Video out of sync in Final Cut Express... but in sync everywhere else!

Question

'm working on making one video that is composed of two camera angles of the same thing. So, I have two video tracks in Final Cut Express, one for the side view, and one for the main view. Both videos are Quicktime Movies (.mov extension).
Here are the file details:
Main Cam: duration - 1hr 26min 46sec // file size - 5.74gb
Side Cam: duration - 1hr 29min 18sec // file size - 5.63gb
[the side cam video is a little longer because I started filming with that camera a little bit before the main cam and stopped the filming a little earlier]
Now, here's the problem. Both videos are in my Final Cut Express project. The Main Cam video runs fine. But the Side Cam video's video is out of sync with the audio by a lot (somewhere between 2 and 6 full seconds). Normally I would think that something had happened during the filming, but here's the odd thing: the Side Cam video plays perfectly in sync out of Final Cut Express.
If I open it in Quicktime, or even in iMovie, the audio and video are perfectly in sync for the entirely of the video. But when I import it into FCE and watch it there, whether it's in the timeline, in the viewer, rendered, or unrendered (I've tried them all), it's horribly out of sync.
So, the video plays fine and in sync everwhere except for in the Final Cut Express program. The Main Cam video, which has a very similar duration and file size and which is the same file type, plays perfectly even in FCE. The only problem is the Side Cam, and I can't figure out why this is, or how to fix it.
Another thing: these videos were not captured from a camera into Final Cut. I already have the video files on the computer, and as I've said, the audio is fine there. To get them into FCE, I use file -> import.
Also, if anyone has suggestions on how to fix this, could you provide directions of some sort? I'm fairly new to Final Cut.
Any advice would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much in advance!

Answer 1

Hi(Bonjour)!
Does both camcorders was set to 16-48 khz audio?
One way to synch audio that drifting from video (or from anoter audio lenght) is to set precisely 2 markers (one near the beginning, another near the end) in the correct lenght video track. Try to find spots where you can hear and see a common reference. The result of the workaround will put a corrected audios between those points only.
Now note the duration between those 2 markers in video track.
*Unlink the video/audio clip with the wrong duration.*
Select the drifting audio and put the 2 markers at the intended reference points.
The duration should be less or more than the video.
Use the blade tool to cut the wrong lenght audio at markers.
The tips is to set a new duration for this portion with the set speed command.
With this +new duration+, align the in point of audio with the first video marker. The out point of audio should be aligned with the second video marker.
Now the audio should match the video lenght and should be in synch.
Michel Boissonneault