Time Display - Waveform master vs MT clip

Report · Nov 20, 2019

I'm using AU CC 2018. I begin each project with a 50 minute master of raw dialogue. I place the raw master on track 1, save the project with an appropriate name, and begin cutting. First phase of project is a 22 minute clean version of the original. We typicaly get two episodes from each 50 min "master" and they are uploaded for broadcast. Here's the problem:

Weeks later, an instruction comes from the producer, with certain lines or words to be omited from the oroginal raw master, so they won't appear in the 33 min episodes. So I call up the oroginal raw master and see that it obviously begins at 00:00:000. Now I can move along the timeline and find the offending words I've been tasked to strike. Obviously I can't destructively cut the oroginal, so I now open one of the edited episodes I think might contain the edit points. Now of course the Audition timeline tells me the episode has begun at zero and I move to some point in the timeline I think will be in the neighborhood of the needed edit. But, where am I now in relation to the master? In previous versions I could double click on the region and the waveform window would open and reveal the original timeline reading. In the past couple of versions the waveform timeline indicates some arbitrary offset and if I scroll back to the head of the waveform view, it's not zero; not even close. If I close everthing and re-open the raw master, it begins at zero. With it still open, I open the edited project and attempt to toggle back to waveform, same weird offset. In the last few weeks, toggeling to the waveform and back to edited MT project, they both have the same timeline reading as the edited project. There's something I'm missing. The solution so far is converting all my work back to preferred DAW, which is not over-engineered and everything works as expected.

Thanks for suggestions.

Report · Nov 20, 2019

Have you tried putting a check in Preferences>Multitrack Clips>Synchronise clips with Waveform Editor? If you do this, and click on an appropriate point in your multitrack edit, the original file should open at the correct point in Waveform view, so you'll have a direct time reference.

The other thing of course is that you shouldn't be editing from the raw master anyway - that's definitely bad practice. You should be editing from a copy - which of course you can butcher to your heart's content because you'll always have the original to go back to if you screw it up. So if you know where the edit points are in that, you could remove them from your submaster (aka editing copy) anyway, couldn't you?

Report · Nov 20, 2019

Thanks Steve for the response.

1. Yes, the "synchronise clips with waveform" box has been checked all along. I've tried it unchecked also but nothing effected. Here's a more specific example. I just finished a project, saved and closed as usual. I open the project again, set the cursor in the middle of the project. Se instead of 00:00:000 the time indicator says 00:17:300. At this point I can press 9 (windows key stroke), or just double click the clip and get the waveform window. Okay, the cursor is at the correct point and the waveform timeline also says 00:17:300. Well, that can't be. So, I hit the "Home" key to take me to the head of the waveform and the timeline indicator now reads -12:14:282. Well, we know that's not right. So I "close all" and re open just the waveform master file and yep, it begins at 00:00:000 as it should. So I'm stumped.

2. As to editing the original masters, no we always avoid touching those with any kind of time sensitive edits. I work with a team (via dropbox) who accesses these masters, to create several versions and lengths of feature material (i.e. :30 promos, 2:00 features) besides the half hour shows. The complexity increases when you consider many of these various programs are re-aired months or years later with current intro and spots inside. So we're constantly updating EDLs to reflect new versions of archived masters. It can be tricky, but good record keeping and safe file storage is the saftey net. Unfortunately, we've yet to convince the client to follow our methods. They've got their own library and issue revisions via their time code references. What fun!

Report · Nov 21, 2019

In that case, try taking the check out of that box - it appears to be doing the exact opposite of what you want!