UGC Editing

Core principle

Editing is footage-source-agnostic. The same assemble → trim → layout → caption pipeline applies whether the clips came from ugc-video-prompts or a real phone shoot. This skill picks up wherever footage already exists and turns it into a finished vertical post. The single biggest editing mistake in UGC is padding — long pauses, repeated stumbles, slow setups. Cut harder than feels comfortable. Authentically raw ≠ unedited; it means tight pacing with natural-sounding joins.

Tool model (current Palmier): timeline positions are project frames; source trims are seconds via source: [start, end]. Linked A/V is folded into the video clip as audio: { id, … } — mute/edit audio by that nested id. Mutations return a timeline delta — patch from it; don't re-get_timeline after every call. Index 0 renders on top.

Step 0: Pre-flight — always run before touching the timeline

1. get_timeline — check resolution / canGenerate. Must be 9:16 (typically 1080×1920). If not:

   set_project_settings({ aspectRatio: "9:16", quality: "1080p" })
   

   Do this before placing clips. Explicitly configured settings stick (the first clip no longer snaps the project to its source aspect — placement may only note a mismatch).

2. get_media — identify A-roll and b-roll. Note durationSeconds, width/height, hasAudio.