Help with importing audio file from Premiere Pro to After effects just for reference purposes only

I do these kinds of projects all the time. Here's my workflow.

Storyboard and edit in Premiere Pro using footage where necessary, but mostly images or just text layers. I get the audio as close as I can to what I need.

Step 2- open the sequence in Adobe Audition from Premiere Pro using Dynamic Link. In Audition, I do a preliminary mix of the narration and any music or other sound effects that I know will be in the final project. I save the multi-track mix down to a 48 HKZ 16Bit WAV file (industry standard) then I go through the saved track and add markers for everything and I label them.

Step three, I start a new After Effects project, import only the Audio Track. Create a new comp that is the right standard frame size and frame rate for the production and then I add the full audio track to the composition. 

The markers that I added in Audition show up complete with labels. I then start going through the audio track and split the layers at each key phrase or idea. I usually also export an h.264 video only copy of my edited storyboards from premiere to be used just as a reference. If I have the storyboard track I set it as a guide layer and also start splitting that up into layers using Shift + Ctrl/Cmnd + D. 

When I have the entire project cut up into sections I will add a little overlap on the shots (ideas or phrases) that I know that I want to overlap in the final edit, then pre-compose all of the pairs of trimmed audio and guide layer video track making sure that the new comps are trimmed to the length of the layers. 

So did you follow all that? Rough cut in Premiere Pro, mix audio and add markers in Audition, import the audio and if you have it the rough cut in Premiere Pro into AE and make a big master comp that includes the entire show in one comp.

Then you cut up the original layers and pre-compose, trimming to the layer length. I carefully label all of the pre-comps and I make sure that all layers in the pre-comps are locked. 

Here's the crazy part. I now delete the Master Comp. I don't need it. I'm going to render all of those pre-comps labeled and organized into scenes and then finalize the edit in Premiere Pro. 

All of the new in the Project have labels and most of the time a storyboard. If I haven't already done so I create all the artwork for each scene or shot (the pre-comps) using Illustrator stacking everything that needs to be animated into a separate layer, then I import as a comp in After Effects, open the comp, select all the layers, Copy, then open the pre-comp I made for scene 1, and paste in the copies layers from the AI file for that scene. If all of the layers are in their hero positions I just go to the marker for the first event, set a keyframe because that's where the layer is supposed to land, then move back to the start and set the first position, then move to the end and set the ending position. The markers almost completely eliminate the need to scrub through the audio. To tell you the truth most of the moving layers are animated by one of the more than 200 animations presets I have created over the years that use layer in and out points instead of keyframes, and then a little tweaking and I'm ready to render that scene.  With the right set of Animation Presets, a 30-minute explainer video can be created in a few days instead of a few weeks. 

Just for fun, I'll share on often used and easily adjustable one that flys a layer of any size or scale in from the left side of the screen, bounces to a stop, then the layer falls off the screen just before the out point. You don't do anything but set the in and out point and adjust the resting or hero position if necessary.

Here's the Animation Preset. I hope these suggestions help. This is what one of my projects looks like:

Hey reformist!

You could try exporting your audio clip individually and then importing that into After Effects for editing. You could also export the entire audio track as it's own .WAV file and trim down the audio in After Effects. We have a tutorial on cutting clips in After Effects, in case you need it.

After you've exported the .WAV file from Premiere, import it into After Effects and create your animation in line with the audio as you'd like to do. 

If you ever have a clip that only needs graphic work and you don't need the audio at all, I'd recommend using our dynamic link feature between Premiere & AE! 

Hope this helps

Caroline