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jonnymackjackson
jonnymackjackson
Known Participant
Apr 17, 2019 3:13 PM UTC
Answered

How to trim audio less than a frame in After Effects?

This seems like a fairly obvious and simple question, but I can't find the answer anywhere. I'm relatively new to AE--I come from the audio world in which it is possible to trim an audio clip right down to the teensiest waveform--in literally any DAW that exists. So why wouldn't it be possible to do that right within AE? We recorded the audio for our current project in ProTools, separately from the video, and now it's about half a frame off from the video. Ultimately, it will be hard to notice, but even so, it's eating me up--there's gotta be a way (other than going into Premiere---we don't have any cuts, just one shot with green screen and animation, so it doesn't make sense to link to Pr).

    Roland Kahlenberg
    Roland KahlenbergCorrect answer
    Legend
    Apr 17, 2019 4:18 PM UTC

    Trimming may seem easy but there is some engineering required to things work sub-frame. It's a good idea to think of Adobe's DVA tools as a set of tools that work together. In, AE, you can select the Audio Layer and choose Edit in Audition, via the Edit Menu.

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    17 replies

    AaronMrvelj
    Participant
    Sep 20, 2025 8:51 AM UTC

    I just had to deal with this issue. The quick and dirty fix for me was to time stretch my audio 200% which allowed me to shift and trim where I needed. Then I reverted back to 100% length.

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    jamespianoo
    Participant
    Jun 10, 2020 6:53 PM UTC

    Old thread, but I feel you man, some of the community here are downright hostile to people learning the software and asking for help. I've found by prerendering the video and the increasing the frame rate to 60fps I was able to sync everything up, then move it back to 30fps - it's not 100% perfect, but it's a lot closer than one frame.

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      GPK15
      Participant
      Jul 9, 2021 1:44 PM UTC

      Also, you can increase your composition frame rate, adjust your audio position, and then take your frame rate back down. The audio will stay in the same position it was on the higher frame rate. This allows you to get smaller move increments without too much hassle. I know you can set a custom frame rate up to at least 300fps. If you're trying to sync things this allows you to see both waveforms in the timeline as well.

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        jimmyg254018
        Participant
        Feb 24, 2020 4:22 PM UTC

        I had the same issue where I wanted sub-frametime aligned sync of a separately recorded audio track.

         

        I worked around this by using the Delay effect. I.e, place the sound on the closest frame possible that is before your desired sync point. Then you set "Feedback" & "Dry Out" to 0%, "Delay Amount" & "Wet Out" to 100%, and you tweak the Delay Time parameter to get your audio in sync.

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          Doug5C05
          Participant
          Mar 29, 2021 12:54 PM UTC

          Best and most simple solution to my problem, thanks!

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            Community Expert
            Byron CortezCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            Apr 17, 2019 4:27 PM UTC

            It occurs to me to give your audio the exact duration of your video in the Layer / Time / Time Stretch menu option ... in "New Duration" you set the duration of your video so you will get a perfect synchronization and this change will be imperceptible.

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            Byron.
            Martin_Ritter
            Martin_Ritter
            Legend
            Apr 17, 2019 4:51 PM UTC

            errmm..

            Why? Why do you bother answering? What is the point of being a snide troll? Do you think you're being helpful?

            Q:

            I come from the audio world in which it is possible to trim an audio clip right down to the teensiest waveform [...]

            So why wouldn't it be possible to do that right within AE?

            A:

            ... and in every video editing software the smallest unit is a frame, therefore you do such things in an audio tool.

            The first post is the answer. Don't blame us if you don't like it.

            *Martin

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              Mike_Abbott
              Mike_Abbott
              Legend
              Apr 17, 2019 3:59 PM UTC

              "-in literally any DAW that exists. So why wouldn't it be possible to do that right within AE?"

              Because AE is not a DAW.

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                jonnymackjackson
                jonnymackjacksonAuthor
                Known Participant
                Apr 17, 2019 4:12 PM UTC

                Why? Why do you bother answering? What is the point of being a snide troll? Do you think you're being helpful?

                If Ae doesn't have the capability, then you could say something like "Ae doesn't currently have this function. Here's a link to the suggestion area".

                Just because Ae isn't  specifically a DAW or an editor doesn't mean it can't be used as such--especially for something as simple as trimming.

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                  Roland Kahlenberg
                  Roland KahlenbergCorrect answer
                  Legend
                  Apr 17, 2019 4:18 PM UTC

                  Trimming may seem easy but there is some engineering required to things work sub-frame. It's a good idea to think of Adobe's DVA tools as a set of tools that work together. In, AE, you can select the Audio Layer and choose Edit in Audition, via the Edit Menu.

                  Translate
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                  Martin_Ritter
                  Martin_Ritter
                  Legend
                  Apr 17, 2019 3:32 PM UTC

                  ... and in every video editing software the smallest unit is a frame, therefore you do such things in an audio tool.

                  *Martin

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                  jonnymackjackson
                  jonnymackjacksonAuthor
                  Known Participant
                  Apr 17, 2019 4:02 PM UTC

                  But......   How to Move Audio Less Than a Frame   | Adobe Premiere Pro - YouTube

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                  Martin_Ritter
                  Martin_Ritter
                  Legend
                  Apr 17, 2019 4:04 PM UTC

                  AE is also not an editing software...

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