> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://aspect.inc/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Agentic Video Editing

> Prepare your editor, cut from mounted proxies with an AI agent, and pin camera originals for finishing.

Aspect is not a video editor. It gives an agent tools to find and understand footage, organize a working set, and make that media available in an editing application. Use the editor's own integration to build the timeline and finish the video.

The workflow is to prepare the editor, copy the footage folders as lightweight proxies, and edit those proxies through an Aspect mount. Pin the source originals at the same time so they can download while the edit progresses. Check that pinning has completed before switching to the originals for finishing.

## 1. Configure the editor before importing footage

Ask the agent to read the workflow for the application you are using and apply the relevant settings before a large import. If its integration cannot change a preference, it should give you the exact setting to change instead of claiming it has done so.

* [Premiere Pro](/docs/workflows/premiere-pro#set-up-premiere-for-mounted-media): turn off unnecessary automatic waveform generation, media analysis, and transcription. Keep the media cache on a local SSD. Configure project locking for shared projects.
* [DaVinci Resolve](/docs/workflows/davinci-resolve): set up mounted media paths and a local render cache. Keep the active project library local or in Blackmagic Cloud. Use the proxy handling settings appropriate to the edit.
* [Final Cut Pro](/docs/workflows/final-cut-pro#set-import-and-cache-preferences): leave shared media in place, disable unneeded import analysis and automatic transcoding, and keep the cache local.
* [After Effects](/docs/workflows/after-effects): reference media from a consistent mounted path and use one writer for a shared AEP. Check local cache, fonts, and plug-ins for the workstation.
* [Avid Media Composer](/docs/workflows/avid-media-composer): follow the application-specific shared-media and project setup if that is the editor in use.

<Note>
  **Using an agent with DaVinci Resolve?** Use Blackmagic Design's official MCP server included with **DaVinci Resolve Studio 21.1**. It lets the agent discover the current scripting API and operate Resolve. Pair it with [Aspect MCP](/docs/mcp/index) for media search and organization, and the [Aspect CLI](/docs/cli/index) for mounted files and pinning. See the [Resolve MCP setup guide](/docs/mcp/davinci-resolve) and [Blackmagic's support center](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/family/davinci-resolve-and-fusion).
</Note>

## 2. Find the footage and record its source

Use Aspect MCP to identify the project, source folders, and clips. Search can combine visual matches, transcript text, filenames, and metadata. Read the transcript or scene content around promising matches before choosing a shot.

Record the source asset ID, original relative path, and chosen time range for each select. Include frame rate, source timecode, duration, and audio layout when available. This keeps clips with similar filenames distinguishable and gives the agent enough information to check proxy matches and finishing paths.

An example instruction:

```text theme={null}
Find interview clips about the launch and outdoor product B-roll in the
Campaign project. Read the relevant transcript and scene descriptions.
Return source asset IDs, original paths, and candidate time ranges.
Preserve the source folders and use a separate working folder for this edit.
```

See [Search and organize media](/docs/mcp/search-and-organize) for the tool sequence.

## 3. Copy the raw-footage folders as proxies

For footage already in Aspect, reuse its generated proxies:

1. Select the source footage folders in Aspect and choose **Copy**.
2. Choose a separate destination in the working project, such as `Edit/Proxies`.
3. Under **Content**, enable **Copy videos as proxies**, then start the copy.
4. Wait for the required proxy files to appear and check that they open. A copy can wait for videos whose proxies are still processing.

This copies video stream proxies into new assets and preserves the source originals. Other file types copy their original content. A proxy copy is a smaller MP4 asset; it is not a second camera-original file.

<Info>
  The remote `fs_items_copy` MCP tool currently copies originals and does not expose `copy_as_proxy`. Do not invent a proxy flag for it or for `aspect mount`. Use the Copy dialog above, or the REST request below when the agent has API access.
</Info>

### Copy proxies through the API

Resolve the source and destination directory IDs through MCP first. Create a JSON request file with the real IDs in place of these placeholders:

```json theme={null}
{
  "directory_ids": ["SOURCE_DIRECTORY_UUID"],
  "destination_directory_id": "PROXY_DESTINATION_DIRECTORY_UUID",
  "copy_as_proxy": true
}
```

Save it as `proxy-copy.json`, then send it using an [Aspect API key](/docs/api-reference/index):

```bash theme={null}
curl --fail-with-body --silent --show-error \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ASPECT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data-binary @proxy-copy.json \
  https://api.aspect.inc/fs-items/copy
```

The response contains a `job_id`. The request queues the copy; it does not confirm that all files are ready. Inspect the destination in Aspect or through `directories_list` and `assets_list`, and verify the expected files before importing them.

