How Is AI Transforming Video Editing

Detect And Accentuate The Subject

Since AI can detect the subject and automate aspects of video editing, it can easily cast the right light on the isolated subject. Previously, an editor would need to individually target the subject at each angle to modify the lighting in post-production.

Blur The Background

An extension of isolating the subject is blurring out the background. If you’ve ever used a video editing app that brings the subject in focus and blurs the background with a single tap, you’ve already used AI! Only with Machine Learning is this possible. And AI is the result of machine learning.

Add CGI Elements That Track The Subject

Snapchat filters and Instagram Story filters use elements of AI to augment reality. The cat-ears filters can map out your face and figure out where the top right and the top left parts of your head are. That's why it knows where to superimpose cat ears even if you move around. These filters are fun for the average social media user.

However, it has significantly superior benefits for advanced video editors. We are talking movies here. Film editors who need to add CGI elements and animate them need to work less because of AI-powered tracking features. That said, a lot of CGI work is human-driven, and the industry isn't at risk of being upended by AI anytime soon.

AI Can Identify Scenes

Video editing programs couldn't tell the difference between a day and night. So, almost every tool used within the video editing suite had to be manually tinkered by the editing professional. But, things have changed drastically since the introduction of machine learning capabilities to these editing programs.

Not only can AI identify the difference between a day and night in the average scene, but it can also identify the mood, color, and context to suggest music, color palette, and other elements that video editors would otherwise have to spend time identifying and matching.

AI Can Identify And Filter Out The Junk

AI can identify objects in the foreground that need to be removed or masked. This has saved hundreds of thousands of video editing hours. As long as the object you click on (like a trash can) is detected by the removal algorithm, you don't need to manually track and mask it.

Given that AI can also detect the background, it can also cover up the object with the right elements. Of course, this technology isn't perfect, but it helps that video editors are beginning to offer it alongside manual object masking tools.

The hybrid approach allows the editor to get the best of both worlds. For simple backgrounds like grass and water, the AI can take over the masking job, while for complicated backgrounds like buildings and pedestrians, the human editor can execute the task manually.

AI Can Suggest Music

A less time-consuming thing that AI can do for video editors is suggest music. You might be wondering why this even matters since creators can pick music in a matter of minutes. AI's ability to suggest music for different videos is not just a time-saving tool. It is a novelty-bringing tool. AI can scour millions of songs, while a human can listen to one song at a time.

So, at any given point, the right algorithm knows more songs than you, and the perfect example of that is the AI-powered song suggestions offered by Instagram Reels. If you try to create a reel and tap the option to add music, Instagram will suggest a few songs. These are tailored to your audience's interest but, more importantly, to your video content.

Here's how Instagram can suggest songs that are right for your video. Its algorithm has a database of millions of reels that it can go through. In its analysis, the AI learns what visual elements and songs have a correlation. This kind of analysis on this level is impossible for humans. Thankfully, there's AI!

This AI-powered video-related feature hasn't really reached higher-level video editing yet. Again, we are talking films. Film scoring and sound engineering for feature films are currently protected from AI. However, digital content creators are relying on AI-powered song-matching tools to bring variety to their content.

AI Can Set Transitions

Transitions are among the most time-consuming aspects of video editing. And more importantly, they are the hardest to do right. But again, AI saves the day. More and more apps are starting to incorporate ML to analyze users' video transitions.

Some apps have enough data to offer AI-powered transition-setting. You simply pick different clips and place them next to each other on the timeline. Then, you tap the transition button and select the AI option. If the transition is right, you can continue to edit the rest of the project. And if it is not, you can tinker with it manually.

AI Can Match Shots With Music

Another interesting aspect of AI is beat-matching. This was previously an entirely manual task that required more precision and less mental acumen. AI has freed video editors from manually counting beats and chopping clips.

With Machine Learning algorithms having analyzed hours upon hours of finished videos, AI tools have enough data to identify beats and match clips to them. As a result, you get better-quality videos that are more cohesive and flow well together.

This feature is of interest, particularly to digital content creators. Because short videos edited to the beat of music are popular in dance, makeup, and other online content niches, this kind of editing is reserved for TikTok, YouTube, and other video distribution platforms. In films, music-backed montages are less common, making this kind of editing less crucial.

Ai Can Match Video With Audio

AI can also match video with non-musical audio. And this is bringing "auto-levels" to sound mixing as well. If you have tapped auto-on levels, brightness, and color temperature in your camera or editing app, then you have used AI. But the latest iteration of AI features allows video editors to tap a similar "auto" button when mixing movie score and dialogue.

No longer does the editor need to sit through the entire video specifically to adjust the volume of music to the mood and the volume of the dialogue. AI can pinpoint passionate and romantic scenes as well as loud and angry ones.

In feature film editing, the music is not picked by AI, but rough volume adjustment is made by it. In online content, both can be done by AI, since the stakes are much lower.

Ai Can Help With Color Correction

Auto-levels were just the starting point. Now, AI has ventured deeper into visual analysis and editing support. Built on machine learning that detects light and color are hundreds of AI color correction tools. They know how to balance the colors so that the video tones are even from shot to shot.

This is something that is quite directly threatening an existing job: color correction. Previously, color correction was a full-time job, and many editors outsourced color correction tasks to third-party contractors. Now that AI can help relight and retouch videos, many editors have started color-correcting their projects themselves.

