How I finally solved complex xLights timing issues

I tried the outlining trick on a Trans-Siberian track last month and it half worked for me. The AI gave me a decent arc for the first verse, big hits up front, calmer middle, big finish, but it kept suggesting sections way longer than what the music actually does. A so-called 8 second block turned out to be about 5 seconds in the song, so I ended up re-cutting most of it anyway. What actually saved me time was doing my timing marks by ear first, then asking the AI to describe moods per section instead of per second. somethig like 'this chunk is the quiet part, what fits' got way better answers than asking for second-by-second plans. Then I just picked effects in xLights to match, mostly spirals and some color washes on the mega tree. Where I disagree a bit is on the random fire suggestion. I gave that a shot on two shrub rows and it looked messy at my viewing distance, more like the display was glitching. Learned my neighbors notice sloppy patterns way more than I expected. Now I keep anything random tight and short, a second or two max, and only as a filler between bigger moves. Still beats the blank screen problem though. I used to sit there for an hour before placing a single effect, and now I at least start with a plan, even if I ignore half of it.

I do something similar but flipped. I set my timing marks in xLights first like you did, then export the section list and paste it into the chat with a one line description of each. Asking it to suggest effects per mark beats asking it to invent the timing, every time. Last year I did a whole pop song that way, mostly color washes and single-frame strobes on the hits, and it was done in half the usual time. I also learned to ask for two or three options per section instead of one, becuase its first pick is usually the boring one.

The part that helped me most was feeding the AI my notes after the fact instead of before. Once I had a section roughed in, I'd describe what I actually placed, four bars of color wash here, a slow fade there, and ask it what felt out of proportion. It caught things I'd gone blind to, like one section that was all mid-level effects with no real peak. Iterating on an existing plan turns out to be where it shines, since it's judging a finished idea rather than inventing timings it can't hear. Anyone else using it as a second pair of eyes rather than a starting point?

The timing drift thing is real, I hit the same wall. What fixed it for me was giving the AI a hard budget per section, like no more than one new effect every 2 seconds on my 16 strand tree, and telling it to work inside that. When it has a limit it stops inventing stuff that doesn't fit the clock. Also agree on keeping random bits short, mine never run past a second and a half or the whole yard looks broken.