Adaptive audio tracks

[KazuTa]

I'm working on a project I inherited from another Assistant Editor. With some of the raw footage, the audio mapping is set to Adaptive; so the audio for these clips can only exist on Adaptive audio tracks in the sequences. Is there any benefit in my Modifying them (to 4-channel Mono, as they appear to have four channels) and, moving forward, cutting them into sequences as 4-channel Mono rather than 4-channel Adaptive? What happens with Adaptive audio when turned over to sound within an AAF? 

[MyerPj]

@PaulMurphy Maybe Paul can comment.

[PaulMurphy]

There's generally no harm in converting your clips to 4-channel mono if that's what you're used to working with. That said, delivering Adaptive audio in an AAF should not pose any issues.

The main challenge with Adaptive tracks arises during playback:

• If you're working in a sequence with a stereo (2-channel) mix, channels 3 and 4 of the Adaptive track won’t be audible.
• Even in a multichannel sequence, you need to ensure your Adaptive track is correctly routed in the Audio Track Mixer. Without proper routing, channels 3 and 4 may not be heard through your stereo output (e.g., headphones or speakers).

So while Adaptive audio is supported, it's important to set up your sequence and audio routing properly to hear all channels during editing.

[KazuTa]

If there are different sources for each track (i.e., lav, on-camera mic, etc.) and we want the sound vendor to be able to pick & choose how much of each track they want to use for the best mix, would the four channels be delivered discretely in an AAF if, in our Premiere sequence, the audio is only on one adaptive audio track? 

• For playback during editing in a sequence with a stereo (2-channel) mix, how do we make channels 3 and 4 of the Adaptive track audible?

• How would we correctly route them in a multichannel sequence? Can i change the Sequence Settings on a stereo sequence to make it into a multichannel sequence? Or do I need to use a custom sequence preset that's set up for multichannel (per your awesome video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiVYRuWohZI)?

[PaulMurphy · Accepted solution]

Yes, when exporting an AAF, Adaptive audio tracks will be broken out into discrete mono channels.

If your mix is stereo (2 channels), Adaptive tracks will also be limited to those 2 channels—effectively discarding channels 3 and 4. Unfortunately, the Mix Type of a sequence can't be changed after it's created. That’s why I recommend starting with a Multichannel sequence set to 2 channels. It functions like stereo but gives you the flexibility to expand with additional channels as needed.

I use personally use an Adaptive workflow regularly for documentary editing because it allows me to keep the timeline clean by using a single clip, without filling vertical space with audio channels I won’t need until the final sound mix. Note that this method hasn’t been tested in all scenarios, so your results may vary.

Here’s my workflow:

1. Create a multichannel sequence — Set the sequence to match the maximum number of audio channels in your clips (e.g., 4).
   
   
2. Set up Adaptive track routing — In your editing sequence, go to the Track Output Channel Assignments for your Adaptive track, enable the first two rows of channel boxes in the routing matrix. This sends all input channels to both left and right output channels (mixing to center).
   
   
3. Modify clip audio channels for editing —
   • Select the Adaptive clip in the timeline.
   • Go to Clip > Modify > Audio Channels.
   • Set the Active Number of Channels to match your editing needs. For example, if you only need the boom mic, set it to 1 and select that channel. For a host and guest setup, set it to 2.
     
     
   This keeps your timeline focused and reduces clutter.
   
   
4. Re-enable full audio for AAF export —
   • Select all Adaptive clips (keeping them on a single track helps).
   • Go to Clip > Modify > Audio Channels again and increase the Active Number of Channels to include all recorded channels (e.g., set to 32 to auto-assign the clip’s maximum, like 4).

This workflow lets you streamline editing while preserving all audio channels for your final sound mix.

[KazuTa]

Super helpful & informative!

If I Modify the channels on the source clips, will that affect how they're mapped in our stereo edit sequences? When I follow your workflow, I see how, when I re-enable full audio for the AAF export, it affects those clips in the multichannel sequence. However, as I'm an Assistant Editor, I'd like to not mess with the clips in my editor's stereo sequence, I'd only like to affect how the audio is mapped for these clips moving forward.

[PaulMurphy]

Changing the channel format of clips in the Project panel won't affect any clips that have already been added to a sequence. If you've already placed a clip on the timeline, you'll need to re-add it after modifying its channel format in the Project panel to see the changes reflected in your sequence.