How to sync audio and video in CapCut with a clapperboard

Before you start

CapCut's help center doesn't document an automatic way to sync speech to video, so this guide lines it up by hand. It only takes a minute per clip once you know what to look for: the first frame where the sticks close (or the first white frame of a flash), and the very start of the clap's spike in your sound file. New to that? Read how to sync audio and video with a clapperboard.

Button names in CapCut change between versions. Where CapCut uses more than one name for the same thing, both are given below.

Sync on CapCut desktop

1. Lay out the clips

   Import the video and the sound file. Drag the video to the main track and the sound file to a track below it.

2. Zoom in a long way

   Zoom the timeline in until single frames are wide enough to see the clap clearly in both the picture and the waveform.

3. Find the frame where the sticks close

   Move the playhead slowly through the slate until it sits on the first frame where the sticks are closed, or the first white frame of a flash.

4. Drag the sound into place

   Drag the sound clip until the start of its clap spike sits under the playhead.

5. Check it

   Play a line of dialogue and watch the lips. If it's early or late, zoom in further and drag again.

6. Deal with the camera's sound

   Right-click the video and choose Extract audio (some versions call it Separate audio). The camera's sound becomes its own clip; mute it or delete it.

Sync on the CapCut phone app

1. Start a project

   Tap New project and add your video.

2. Split off the camera's sound

   Tap the video clip, scroll the toolbar at the bottom and tap Extract audio (it may say Detach). The camera's sound becomes its own track, which makes the clap easy to spot.

3. Add your sound file

   Add the separate recording from the Audio menu.

4. Zoom in

   Pinch open on the timeline until you can see individual frames around the clap.

5. Drag it into place

   Touch and hold the sound clip, then drag it until its clap spike lines up with the frame where the sticks close.

6. Mute the camera's sound

   Set the extracted camera sound's volume to 0, or delete it.

Getting it exact

• Zoom all the way in before the final drag. On a phone, how close you get depends on how far you've zoomed.
• Line up the start of the spike, not its tallest point. The peak comes a moment later and would make the sound late.
• If you trim the video after syncing, check the clap again. CapCut doesn't document a way to lock a separate sound file to a video clip.
• One frame off is hard to see; two or three frames off looks like a badly dubbed film. Check on a close-up of someone talking.

Questions