3 Ways Video Production Teams Are Using AI to Streamline Workflows

Artificial intelligence (AI) is crashing into the world of video production with just as much buzz as AI has generated in any other use case – possibly even more, because video creators are the people who make the buzz.

Amongst the excitement, there are also fears about the impact of AI. Many are worried that AI will take over human jobs. Others are concerned that AI will flatten the quality of the stories being told, because AI models are trained on existing content. By removing or sidelining human creativity, they fear, we’ll just end up with copies of projects that have been done before. 

But so far, none of these fears have been actualized. Almost two years after the launch of ChatGPT heralded the new age of generative AI (GenAI), we are starting to see its real impact on video production. It’s more than just hype, and far more positive than the doom-mongers warned. 

Through our work developing LTX Studio, my team has collaborated extensively with video production agencies. We’ve learned a lot about how they use AI for smoother project pipelines. There are so many areas where video teams use AI, from video shoot logistics planning to post-production color palette implementation, but for the purposes of this discussion, I’ll focus on creative development use cases.

We’re seeing video creators apply AI in innovative ways. They’re using it to remove friction from the creative process so they can more efficiently visualize their own ideas. They’re producing more professional and convincing pitches that bring in faster stakeholder support for ground-breaking video content concepts. And they’re producing material that is closer to their vision and delivers more immersive and emotive experiences for the viewer. 

Communicating and pitching creative concepts 

Adding AI into video production workflows makes it possible for creators to produce polished and compelling pitch decks far more quickly. Included here are plot synopses, moving storyboards with scene-by-scene breakdowns, visual character profiles, mood boards and color palettes. Using AI, teams can also convey their ideas by developing assets like sizzle reels, teasers, fake trailers, and concept videos.

Speeding up the process means that you can experiment more and invest more in collaborating with the AI as your copilot. There’s no longer any time or budget barrier on the number of iterations you can try out and then discard or tweak, which fuels greater creativity. 

Faster high-quality concept development helps remove obstacles in the production pipeline and speed up the approval process, letting you move projects forward sooner. AI can quickly turn exciting ideas into a polished pitch deck or concept video that better communicates your vision, helping you convince clients, investors, partners, and talent to participate in your project. This way, small teams won’t miss out on opportunities just because they don’t have the resources to produce a polished pitch. 

Additionally, these AI-assisted pitch assets do a much better job of conveying the details of what you have in mind. When you share ideas with collaborators, you won’t have the frustration of going back and forth tweaking your explanation and then their contribution. Communication runs more smoothly, and you’ll receive material and iterations that more closely match your creative vision. 

Collaborating in real time 

Once you add AI into the mix, it’s also possible to collaborate on creative concepts, storyboards and even full video projects in real time, just like on a Google doc. There aren’t any hitches or delays while you send material from one person to the other. If you email attachments or send a link to file sharing platforms, you still have to wait for the file to upload and for the other person to download it and then upload their edited version. There’s also a risk that you’ll miss the latest edited version. 

With AI-powered video production tech, you can run real-time work sessions where you see each other’s edits instantly, allowing you to share ideas, review changes, and refine your concept. GenAI enables you to immediately make changes to camera angles, settings, characters, and more. If someone dislikes the edit, you won’t have any hassle in finding the change and reverting to a previous version. 

This is particularly important for remote teams. It’s not always possible to bring the best talent together in one place, and it can take months to achieve this, even for large projects with plenty of budget. Instant remote collaboration enables a seamless flow of ideas, removes friction from partnerships, and boosts the creativity that comes from shared ideation. 

Smooth remote collaboration also helps agencies, creators, and production studios to work easily with sponsors and brands. They often want to see the work in progress and give their input. Stakeholders might also need to give feedback about permitted disclosures or brand messaging, and to verify compliance with relevant regulations. 

Motion capture

Realistic body motion and facial expressions are among of the biggest challenges for animators, especially those using AI. Creators are always trying to enhance the realism of characters in games and videos and make them more emotionally expressive. But the “uncanny valley” effect continues to dog AI-powered animation, so currently, this quest requires a great deal of manual keyframing, tweaking, and endless refining. 

It’s frustrating and time-consuming, and even after all that work, it’s not always convincing. Motion capture brings the glimmer of a solution. It uses AI to capture the intricacies of facial expressions from video that humans upload, and then transfers them to animated characters. While it’s still in its early stages of development and will likely become a bigger market force in the years ahead, MoCap technology can apply detailed data about movements to produce more convincing and realistic facial expressions. This reduces the need for manual work, speeds up production, and lowers costs at the same time. 

What’s more, when there’s less friction in the process, it encourages more experimentation with different facial expressions and emotions, which ultimately results in more creativity and a more effective final result. 

Over time, AI will learn how to render natural motion even more convincingly. Creators will be able to spend less energy, hassle, aggravation, and resources on trying to fix them, and invest it all in creative expression. 

AI is transforming video production in positive ways 

Removing friction from video production can mean a lot more than lowering the hassle for creators. Streamlining pitch deck production, enabling friction-free collaboration, and overcoming persistent hurdles in facial animation gives creators free rein to actualize their creative vision.

The arrival of AI in the video industry marks an exciting time for creators and video producers, and I’m eager to see what will come next.