How to turn an AI rough cut into an editable Shotcut timeline
A client asks for two seconds off the middle shot. You have the AI editor’s MP4, but you need the original handles to move the cut. Start with the source recording and the ranges the editor kept. The free tool below turns them into a Shotcut timeline you can trim, extend or reorder.
Build a timeline from your footage · Check the join at six seconds
Build your editable rough cut
Try the three-shot sample, or choose one recording from your device. Your file and cut list stay in this tab.
original-source.mp4
Download the example source MP4Each pair is a start and end in elapsed seconds from the first source frame. Times round to the nearest frame. The end frame is excluded.
Waiting for the source video.
Get the cuts from the version you approved
In a Valmera project with a connected assistant, ask it to read the current edit with get_edl and confirm its version. For a long list, have it read every page. The source clock starts at the first frame of your original recording. Record time starts at the beginning of the assembled cut. Shortening one shot moves every later record time.
Read the approved edit version for my single-source rough cut. Give its version and the original filename. List each retained source range in timeline order as [[start,end], ...], in elapsed seconds from the first source frame, with exclusive ends. Include cuts that reuse a range. Identify any speed changes, overlays, transitions or additional sources separately so I can finish them in my editor.
You can build the handoff here without signing in. AI editing in Valmera requires a subscription.
Reopen the timeline and test the join
Save the .mlt and the original media file in the same folder. Keep the original filename, then open the .mlt in Shotcut. For a different editor that accepts CMX 3600, download the .edl and relink the SOURCE reel. Its video events use zero-based non-drop timecode at the rate you select.
The sample keeps source seconds 3–7, 12–14 and 19–23. At 30 fps the second shot finishes on source frame 419. Step one frame forward on the timeline. Record frame 180, exactly six seconds in, is now source frame 570. Use a ripple trim to extend the middle shot’s out point by two seconds and move the closing shot later. The first frame of the closing shot should still be 570, but it should now arrive eight seconds into the edit.
Download both saved revisions and their reference MP4. To check another frame, look up its source and record timecodes.
What to send the finishing editor
Send the original media, the project, the exact frame rate, the approved version number and its reference MP4. The Shotcut project preserves cut order and uses the original picture and sound. The CMX list describes picture cuts. Recreate captions, reframing, titles, transitions, speed changes and the final mix against the reference.
Use one progressive, square-pixel, constant-frame-rate SDR recording. The Shotcut profile defaults to Rec. 709 for HD and Rec. 601 for smaller frames. Check the project color settings against your source. For variable-frame-rate phone footage, make a constant-rate editing copy and confirm the ranges against that copy. If the source carries camera timecode, account for its start offset when relinking the zero-based CMX list. For multicamera work, keep a per-camera source map and use your editor’s multicam workflow.
For the final delivery, export the approved version in Studio or over MCP.