Nikon ZR R3D NE — Interpret Footage 59.94 → 23.976 breaks audio duration

Nikon ZR R3D NE — Interpret Footage 59.94 → 23.976 breaks audio duration

Premiere version: 26.3.2

Camera: Nikon ZR

Codec: R3D NE / REDCODE

Source frame rate: 59.94 fps

Interpreted frame rate: 23.976 fps

I have a project containing Nikon ZR R3D NE footage recorded at 59.94 fps with embedded audio.

I used Modify → Interpret Footage → Assume this frame rate: 23.976 to create slow motion. Initially, Premiere slowed both the video and embedded audio together as expected. The audio played at the slowed speed and remained the same duration as the interpreted video.

After saving and reopening the project, Premiere still correctly interprets the video at 23.976, but the embedded audio now plays at its original speed/duration. As a result, the audio ends approximately 40% of the way through each interpreted video clip.

This is happening at the master/source clip level, not just in existing sequences. If I take an affected R3D NE clip from the Project panel and place it into a brand-new sequence, the video is correctly slowed to 23.976 but the audio remains at its original duration.

Resetting the footage to its original 59.94 frame rate and then re-interpreting it as 23.976 does not fix the issue. I am not using proxies.

This has also affected existing edited sequences containing many cuts, making it impossible to simply change the audio speed to 40% without altering the existing audio edit points.

Expected behavior: When 59.94 footage is interpreted as 23.976, both the video and embedded audio should have their duration increased by approximately 2.5x, as they did when the project was originally edited.

Actual behavior: Video duration increases approximately 2.5x, while embedded R3D NE audio remains at its original duration and playback speed.

This appears to be an issue with Premiere’s handling of embedded audio in Nikon ZR R3D NE media when using Interpret Footage.