Social Video Folder Autocutter

Use this before editing when the user wants a repeatable pipeline from a folder of camera/audio files into social or long-form cuts.

Output Profiles

• Vertical social: 1080x1920, 9:16, up to 3 minutes, default 1.1x speed for speaker-led sections, Netflix-style captions, source layers preserved in Resolve.
• Horizontal long-form: 1920x1080, 16:9, 3-7 minutes, default normal speed, lower thirds/captions optional, source layers preserved in Resolve.

Required Pipeline

1. Scan the folder:
   • run the DaVinci skill probe_media.py;
   • run audio_quality_audit.py;
   • identify camera ISOs, HQ audio, intro/bumper, brand files, old renders, and existing Resolve exports.
2. Make a story plan:
   • hook/agenda,
   • body beats,
   • recap/CTA,
   • rejected or risky segments.
3. Build edit decisions:
   • source file, in/out, angle, reason, transition, crop, audio source, caption text.
   • reject word-boundary-only cuts.
4. Build a B-roll coverage plan:
   • assign B-roll only where it proves a claim, establishes the event world, covers a jump cut, compresses time, or gives the audience an emotional/visual release.
   • tag every B-roll candidate as wide, medium, close-up, insert/detail, environment, screen/product, or human moment.
   • prefer wide/medium/close-up sequences over isolated filler shots.
   • require source page/licensing metadata for stock footage and store it with the manifest.
   • reject low-opacity overlays over faces unless the user explicitly asks for texture; default to full-opacity cutaways or designed picture-in-picture.
   • On warm-traffic educational reels, use B-roll sparingly as proof/coverage. Keep the speaker on screen for trust-building beats, and reserve stock inserts for claims about work, learning, planning, community, or tool use.
   • If the speaker is physically demonstrating a concept, prioritize that performance over generic B-roll. Use the board/prop as a quick visual aid, not a long replacement for the speaker.
   • Reject static whiteboard/slide replacements longer than 3s-5s unless the user explicitly asks for a screen-recording style lesson. For Instagram, the speaker should remain visible across spoken educational beats.
   • Keep B-roll source URLs/license notes in the plan, and keep raw B-roll sources disabled on a separate Resolve track for HITL replacement.
   • Use Coverr as the default free B-roll source when the project lacks enough native visual evidence. Store search query, source URL, creator/source attribution, license URL, download path, and rejection reason for any candidate not used.
   • Coverr licensing/API notes must be recorded with the manifest: free downloads require attribution credit unless the account/license says otherwise; API usage requires clickable Coverr attribution; do not use Coverr assets for AI training/datasets or to build a competing stock/video service.
   • For Chai With Jai workshop promos, default search intents should include: small business owner, entrepreneur workshop, business planning, whiteboard, team collaboration, laptop work, coffee meeting, Jersey City, AI technology, coding, marketing campaign, and community event.
   • Prefer Coverr clips that can function as visual evidence for a spoken claim. Reject generic city lights, abstract technology, slow lifestyle filler, or anything with identifiable brands/trademarks unless the usage is clearly safe.
5. Generate review artifacts:
   • low-res proxy or stills for critic review,
   • audio ranking JSON,
   • caption preview,
   • Resolve/FCPXML/EDL plan.
6. Build the real handoff:
   • Resolve layered timeline for final editing,
   • original repair audio disabled,
   • clean dialogue and music separated,
   • graphics/captions/B-roll on separate tracks,
   • timeline audit passes.

Winning Instagram Reels Loop

Use this loop when a prior cut is close and the user says it is nearly postable:

1. Preserve the liked picture cut. Do not re-edit the spine unless the user asks. Export or locate a picture spine without burned captions when possible.
2. Caption from actual speech timing. Extract dialogue from the liked cut, run Whisper word-level transcription, and build short burned-in phrase captions. Correct only high-confidence domain terms such as names, event titles, dates, and obvious ASR artifacts.
3. Keep caption text spoken-first. Do not replace spoken captions with topic cards. Topic cards may remain as a separate top lane, but the lower caption lane must match what the speaker says.
4. Verify phone-safe stills. Inspect opening, mid-body, B-roll/whiteboard, CTA, and closing frames. Captions must avoid the speaker's mouth/chin and Instagram's bottom UI region.
5. Verify audio. Target -14 to -16 LUFS integrated, true peak below -1 dBTP, with music ducked under speech.
6. Only then hillclimb B-roll. Add B-roll where it solves a specific edit problem: jump cut coverage, proof of a claim, visual explanation, location/event context, or emotional reset.

Required Output Artifacts For Repeat Use

For each folder cut, create or update:

• story_plan.md
• edit_decisions.csv or .json
• broll_plan.json
• broll_asset_manifest.json
• caption_chunks.txt
• captions.ass or Resolve caption track
• verification_report.json
• Resolve timeline or handoff report

Editframe Role

Use Editframe in parallel for motion assets, not as the primary NLE when the user expects Resolve source layers.

Good uses:

• animated branded bumpers,
• Netflix-style/word-highlight caption assets,
• lower thirds,
• waveform/title cards,
• social-safe graphic overlays,
• fast HTML/React review proxies.

Avoid using Editframe as the only deliverable for source-camera editing unless the user explicitly wants a rendered web-video output. Editframe renders can be imported back into Resolve as V3/V4 graphics or bumper layers.

Handoff Contract

Never call the job done unless these artifacts exist:

• media manifest,
• story plan,
• edit decisions,
• audio quality audit,
• caption artifact or burned-in review,
• layered Resolve timeline or interchange file,
• timeline audit report.

Useful Command

python3 skills/social-video-folder-autocutter/scripts/create_folder_cut_brief.py \
  /path/to/project-folder --out /path/to/project-folder/output/folder_cut_brief.json

Then use davinci-resolve-social-editor for the Resolve build.