Hey, I know what you mean, I do hiking videos too (https://www.youtube.com/@IrelandOutdoors) and run into the audio issue. What I try to do is all the video work first, by that I mean insert my clips, trim them, add transitions and then do the audio as the last step. From experience it seems to be adding/removing transitions which is the main cause due to it changing the video length. By following this order it maximises the chance that my music will still be in the same place as I expect it to be when I finish the project! : Saying that I sometimes have to make some changes which I forget about so try to do a final watch of the video before rendering to make sure all is in place! Hope that helps somewhat and would be great to hear what other people do too!

Gary

The editing workflow -as you say- depends on the type of project and the material available.
If the music is leading, e.g. you want the clips to change with the beat of the music, then it make sense to start with that music, put it in the timeline, think about the length of the total video and whether you need to extend the music or add more pieces. Maybe put the music in track 3 leaving space in track 1 and 2 for clips; or in 4, 5 of course depending on the amount of video tracks you may need.
If it is the beat that leads you to add clips, then it make sense to set markers using music beat marker. With these markers it is easier to define the start and end of the clips.
Depending on the nature and amount of video clips, you can either drag the directly into the timeline, or use the precut tool. It will help if you have timed the beat and know how many frames or seconds sits between the markers. You can define the (multi) trim pieces with the same length. Putting these precut pieces into the timeline would be faster and easier.
Testing the result and adjusting where you have missed a beat, always makes sense. I would also save the project in between, just to make sure that you don’t have to redo everything when something happens.
I would then look at the various video clips and check whether they need adjustments, like colours, stabilisation, maybe colour matching and LUTS.
The transitions always come last. Looking at professionals works you will see that they use transitions too often and only when it improves the results. And when music is leading you may not undo the effect by using a (long) transition. But if you apply a transition, use cross. The overlap will make the video shorter and your beats out of sync.

When the video is leading, depending on the amount and length of source clips available it may make sense to use the precut tool and so also remove the pieces you done want to use. It might also make selecting the right clip for the right moment on the time line a bit easier, when you use alias instead of precut0001 etc. the clips are sorted by alias so if you find a clever scheme for the names it will help you finding the right clips.
Remember to save the project regularly or to set the auto save with a useful low interval.
Do the colour and other corrections, as described.
The music can be added later and made to the right length if need be. The voice over can be added.
And again transitions come last.

The above is an approach that has worked for me. But it strongly depends on the nature of the material, the product and also your preferences😊
Hope this helps.

Quote Hey, I know what you mean, I do hiking videos too (https://www.youtube.com/@IrelandOutdoors) and run into the audio issue. What I try to do is all the video work first, by that I mean insert my clips, trim them, add transitions and then do the audio as the last step. From experience it seems to be adding/removing transitions which is the main cause due to it changing the video length. By following this order it maximises the chance that my music will still be in the same place as I expect it to be when I finish the project! : Saying that I sometimes have to make some changes which I forget about so try to do a final watch of the video before rendering to make sure all is in place! Hope that helps somewhat and would be great to hear what other people do too!

Gary

Thanks for the suggestions and for sharing your channel! You have a new subscriber (https://www.youtube.com/@pleasantfiction). Just watched a couple of your videos -- great content! Kind of jealous of the scenery you have there. : I know we share some of the same challenges like setting up the camera, walking a bit, going back to pick it up, wind noise, and so on.

Quote If it is the beat that leads you to add clips, then it make sense to set markers using music beat marker. With these markers it is easier to define the start and end of the clips.

Excellent tips Warry -- thank you! Also, I wasn't even aware of the beat detection feature. I've used something like that in other software and was just thinking last night it would be nice to have. There are so many features in the editing suite it's difficult to take it all in at once.