How to render 3D scene along VSE's audio without deleting video strip?

Question

This question is very specific to my workflow, so I'll start by describing it:

I animate a 3D character to match a line of dialogue, using a video of me acting the scene out for reference. First I import the audio clip in the VSE, then import my reference video and line it up with the audio, also in the VSE. I then split the viewport with a VSE preview half and a 3D viewport with my character in the other half. I animate the whole sequence, so far no problems.

Then I want to render it out to preview the result. And here's the problem:
Because there's a video strip in the VSE, it only renders my reference video (even if the strip is hidden).
I can disable the sequencer and that renders the 3D viewport, but then I don't have audio.

The only workaround I found is to delete the video strip, render, then undo. But if by mistake I forget to undo and go ahead with making adjustments to my animation, I then have to re-import my reference video and re-align it with the audio, which is a massive pain in the default cube.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

I am just doing a full scene copy when I want to render, then deleting the reference video from the copy. Then rendering.

I will always know if I am putting work into the wrong scene because the reference video won't be up in the corner. So it is a strong enough visual indicator.

There should be a simple hide from render in the VSE for certain strips but I think this is an area that is still evolving. Just do a full copy delete and a render. Then just delete the full copy when you are done and keep making changes to the original.