How AI Video Tools Are Reshaping Video Production

(And What We Think About Thinking Robots)

If you are in the video production world, chances are you’ve been navigating the potentials and pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is, for better or worse, reshaping the industry as we know it. Here at Levitate Media, we’re diving in head first to discover what AI video tools have to offer. Fortunately, we found several that definitely fall in the “for better” category. In fact, over the last few years, we’ve adopted a few that align with our model of efficiency and quality. These tools not only reshaped our creative processes but also demonstrated the vast capabilities of AI in enhancing the entire video production process.

We’d like to save you some legwork, so we’re sharing what we’ve learned! Here's a closer look at some of the AI video services we’ve explored and how we think they contribute to the video production process.

ChatGPT: Simplifying Scripting and Conceptualization

ChatGPT is arguably the AI model that introduced the power of Generative Artificial Intelligence to the masses (and especially to college students writing term papers). It is an “advanced large language model,” which basically means it really grasps human language. ChatGPT’s ability to understand and generate natural text is remarkable, making it very user-friendly and less robotic than some other AI models

This AI chatbot has been a revolutionary addition to the video production toolkit, helping to efficiently complete text-based tasks like drafting casting calls and developing concept narratives. The advanced text generation capabilities can quickly produce engaging and coherent scripts, streamlining the initial phases of video projects. This AI video tool can be instrumental in allowing creative teams more time to focus on refining and enhancing the storytelling aspects of video.

ChatGPT is amazing, but it does have some shortcomings. Its data isn’t always current, it may lack specialized industry knowledge, and it sometimes struggles to grasp the subtleties of conversation like sarcasm or humor. We have learned though, that providing good background information and detailed prompts helps us create accurate and relevant text in a jiffy.

Elevenlabs: Transforming Voice-Over Production

Elevenlabs stands out for its groundbreaking voice cloning technology, offering an affordable yet high-quality solution for voice-over needs. The platform provides a long list of accents and languages to choose from and gives you up to 2 million text characters. However, its greatest application as an AI video tool is the ability to create voices almost indistinguishable from real humans.

Elevenlabs can create lifelike voice tracks for various applications without the constraints of traditional recording methods. These nuanced and dynamic voice outputs greatly expand creative possibilities, from instructional content to animated features. The technology also brings a new level of auditory depth to projects, allowing for more immersive sound and viewing experiences. Best of all, this AI video tool is budget-friendly and produces professional and consistent results.

Although you may occasionally encounter a slightly robotic tone, Elevenlabs has the most natural sounding voices out there. There is still some progress to be made regarding voice speed and punctuation, but overall it stands as a frontrunner in voice cloning and delivers unparalleled results.

Timebolt: Optimizing Editing for AI Video Production

One of the most time-consuming aspects of video production is editing. Enter Timebolt. This innovative AI video tool significantly decreases your editing time- (like from hours to seconds!) The software automatically identifies and removes unnecessary pauses in footage and efficiently makes jump cuts.

This AI video editing software not only streamlines post-production workflow, but also ensures audience engagement by creating a polished, viewer-friendly final product. The auto-editing tool refines the editing process by intelligently identifying and eliminating dead air in long-form video content like podcasts or recorded conferences. It can even remove repetitive sounds (think “sigh” or “um”). By enhancing the video's pace and removing awkward silence or sounds, Timebolt is another way to help maintain viewer attention in a competitive content landscape.

We’ve heard some people talking about Timebolt being a little glitchy, but it seems to be mostly user error. Fortunately, the company offers live office hours via zoom where they work with you to figure out any issues you might have. Overall, the time this AI video tool saves is well worth the learning curve.

Midjourney and Runway: Creating Unique AI Video Images

These two AI video applications are at the forefront of producing stunning visual content. They offer easy-to-use tools that generate and animate images with remarkable accuracy and creativity. Midjourney excels in creating detailed pictures, while Runway focuses on animation.

Both products can serve as vital resources for creating storyboards and concept art. Their capacity to visualize complex ideas quickly and efficiently is invaluable for pre-production and creative brainstorming. With Midjourney, simple text prompts end up with clear, high-quality images that don’t look like terrifying Picasso paintings. Runway complements this by breathing life and movement into uploaded still images. The results can be astonishing! Together, these programs expand the creative possibilities for video projects, allowing for the exploration of new visual narratives.

As with most quality AI tools, the more detailed the prompt the better the results. This is definitely true of Midjourney, though you can still get impressive images with pretty simple prompts. The same goes for Runway, but the finetuning of their advanced animation settings requires some trial and error.

Tome AI: Enhancing Storyboarding and Collaborative Creativity

Tome AI has extended the capabilities of AI video production beyond traditional boundaries. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to enhance various stages of the production process. The super intuitive app automates presentation creation, making it fast and easy to communicate your story.

Storytelling is important here at Levitate Media, and we have to admit, this app gets it. Tome facilitates multiple stages of the creative process, from streamlining storyboard creation to enriching content with AI-generated graphics and scriptwriting. It saves time by quickly producing outlines, creating professional slides for presentations, and generating images and mood boards to help identify the tone of a project. It has easy-to-use templates with drag and drop, but it also allows for really fine-tuning content and design when necessary. By integrating with collaborative platforms, Tome AI fosters a seamless work environment, improving productivity and creative synergy between teams.

All in all, we love this AI video tool, but some of the layouts are a bit inflexible, making formatting more difficult. Navigating Tome AI is relatively easy if you are in the design world, but could take some getting used to if you are a novice.

Leveraging AI Video Tools for a Future of Enhanced Creativity

As these AI video tools continue to improve output and ease of integration into the workflow, they will undoubtedly have a profound impact on creative processes and video production in general. They certainly can’t replace human inspiration, but they can be an opportunity to elevate ideas and innovation and streamline tedious tasks that add time and cost to any video project. ChatGPT, Elevenlabs, Timebolt, Midjourney, Runway, and Tome AI each play a role in the mission to redefine the standards of video production. At Levitate, we intend to continue exploring and integrating the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence where they make sense for us and our clients. Our goal is to continually optimize our video production process and always push the boundaries of creativity and storytelling in video content.

The journey through AI video production is an ongoing exploration of how technology can augment human creativity, driving the industry toward unprecedented achievements. At Levitate Media, we're committed to staying at the forefront of this revolution, leveraging the latest AI advancements to unlock our creative potential and set new benchmarks in the world of video production.