Problem #1: audio tracks change position with every modification to the project that is located before that particular track.
The audio tracks exist in the project ((or act as if they exist) on a single timeline, so when you add, remove or modify anything, all subsequent audio tracks move forward or back according to any change. This can be a real pain if you have video and audio
tracks that must be exactly aligned.
Solution #1: The narration feature in the 2012 version pins audio tracks to the video, not the project timeline. By clicking on the arrow to the right of the add narration button and choosing add sound, you can paste audio tracks in precise locations,
and they stay there, regardless of modifications to the timeline. If you need to add additional sounds, you can just use the unused audio track at that point. Alternatively, if you need to add actual narration - after all other modifications are finished,
you can double click on the sound track which will move the pointer to the beginning of the audio clip, right click to remove it and then click add audio and select the audio clip you just removed. If your audio track required more complex manipulation, see
solution to Problem #2.
Problem #2: audio track of rendered movie is different than it was in the final project, before rendering.
I noticed that the audio portion of my rendered movie was not properly aligned with the video. (My movie was pretty complicated, running 23 minutes, with lots of video clips, stills, various transitions, six different audio tracks and multiple titles and
credits - and required, at certain places, precise alignment of audio and video.)
At first I thought that the audio tracks' positions had changed, but after careful review and comparison of the project and rendered movie, I discovered that the audio tracks were actually changing size. One that was originally 192 kbps gained 2 seconds,
and one that was 320 kbps lost 6 seconds. (I did not check the rest specifically, because after testing with that portion of the project, I was able to fix all the problems pretty easily.)
Solution #2:
1) Complete project note precise location and times where audio and video must align exactly. Save project (multiple copies!)
2) Save movie as HD-quality mp4
3) Using a free clip converter program, convert the mp4 movie into a high-quality .wma audio file.
4) Re-open final project, remove audio tracks and replace with single .wma file
5) Adjust lengths of various stills, titles, credits or other moving parts to re-align video with the new audio file, to compensate for the changes in the audio tracks.
6) When you render this version, the audio tracks will not change again, so your output will match the project as designed!
Alternatively, you could 1) make a copy of your project and delete everything but the portion with the changing audio track (s), and follow these steps for just that part, or 2) (what I may do next time!) Open a new project with as many still images as
audio tracks as you are going to use. Add one audio track per still and adjust length of still accordingly. Save as movie then convert to .wma, splitting into sections for each audio track. (My clip converter allows for multiple cuts from a single source).
You now have "pre-shrunk" audio tracks ready to use in your movie, and won't have the frustration of things shifting just when you think you are finally done.
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