Linking video and audio clips in the Timeline

When you add a clip containing video and audio to the program, and you've specified adding both the video and audio portions (see Specifying source and target tracks), the video portion appears in a video track and the audio portion appears in an audio track. The video and audio portions of the clip are linked so that when you drag the video portion in the Timeline, the linked audio moves with it. If you split the clip, the video and audio are still linked within the two resulting clips. You can link video only to audio--you cannot link a video clip to another video clip.

In many situations it is useful to link or unlink clips manually. For example, you might want to move previously unlinked audio or video clips together, or edit the In or Out point of the video or audio portion of a clip independently. You don't have to unlink clips if you only want to delete one clip or the other.

When you want to work with linked clips individually, temporarily turn off synchronized behavior by using the Toggle Sync Mode button. When Sync mode is on, both clips of a linked pair behave as a single unit. In this mode, all Timeline tools act on both clips in a linked pair, and both clips are affected when you select, trim, split, delete, move, nudge, or change the duration or speed of either clip. When Sync mode is off, linked clips can be edited independently, as if they were not linked. Premiere keeps track of sync information, even when Sync mode is turned off. When linked clips are moved out of sync, both clips display a red triangle at the In point to indicate the out-of-sync condition.

Note: The On Insert options in the Timeline Window Options dialog box control how clips are shifted along the Timeline, regardless of the Sync mode setting. If Shift Material in All Tracks is selected in the Timeline Window Options dialog box, all tracks are rippled in response to an edit. If Shift Material Only in Target Tracks is selected, only clips in target tracks are moved, which could offset the sync of linked clips, depending on which tracks were selected as target tracks. It is useful to remember that Sync mode specifies which portion of a clip is edited, and the On Insert options specify which clips are shifted in response to an edit.

The video and audio portions of linked clips are both light green so you can easily see that they are linked.

To link video and audio:

Select the link/unlink tool (), click the first clip you want to link, and then click the second clip you want to link.

To unlink video and audio:

Do one of the following:

To relink clips that were moved out of sync:

1 Click and hold the red triangle that appears at the In point of the out-of-sync clip. A box appears displaying the amount of time the clip is out of sync with its accompanying video or audio clip.

2 Drag inside the box and release the mouse button.

To edit linked clips individually:

Click the Toggle Sync Mode button () to turn off Sync mode and edit a linked clip using Timeline tools. When you are finished editing the clip, click the Toggle Sync Mode button again to restore Sync mode.

Editing Video > Editing a video program > Linking video and audio clips in the Timeline