Where AI Fits in Video Production (And Where It Doesn’t)

I use AI in my workflow every week. I also do not think it should carry a video on its own. Both of those are true, and I do not think they contradict each other.

THE HYPE VS THE WORK

Right now there is a real split in this industry. One side is chasing fully AI-generated content: type a prompt, get a finished spot, skip the shoot entirely. The other side treats AI like it does not exist and edits the same way they did five years ago. I do not sit in either camp. AI is a tool I reach for when it solves a specific problem in a real project, not a replacement for shooting it right in the first place.

WHERE I ACTUALLY USE IT

Animating a still photo when I need to cover an angle or a moment I could not get on video. Upscaling footage that came in lower resolution than the final needs. Audio cleanup: noise reduction, leveling, pulling out background hum. Rough transcription, so I am not typing out an hour of interview by hand. Captions. Script writing and storyboarding before a shoot, so the shot list is tighter before I ever pick up a camera. Object removal on photographs, when something in the background needs to go.

WHERE I DON’T

Color. I match and correct color manually, shot by shot, every time. That is where the mood of a piece actually lives, and it is the part of the process where I want my eye making the call, not a model’s guess at what looks right.

THE LINE, AS I SEE IT

If AI is filling a gap I could not have filled otherwise, or cleaning up something tedious so I can spend my time on the parts that need a real eye, it belongs in the workflow. If it is doing the work that used to require actually shooting and editing well, the result usually looks like it, and viewers notice more than creators think. I would rather use AI to make real footage better than use it to avoid shooting real footage.

Questions about how this applies to your project? Contact me or see the AI Video Marketing page.