For a separate local proxy download, the CLI also supports [retrieving stream proxies](/docs/cli/proxies). That is a download workflow; a mount does not automatically substitute proxies for originals.

## 4. Mount the working project and pin the originals

Create the mount while online:

```bash theme={null}
aspect mount "aspect://Studio/Campaign" --json
aspect status --json
```

Use the actual mount path returned on this computer. It can differ across operating systems and machines. The copied proxy files are ordinary files in the mounted project, so the editor can read them directly from `Edit/Proxies` without first downloading the entire original shoot.

Start pinning the **original source folder that you copied from**:

```bash theme={null}
aspect pin add "aspect://Studio/Campaign/Raw Footage" --json
aspect pin list --json
```

If the source originals are in another project, use that project's URL and mount it too. If you intentionally made a separate copy of the originals for the edit, pin the copy that the timeline will reference. Pinning only `Edit/Proxies` does not pin the camera originals.

The pin command registers the work. Downloading continues in the background while you edit. Confirm sufficient pin storage, and watch for `error` or `over_limit`. See [cache and offline files](/docs/cli/cache-and-offline).

## 5. Edit the proxies through the mount

Prefer the editor's native proxy relationship: import the original clips from the mounted source folder, then attach or link their matching copied proxies. This retains the original media identity while the editor plays lighter files.

* In Premiere Pro, use **Proxy → Attach Proxies**, then enable **Toggle Proxies**.
* In Resolve, use **Link Proxy Media**, then **Playback → Proxy Handling → Prefer Proxies**.
* In Final Cut Pro, relink **Proxy Media**, then choose **Proxy Preferred**.
* In After Effects, assign the matching proxy to the footage item and verify its interpretation before using it in a composition.

Aspect's streaming proxies are viewing copies. Check duration, frame rate, start timecode, audio channels, and picture sync. If an editor rejects a match or the media does not align, generate an editorial proxy with that editor instead of forcing the attachment.

If you start a rough cut by importing proxies as standalone source clips, keep a source-to-proxy mapping and test relinking one representative clip to its original before building the full timeline. Changing an MP4 path to a camera RAW path may require the editor's replace or conform workflow, not a folder-only relink.

Tell the agent to make a named working timeline, preserve the source media, and report which paths it imported. Use Aspect MCP for shot and transcript context; use the editor integration for bins, clips, markers, and timeline operations that it supports.

## 6. Verify originals before finishing

Check the specific original pins again:

```bash theme={null}
aspect pin list --json
```

Wait until the required pins report `synced`. The edit finishing does not guarantee that the originals have finished downloading.

If originals were retained as the clips' source media, switch playback back to the originals and verify their paths. If proxies were used as standalone source clips, relink or conform to the recorded original paths. Keep opening pinned files through the mount; do not point the editor into Aspect's internal cache directory.

Before a final export, check for offline media, compare representative frames and audio sync, and confirm source resolution, frame rate, and color interpretation. Check the export settings so delivery uses original-quality media. Review a short test export before rendering the full program.

## 7. Save and share the result

Save the project using the application's supported workflow. Resolve uses a local or Blackmagic Cloud project library; export a `.drp` to Aspect for a handoff. A `.drp` alone does not contain its media.

Export review renders to the mounted project or upload them with the CLI. Wait for synchronization before sharing. Aspect MCP can then create a collection or review link and retrieve the feedback for the next edit.

## A prompt to start the workflow

```text theme={null}
Read Aspect's workflow for my editor and check its mounted-media settings.
Use Aspect MCP to find the footage for this brief and keep the original
asset IDs, paths, and selected time ranges. Prepare proxy copies in a
separate working folder, mount the project, and pin the source originals.
Use my editor's integration to create a new working timeline from the
mounted media, playing compatible proxies while the originals pin.
Before finishing, verify the required pins are synced, restore or relink
the original paths, check picture and audio, and render a short test.
Report any setting or operation your tools could not perform.
```


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