Fairlight · Sync Scrollers
Sync Scrollers in Fairlight
Use Fairlight's dedicated video and audio scrollers to compare individual picture frames with the audio waveform, place the playhead on the visual event and manually align the matching sound. This page separates the documented scroller workflow from automatic sync and from long-recording drift correction.
Compare picture frames and waveform at the same time
Blackmagic's current Fairlight documentation shows a scrolling filmstrip and audio waveform at the bottom of the page so individual frames and waveform events can be compared directly.
1. What they are
A visual picture-and-waveform alignment tool inside Fairlight
Blackmagic's current Fairlight documentation calls Sync Scrollers a pair of video and audio scrollers. Enable them from the timeline view options menu and a scrolling filmstrip plus audio waveforms appear at the bottom of the screen.
Their purpose is direct comparison: you can inspect an individual video frame and the waveform at the same time, move the scrollers, or double-click a filmstrip frame to move the playhead to that frame.
Video Scroller
A scrolling filmstrip that gives you a frame-by-frame picture reference.
Audio Scroller
Waveform view for locating the matching audio event or transient.
Playhead
Double-click a frame to move the playhead directly to that visual reference.
Timeline move
Move the audio clip in the timeline until the sound event aligns with the chosen picture position.
2. Workflow
Use the picture event as the anchor, then move the audio to it
Blackmagic's documented sequence is simple: enable the scrollers, move to the desired frame, then move the audio clip in the timeline to the playhead location. The scrollers help you see whether the important waveform event actually corresponds to the visual action.
In practice, choose a strong visual/audio event when possible: a clap, impact, door contact, hard consonant or another event whose picture timing and waveform are both easy to identify. That example list is editorial guidance rather than a named Resolve feature.
A four-step manual sync workflow
Enable the audio and video scrollers.
Drag the scroller or double-click a frame to place the playhead.
Use the waveform to identify the transient or spoken event.
Align the audio event to the playhead position in the timeline.
3. When to use it
Sync Scrollers are a verification tool, not a replacement for every sync method
Automatic waveform matching or timecode can get multiple clips close very quickly. Sync Scrollers become valuable when you want to inspect the result against actual picture frames and waveform details instead of trusting the first automatic result.
Fairlight also provides sample-accurate audio editing. That gives you a finer audio adjustment layer after the picture reference is established, especially when the perceived transient needs a tiny slip.
Scroller sync complements automatic and sample-accurate tools
The second and third rows combine Blackmagic's documented scroller workflow with Fairlight's documented sample-accurate editing capability; the usage guidance is an editorial recommendation, not a separate product mode.
4. Troubleshooting
An offset and a drift are different problems
Scroller alignment is excellent for finding a fixed sync offset at a known event. If a long external recording starts correctly and gradually drifts away, that is a different clock/timing problem. Aligning one point will not remove the changing offset later in the take.
For that case, use the general audio/video synchronization workflow and diagnose sample-rate / recorder timing / drift rather than repeatedly forcing isolated points into alignment.
What Sync Scrollers solve — and what they do not
Check the actual transient rather than the clip start.
Scroller alignment fixes an offset, not clock drift across a long recording.
Use speech consonants, impacts or another visually identifiable event.
Increase track height / waveform visibility before judging alignment.
Fairlight · Sync
Use Sync Scrollers as the precision bridge between picture and waveform
For the broader synchronization lesson — waveform, timecode, manual sync and drift — continue to the existing DaVinci Resolve tutorial.
Current Fairlight documentation is the source for enabling Audio/Video Scrollers from timeline view options, the scrolling filmstrip and waveform view, double-clicking a frame to move the playhead, and moving the timeline audio clip to align with picture. Fairlight's current documentation is also used for the sample-accurate editing capability.