How do I remove a sound effect once I've added it to a layer?

[charleyh66677548]

I'm trying out the in-built sound effects but it seems every time I add one to a layer I can't seem to get rid of it. I tried deleting it (ctrl+X or delete button) but that just gets rid of the whole layer. Also, when I open the actual waveform it won't let me click on it or do anything with it. Is there a way of getting rid of sounds like this other than with the 'Undo' feature?

[Byron Cortez]

Upload one or several screenshots to try to see what is happening in the interface of Ae. You may have blocked the layer, or shy, or something like that.

[charleyh66677548]

So, I'd like to delete the 'Audio' part I've highlighted. How do I do that without deleting the whole layer (or pressing 'undo')?

[Byron Cortez]

You can not delete only the audio without the entire layer. You must use Audio Levels and go down to the decibels. Where it says +0.00 dB you must put a negative value (like -30.00 dB, for example) at all or you can also use the keyframes to download only one part.

[charleyh66677548]

So it stays with you forever? I've thankfully managed to get rid of them using the undo function but with that in mind I'll probably import my own sound and add them as separate layers (which I've noticed you can do). Thanks for the warning. Is it worth raising this point with the developers and suggesting a way to delete sound from a layer just like any other effect? Or are they already aware of this?

[Byron Cortez]

It is a good suggestion, however you may already have noticed that there are not many tools or options for audio in After Effects, this is because its main function is not to manipulate audio. For that we have Audition or Premiere Pro and if you do not want to use the audio in the layer of your video in Ae simply disable it or add a few keyframes.

[Rick Gerard]

A layer has in and out points, but only one source. You cannot have more than one in and out point pair in a layer. Every compositing app that I know of works like this.

Let's say your audio track has a dog barking at 4 seconds, then the dog barks again at 10 seconds. You want the dog to bark at 4 seconds and then at 6 seconds. Here's what you do:

1. Move the CTI to the end of the dog barking at 5 seconds
2. Press Shift + Ctrl/Cmnd + D to split the layer
3. Make sure the top copy of the layer is selected and move the CTI until the dog starts barking again at 10 seconds and press Alt/Option + [ to set a new in point for the top copy
4. Grab the top copy of the top layer in the middle, not at the in point, and drag it until the new in point lines up with the bottom layers out point at 5 seconds.
5. If needed overlap each layer by dragging or adjusting the in and out points and set up a crossfade using audio levels to help hide the cut.

That is how you edit audio in After Effects,

A much better option is to edit your audio track in Audition or at least Premiere Pro, export it to at least a 48Khz 16-bit standard WAV file and use that in AE, because After Effects is NOT an audio editing app and the tools are extremely limited.