Automating Short Form Content Creation With Davinci Scripting

We need lots of YouTube shorts. Each short we post (seemingly regardless of quality) gets between 400-600 views and gains us 1-2 subscribers. These numbers, while modest, add up quickly. The threshold for channel monetization is currently 1000 subscribers, among some other requirements, so there is an incentive to push as many of these videos as we can.

In order to facilitate rapid short form content deployment, I have written a few scripts that can ease the process. Watch the video above to learn how to utilize these scripts and begin your own shortimation journey.

Download the scripts below. On Windows, place them in: C:\ProgramData\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\Fusion\Scripts\Edit

Colorize.lua

local resolve = Resolve()
local project_manager = resolve:GetProjectManager()
local project = project_manager:GetCurrentProject()
local media_pool = project:GetMediaPool()

function IndexOf(tbl, val)
    for i, v in pairs(tbl) do
        if v == val then
            return i
        end
    end

    return nil
end

local timeline = project:GetCurrentTimeline()
local track_items = timeline:GetItemListInTrack("video", 1)
local available_colors = {"Olive", "Apricot", "Navy", "Violet", "Pink", "Tan", "Beige", "Brown", "Chocolate"}
local clip_colors = {}

for k, v in pairs(track_items) do
    if type(v) == "userdata" then
        local name = v:GetName()
        local index = IndexOf(clip_colors, name)

        if index ~= nil then
            v:SetClipColor(available_colors[index])
        else
            table.insert(clip_colors, name)
            v:SetClipColor(available_colors[table.getn(clip_colors)])
        end
    end
end

Shorts.lua

function VideoEnd(tl)
    local track_count = tl:GetTrackCount("video")
    local video_end = 0

    for i=1,track_count do
        local track_items = tl:GetItemListInTrack("video", i)

        for k, v in pairs(track_items) do
            if type(v) == "userdata" then
                local item_end = v:GetEnd()

                if item_end > video_end then
                    video_end = item_end
                end
            end
        end
    end

    return video_end
end

function DisplayPopup(title, msg)
    local ui = fu.UIManager
    local disp = bmd.UIDispatcher(ui)

    local PopupWindow = disp:AddWindow({
        ID = "PopupWindow",
        WindowTitle = title,
        FixedSize = {250, 100},

        ui:VGroup{
            ui:Label{
                Text = msg
            },
            ui:Button{
                FixedSize = {75, 25},
                ID = "CloseBtn",
                Text = "Close"
            }
        }
    })

    function PopupWindow.On.CloseBtn.Clicked(ev)
        disp:ExitLoop()
    end

    function PopupWindow.On.PopupWindow.Close(ev)
        disp:ExitLoop()
    end

    PopupWindow:Show()
    disp:RunLoop()
    PopupWindow:Hide()
end

-- User interface
local ui = fu.UIManager
local disp = bmd.UIDispatcher(ui)

local SetupWindow = disp:AddWindow({
    ID = "MainWindow",
    WindowTitle = "Configure shorts options",
    FixedSize = { 380, 140 },

    ui:VGroup{
        -- Folder selection
        ui:HGroup{
            ui:Label{
                Text = "Output Folder",
                Weight = 0.25
            },
            ui:HGroup{
                Weight = 0.75,
                ui:LineEdit{
                    ID = "Folder",
                    ReadOnly = true,
                    Weight = 0.75
                },
                ui:Button{
                    ID = "FolderBrowse",
                    Text = "Browse",
                    Weight = 0.25
                }
            }
        },

        -- File naming
        ui:HGroup{
            ui:Label{
                Text = "File Name",
                Weight = 0.25
            },
            ui:LineEdit{
                ID = "FileName",
                Text = "short_{number}",
                Weight = 0.75
            }
        },

        -- Export duration
        ui:HGroup{
            ui:Label{
                Text = "Duration (sec)",
                Weight = 0.25
            },
            ui:LineEdit{
                ID = "Duration",
                Weight = 0.75,
                Text = "30"
            }
        },

        -- Window controls
        ui:VGap(2),

        ui:HGroup{
            ui:HGap(100),
            ui:Button{
                ID = "CancelBtn",
                Text = "Cancel"
            },
            ui:Button{
                ID = "RenderBtn",
                Text = "Add To Render Queue"
            },
        }
    }
})

function SetupWindow.On.CancelBtn.Clicked(ev)
    disp:ExitLoop()
end

function SetupWindow.On.MainWindow.Close(ev)
    disp:ExitLoop()
end

function SetupWindow.On.FolderBrowse.Clicked(ev)
    local folder_path = app:MapPath(fu:RequestDir(
        "",
        {
            FReqS_Title = "Choose Output Folder..."
        }
    ))

    SetupWindow:GetItems().Folder.Text = folder_path
end

function SetupWindow.On.RenderBtn.Clicked(ev)
    local itm = SetupWindow:GetItems()
    local output_folder = itm.Folder.Text
    local file_name = itm.FileName.Text
    local duration = tonumber(itm.Duration.Text)

    if output_folder == nil or output_folder == "" then
        DisplayPopup("Error", "Please provide a valid output directory.")
        return nil
    end

    if file_name == nil or file_name == "" then
        DisplayPopup("Error", "Please provide a valid file name.")
        return nil
    end

    if duration == nil or duration <= 0 then
        DisplayPopup("Error", "Please provide a valid duration.")
        return nil
    end

    disp:ExitLoop()

    local resolve = Resolve()
    local project = resolve:GetProjectManager():GetCurrentProject()
    local tl = project:GetCurrentTimeline()

    local markers = tl:GetMarkers()
    local video_end = VideoEnd(timeline)
    local offset = tl:GetStartFrame()
    local short_duration = tl:GetSetting("timelineFrameRate") * duration

    local i = 1
    for k, m in pairs(markers) do
        local mark_in = offset + k
        local mark_out = offset + k + short_duration

        if mark_out > video_end then
            mark_out = video_end
        end

        local this_file_name = file_name:gsub("{number}", i):gsub("{frame}", k)
        print(this_file_name)

        project:SetRenderSettings({
            ["MarkIn"] = offset + k,
            ["MarkOut"] = offset + k + short_duration,
            ["TargetDir"] = output_folder,
            ["CustomName"] = this_file_name
        })
        project:AddRenderJob()

        i = i + 1
    end

    DisplayPopup("Success", "Render jobs added to queue")
end

-- Show setup window until closed
SetupWindow:Show()
disp:RunLoop()
SetupWindow:Hide()