“Thanks to artificial intelligence, my video editing skills have become so advanced I no longer need to use my hands.”
I thought it fitting to give AI a chance to contribute to this post, and this is the intro it wrote for me. I think it's very funny, though of course it’s not quite accurate.
Using AI in video editing doesn't mean everything is done for me at the click of a button.
It does, however, save me time on some less creative tasks so I can focus on things that are important to me and my clients, like connecting with the audience through stories.
And I'd like to share how.
Disclaimer: These tools can all be found in Premiere Pro powered by Adobe Sensei, however I am not sponsored by Adobe...yet!
AI can detect edits in existing footage
As an editor, sometimes the client sends me B-roll that is a compilation of shots edited together in one video, and other times I'm tasked with re-editing a film when the original project files are unavailable.
These are two scenarios where the Scene Edit Detection tool comes in very handy.
In the past, I'd have to manually make cuts at the exact frame where one shot ended and another began, which was time consuming and often resulted in mistakes.
However, now I can use this AI tool to do it precisely for me.
Of course, it's not perfect, and you may end up with more cuts than necessary, but to me it's worth it and
saves valuable time so you can just get on it.
AI can help create subtitles more quickly
I'm not going to lie; subtitling is not a fun part of my job. Especially transcribing word for word what people say.
It's time-consuming and boring, and there is zero creativity involved.
Therefore, anything that can make this process less laborious is a win for me!
And with the auto-transcription feature in Premiere Pro I can transcribe my entire timeline and then turn that into subtitles. Which is pretty darn cool.
Now...
It gets TONS wrong. Especially when working with Scottish accents!
But it is hugely helpful at nailing down the timing and allows me to simply edit the text, rather than type it up from scratch.
Additionally, I can use the transcription tool to quickly search through my footage for specific words or phrases that I need for my project. This can make it easier for me to find what I'm looking for without having to manually go through all of my footage.
AI can reframe your shots for you
Auto Reframe duplicates your timeline and automatically changes the positioning of each clip in order to keep the subject centred.
An annoying feature of this is that you can't adjust the automatically reframed settings. So if you're not completely happy with the frame, then you need to cancel it and adjust your position settings from scratch, which is an unnecessary faff that Adobe will hopefully update at some point.
It's far from perfect, but if you need to turn a 16:9 film into 1:1 or 9:16 aspect ratio and you don't have much time, then it can certainly be useful - if only for some shots.
AI can retime music to fit the length of a video
I have been editing for over ten years, so I’ve developed my own ways of doing things during that time...
And something you might see me doing every so often is tapping out the beat of the music on my desk in order to match two parts of a track together to get the edit just right.
But not any more!
The Remix Tool lets you drag the music length to finish at the same time as your video (although often not precisely).
It's the most recent addition to my AI tool belt, and it’s also now the one I use most often.
I have to thank Tim Edgeler at Digital Triangle Creative for making me aware of this feature a few months ago, as it was a total game changer!
I feel that AI tools such as Adobe Sensei are incredibly useful to help automate some of the more mundane tasks involved in video editing, and are likely going to become more powerful, precise, and useful in the coming years.
But they still need a human to use them effectively, and I personally hope that will continue to be the case for a long time to come...
Because I kinda like my job.