Cutline

Commands

Example requests to type into Claude for Premiere Pro, After Effects, the add-ons and YouTube.

These are real requests you can type into Claude. Copy one, change the times, tracks and names to match your project, and send it.

Tips

  • Times are what you see on your timeline: 1:20, 00:01:20:12, "the first 10 frames".
  • Tracks are V1, V2, A1 and so on. You can name clips and layers, or say "this clip" or "the selected layers".
  • Cutline reports what it changed after every request. Read it.
  • Changed your mind? Say "undo that".

Premiere Pro

Cuts and trims

  • Razor V1 and A1 at 1:10, 1:32 and 2:05.
  • Trim 12 frames off the end of the clip at the playhead and ripple everything after it.
  • Roll the cut at the playhead 6 frames later.
  • Slip the clip at 2:10 half a second later.

Gaps, ripple and silences

  • Cut out 1:20 to 1:45 and close the gap.
  • Lift 3:00 to 3:08 but leave the gap.
  • Close all the gaps, keeping picture and sound in sync.
  • Are there any black holes where every video track is empty?
  • Find the silences on A1 and A2 and remove them.
  • Find pauses longer than a second on A1 and just mark them for now.

Switching and moving

  • Turn off V2 between 2:00 and 2:10.
  • Move the selected clips 2 seconds later.
  • Swap the clip at 1:30 on V1 for Interview_B, starting 10 seconds in.

Markers

  • Add a red marker at the playhead called "check audio".
  • List every red marker with its time.
  • Turn the marker at 2:30 into a chapter marker called "Part two".
  • Run scene edit detection on the selected clip and add markers at each cut.

Titles and graphics

  • Add the lower third template from my Desktop at 0:15 with "Guest Name" and "Director".
  • Change the title text on V3 to "Coming up next".
  • Make a caption track from the SRT I just imported.

Audio

  • Set the music on A3 to -18 dB.
  • Duck the music on A3 by 12 dB under the dialogue on A1.
  • Fade the music out over the last two seconds.

Transitions and effects

  • Add a cross dissolve on every cut on V1 between 1:00 and 2:00.
  • Apply Gaussian Blur at 30 to the selected clips.
  • Copy the effects from the clip at 0:10 onto every clip on V2.
  • Crop 10% off the top and bottom of this clip.
  • Warm the clips on V1 up a touch and bring saturation down to 90.

Motion, keyframes and speed

  • Scale the clip at the playhead to 110% and move it 50 pixels left.
  • Add a slow push in on this clip, 100% to 110% over its length.
  • Slow this clip to 50% with optical flow.
  • Freeze the frame at the playhead for 2 seconds.

Sequences and reframing

  • Duplicate this sequence and call it "v2 client notes".
  • Make a 9:16 version of this sequence.
  • Make a new sequence from 2:00 to 3:30 of this one.
  • Add two video tracks and name V4 "Graphics".

Project and bins

  • Import the Day 2 folder from my Desktop into a bin called "Day 2".
  • Make bins Footage/Cam A and Footage/Cam B and move the A-cam clips into Cam A.
  • Which clips are offline?
  • Rename the clips on V1 "Interview 1", "Interview 2" and so on.
  • Save the project.

Looking and checking

  • What have I got selected?
  • Show me the frame at the playhead.
  • What's on V2 at 1:10?

Export

  • Export this sequence with an H.264 1080p preset to my Desktop.
  • Export an XML of this sequence for Resolve.
  • Export an AAF for the sound mix with 2-second handles.

After Effects

Comps

  • What's in this comp?
  • Make a new 1080x1920 comp called "Vertical", 25 fps, 15 seconds.
  • Precompose the selected layers.

Layers

  • Add a null and parent the selected layers to it.
  • Stagger the selected layers by 5 frames.
  • Use the "Matte" layer as an alpha matte for the footage under it.

Text

  • Change the title text to "Coming up next".
  • Make all the text layers Inter Bold, 64 px, white.
  • Set the Title essential property on the lower third to "Guest Name".

Keyframes and easing

  • Fade the title in over the first 10 frames.
  • Make all the position keyframes on the selected layer easy ease, 75% influence.
  • Add wiggle(2, 20) to the camera's position.

Effects

  • Add Gaussian Blur at 15 to the background layer.

Masks

  • Add an ellipse mask to the footage with 80 pixels of feather.
  • Invert Mask 1 on the Background layer.

Frames and rendering

  • Show me the comp at 3 seconds.
  • Add this comp to the render queue with my ProRes template, saving to my Desktop.
  • Render the queue through Media Encoder.

Colour add-on (Premiere Pro)

Coming soon.

  • Look at V1 and V2 at 10:00 and tell me how the skin and greys read.
  • Balance the close-up on V1 for skin, then match V2 to it.
  • Save this grade as a reference called "Studio interview".
  • Match each camera on this new shoot to my "Studio interview" reference.
  • Clear the grade on V2 and start again.

Context add-on

  • Read the brief before you start.
  • Remember that the client hates wipes.
  • Keep this video as a style reference for this project: then paste the YouTube link.

Review add-on (Premiere Pro)

Coming soon.

  • Action my review notes.
  • Go through my open notes in order and tell me which ones you couldn't do.

YouTube

For the first two, paste the YouTube link after the request.

  • What does this video say about grading skin tones?
  • Watch this edit and give me a shot list with cut times.
  • Find Creative Commons drone shots of a coastline in 4K.

Only put footage in your edit when you have the right to use it.

Undo and status

  • Undo that.
  • Is Cutline connected to Premiere and After Effects?
  • Check for Cutline updates.

For how to phrase requests well, see the User guide.