Composing video along audio

[JeffM]

Can anyone recommend a good MPEG-2 video editing tool that is good for composing
video along an audio track, like a song?

This is basically what I'm trying to do. I have some audio (a song, etc..) and
I'm trying to insert video clips along it. At certain points along the audio track,
I want to play certain video clips or do some video transitions.

Now, I have this tool called MPEG Video Wizard, however one big problem with it
is that I can see the video, however I can't see the audio. That is, I would
like to see the actual audio waveform so I can locate specific audio spikes like drum beats.

Another big problem with this program, is that it does a piss-poor job at locking
down video clips so they don't move. Like, when inserting video clips or inserting
transitions, it moves all of my video, even if they're locked down! This really sucks!

I like to fill in video clips in a nonlinear fashion until the entire video is
complete, so keeping video stay put is extremely important. They should not move
for any reason. However, MPEG Video Wizard seems to move my video clips whenever
it wants, and it also creates gaps between video clips when there were no gaps to
begin with. Totally screwed up!

Another problem deals with making a picture slideshow. Like, if I insert some
JPEG or mix it in with some transition, MPEG Video Wizard won't let me replace
the image if I decide to change it later on. I have to delete the entire
sequence (transitions and all) and start over again. Really a waste of time.

[mikiem]

"I'm trying to insert video clips along it. At certain points along the audio track,
I want to play certain video clips or do some video transitions."

I've read of folks doing this in SoundForge -- sure there are other audio apps that can handle video -- but my suggestion would be the trials of Vegas or the new Prem. Pro. See if either of those work for you, or could try the free video editors like Wax or ZS4 etc.

However you do it, I'd also suggest converting from mpg2 to mjpeg or DV avi, or feeding the editor video through DGIndex & VFAPI or Avisynth -- with the exception of the Womble products, just don't know of any editors that work as well with mpg2.

[JeffM]

I suppose MPEG-2 is not a real requirement, since I just have an audio track
to begin with that needs to be composed with video clips.

Didn't think of looking at Sound Forge:

Extensive Video Support
Sound Forge software supports multiple video formats including AVI, WMV, and MPEG-1 and MPEG-2.* Synchronize audio and video frame-by-frame. Import Flash (SWF) files† to visually synchronize your audio to your project. Includes new MPEG-2 templates for writing HDV-compliant files at both 720p and 1080i resolutions, and AVI templates using the CineForm CFHD codec* for 720p and 1080i intermediate renders. Also included are templates for encoding WMV 720p and 1080p.