DaVinci Visual Editing

These are configurable defaults for a talking-head and screen-recording edit. Apply within the requested section and scope; newer explicit directions override defaults. Do not add B-roll when the user has excluded it. For dialogue cutting use first-cut-davinci-dialogue; for audio transitions use smooth-davinci-audio-cuts.

Control and preservation

Prefer Resolve MCP for inspection and changes. Use computer use only for capabilities unavailable through supported APIs. Inspect the current timeline, playhead, selection, track occupancy, and source ranges each turn: the user may make manual edits between requests. A stale selected ID is not authority to edit another clip. Preserve manual edits, source offsets, sound treatment, and timing outside the request. Save a recoverable version before structural changes. Complete authorized work without unnecessary confirmations; when the user asks to approve one sample first, show a concrete rendered sample and wait before applying it throughout.

Main-timeline additions

For future projects, label screen-recording video clips Orange and camera video clips Blue on the timeline. These are organizational clip colors, not image treatments. Preserve explicit review highlights such as yellow cut-review clips. Apply these colors to new work; preserve existing organizational colors unless asked to change them.

Place each added image, logo, title, or B-roll shot on the next free existing video layer at its intended time range, above content it must cover. Reuse available layers; do not create a new track for every asset. Simultaneous overlays need separate available tracks. Keep additions as separate named, editable main-timeline clips, not fused into the camera or nested together. Fusion inside a standalone overlay may implement animation, but the overlay must remain individually movable and trimmable. Cropping and corner masks are camera treatments, not additional editorial assets.

Use native still-image clips for screenshots and graphs, not MP4 wrappers. Store media in a stable project asset directory. Hold duration must remain adjustable. For a screen freeze filling a deleted gap, capture the preceding screen clip's exact final source frame, preserve its screen framing, and stop at the next occupied clip without ripple changes. An extracted still is acceptable; accurately describe it as a still-frame hold.

Source authenticity and editorial coverage

Use actual screenshots or original images from the specified source. Do not redraw charts, invent posts, recreate article cards, or generate substitutes unless the user explicitly asks. Match the exact figure to a supplied reference, including its title, axes, labels, and legend; a different authentic figure from the same article is still wrong. Preserve source pixels, aspect ratio, readable labels, and attribution. A matching plain background may fill unused canvas without changing the figure.