Stabilize audio sync drift

A long-form interview is drifting out of sync about one to two seconds by the last act. Stabilize the audio sync: find the first frame where audio and lips match, nudge the audio clip to that sync point, then check for progressive drift across the timeline and apply a time-stretch or split-and-realign method so dialog stays locked throughout the file.

Before I hand this episode to mastering, make the audio sync deterministic. Identify the earliest reliable sync point, mark it in both audio and multicam tracks, then either apply a single time-stretch to the whole audio file or split at scene cuts and realign clips; note in the sequence where I made adjustments and why.

Halfway through the interview the lav track started to lag and by the end it’s a second off. I matched the clap at the top but the drift keeps growing. I don’t know if the recorder ran at the wrong sample rate, if the camera had a clock skew, or if it’s file corruption. What’s the likely cause and the fastest reliable fix so I can deliver an episode by tonight?

I keep getting long-form shoots where the guest audio accumulates drift and I waste days re-stretching or cutting. I want a standard approach to prevent this and speed fixes when it happens. Should I enforce recording specs and a slate, always use reference tone and clamp sample rates, or build a small utility step in ingest to detect drift? Which habit stops the most work and how do I convince shooters to follow it?