# Resolve Rough Cut

Assembling a short-form social rough cut from raw behind-the-scenes or vlog footage in...

- Repository: https://github.com/samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp (3887 stars)
- Category: AI and agents
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp --skill resolve-rough-cut -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp --skill resolve-rough-cut -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp --skill resolve-rough-cut -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp --skill resolve-rough-cut -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Assembling a short-form social rough cut from raw behind-the-scenes or vlog footage in the DaVinci Resolve MCP. Apply when asked for a rough cut, first cut, assembly, or "make me a timeline" from a folder of footage, day-in-the-life, BTS, process, or product-shoot material destined for Reels, TikTok, or Shorts. Covers ingest, shot finding at scale, vertical timeline setup, and gapless assembly.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Resolve Rough Cut
Turns a folder of raw footage into an assembled, gapless timeline. **The
timeline is the deliverable, not a finished video.**

For editorial craft (why a cut works) see `docs/guides/editorial-decision-guide.md`.
For the analysis layer see the `resolve-media-analysis` skill. This skill is the
assembly recipe and the traps between them.

## The deliverable contract

Deliver an assembled timeline. Do **not** add titles, captions, text cards,
effects, transitions, music, or grading unless explicitly asked. Editors who ask
for a rough cut want shot selection and pacing; styling is theirs. Adding
graphics is work that gets thrown away, and see the Fusion trap below for why
it also silently fails.

Render an mp4 only to preview the cut, and say that is what it is.

## Workflow

1. **Probe before importing.** `ffprobe` every clip for `r_frame_rate`,
   `avg_frame_rate`, and `rotation`. Two things routinely differ from what the
   filenames and Resolve suggest, see Verified traps.
2. **For a series, add a timeline to the existing project, don't create a new
   one.** Check `project_manager list` first. One project per series keeps the
   bins, analysed clips and settings in one place; one per episode scatters
   them. Only create a project for a genuinely new series.

3. **On a NEW project, set BOTH frame rates before any timeline exists.**
   `timelineFrameRate` is locked once a timeline is created, set it via
   `project_manager safe_set_project_settings`. `timelinePlaybackFrameRate`
   cannot be set through the API at all, so **ask the user to set it in the UI
   now**, as a setup step:

   > Project Settings (gear, bottom-right) → Master Settings → Playback frame rate

The rest: https://github.com/samuelgursky/davinci-resolve-mcp/blob/HEAD/.agents/skills/resolve-rough-cut/SKILL.md