Of course, you can't properly color-correct a video with AI if you have no video editing experience. So, video editors themselves aren't out of a job. However, given that even beginner-friendly platforms are starting to incorporate AI elements, it is possible for video editing as a job to go away in the next decade.

On the surface, this might sound alarmist. However, you would agree that AI is well on its way to replacing humans in certain roles if you considered the number of AI tools you currently use without even realizing it. The section below will help you see this and introduce you to some cool tools that you might not have previously known.

Instagram

Instagram is one of the largest distributors of video content. It also has over 2 billion active users consuming video content from its platform. As a result, its Machine Learning algorithms have access to data that other platforms don’t, and here is what they have brought forth in terms of AI features:

• IG Story auto-captioning - Instagram uses AI to auto-caption video stories. The option is available as an IG sticker.

• IG Smart Filters - Smart filters that track your face are possible because of Machine Learning.

• Feed customization - Instagram’s most valuable AI feature is its content sorting algorithm. And it uses AI to build custom feeds for each user.

Snapchat

Snapchat was the first platform to offer face-tracking AR filters. It is also the first among major social media apps to offer AI chat, making it less taboo to spend time texting AI. Since it is hard to keep track of the app's AI features, here is a round-up:

• Snapchat My AI - A chatbot that users can engage with. They can even send it snaps.

• AR Filters - AR Filters, as mentioned earlier, are based on Machine Learning.

• Expression recognition - Ever seen a Snapchat filter ask you to open your mouth or smile? That's because Snapchat can recognize your expressions.

Tiktok

TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform of the century. It has gained a foothold among Gen-Z and introduced a new method of content discovery: the infinite feed. But that's not all TikTok has to offer.

Its AI features include:

• TikTok Effects - Many TikTok effects are powered by AI.

• AI-powered Quick Edits - TikTok’s video editor has AI capabilities.

• Auto-captioning - TikTok offers AI auto-captioning, though it is not the only platform to offer this feature.

• Text to sound - The infamous TikTok voice that reads video titles and challenge names is powered by generative AI.

Youtube

YouTube has recently been flooded with AI content, but AI usage isn't limited to the content creators put out. It also extends to other areas.

• Discovery Algorithm - The YouTube discovery algorithm leverages machine learning to serve highly engaging content to viewers.

• Content sorting - Content is sorted into categories with the power of AI.

• Transcription - AI-powered transcription can help the platform detect irrelevant content for every search term. It also makes the content more accessible.

• Relevance match - Relevance of content was previously detected with content description and title. But now, the platform's algorithm can access the contents of videos, making it better at finding videos with relevant themes.

Contentfries

ContentFries is different from previous platforms as it helps you create content. While Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram use TikTok to serve you more relevant content, ContentFries uses AI to help you create more engaging content.

Its high-precision content transcription feature allows you to create super-engaging videos that have a high potential for virality. Where other platforms use AI to match your content with an audience, ContentFries uses AI to let you create content that can hook your viewers.

• Auto-captioning - ContentFries offers AI-powered transcription with superior precision than most major platforms’ auto-caption generators.

• ML and AI-powered easy editing - The ContentFries platform is built off of machine learning and allows creators with zero video editing experience to create high-value content.

Adobe Premiere Pro

Within the video editing space, very few programs have as many AI-backed tools as Adobe Premiere Pro. The Adobe Suite is among the first adopters of AI technology, and as a result, Premiere Pro has cool features like:

• Locate moments with AI - You can type keywords and let Adobe's AI find specific moments within the video that allude to or align with them. This is perfect for pre-censor profanities before uploading content.

• Text-based rough-cut - Adobe autogenerates your transcript with AI and allows you to create a rough cut via copy-paste. This is an excellent time-saver for most content creators.

• Adobe Morph Cut - The Morph cut transition offered by Adobe uses the power of AI to analyze the scene and morph it, removing awkward cuts and pauses.

• AI-powered Auto-coloring - Adobe Premiere Pro's auto-color feature allows video editors to get done with basic color correction quickly.

• Color match - You can match colors in two scenes in your sequence with Adobe’s color-detecting AI.

• Retime Audio to Match Video - Editing to the beat or melody has never been less time-consuming. With the help of AI, you can save a lot of time you would have otherwise spent syncing audio to video.

• Auto-Ducking with AI - Adobe Premiere Pro allows you to adjust the sound level of dialogue and background audio with the power of AI. This means you don't have to manually decrease background audio every time someone speaks.

• AI-powered reframing - Finally, the most important AI feature of Premiere Pro in the age of TikTok is the auto reframe tool. It allows you to repurpose horizontal video for a vertical screen. While standard crop leaves out focal details and manual keyframing takes a lot of time, Auto Reframe uses AI to identify and follow the action in the slimmer frame.

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro is Apple’s answer to Adobe for all things advanced in video editing. So it is not surprising that the platform has its own set of AI features:

• Object Removal - You can remove wires and greenscreen in Final Cut Pro. This feature is powered by AI.

• Audio Ducking - Dialogue and background audio can't be on the same level. Manually reducing the latter in the mix is time-consuming, so auto-ducking with AI is much better.

• Range-based Keywording - Get keyword suggestions based on the content of your videos.

• Face detection - The software's AI detects and tracks faces, making video editing and reframing a lot less time-consuming.