the original file. It will have the original video plus all the manually added audio files as individual tracks.
- Repeat the above steps for every media file involved.

This would require rendering the video using a suitable high-quality intermediate codec, like ProRes or DNxHR. If the source media is a RAW format then you'd have to bake the RAW settings. Though you could use the resulting file only as a proxy for the video, and then later reconform the video only back to the original video file , leaving the audio using the newly rendered version.

It would be really nice to have a way to manually sync audio via the append track method. Not only for retaining the original in-camera audio but for situations where there are multiple recorder tracks and the Auto Sync is not working. Basically the situation I'm facing right now If anyone has found a solution for this please let me know.

Still waiting for this feature in 2023.

Manual syncing works great on the Media page! We just need a little dropdown arrow under the "Link/Unlik Audio" button that says "Append Audio". My Tascam records two separate tracks for channels 1&2 and 3&4 so what can I do?