Understanding Skin Tones

People come in a vast spectrum of skin tones, ranging from the fairest alabaster to the deepest ebony. However, beyond these apparent differences, underlying tones are another factor in understanding and accurately representing diverse subjects.

Underlying tones refer to the warm or cool hues that subtly permeate the skin’s surface. They can significantly impact a person’s overall appearance and influence how colors interact with their skin.

Step 1: Set your White Balance

Before diving into color grading, ensure your footage is correctly white-balanced. This step sets a neutral baseline, making subsequent color adjustments more accurate. Use in-camera white balance settings during shooting for the easiest color grading. Or, adjust the white balance in post-production using your editing software’s color wheels or temperature and tint sliders.

White balance specifies the color temperature at which white objects in your footage truly look white. With proper white balance, your footage looks natural. Proper white balance helps to ensure that the colors look correct on any screen or device where the footage may be viewed.

If you’ve worked with video for a long time, you understand the importance of proper white balance. If you’re new to video, here are a few resources to check out.

White Balance for Video Explained: How Cameras See Color & Light

Matt WhoisMatt Johnson explains white balance.

Use a Color Chart and Gray Card when Shooting

Tyler Bailey explains why he always shoots a gray card and a color chart to match colors on the shots, making color matching easy. This speeds up white balance and simplifies grading skin tones.

Step 2: Make Primary Corrections

After white balancing, start with primary corrections to balance the overall image. Adjust the lift, gamma, and gain to get the basic exposure and color balance right so colors are represented accurately. The aim is to establish a neutral baseline and ensure uniform color across your scenes, even if the footage was filmed with different cameras or lighting conditions.

This step also ensures skin tones are in the right ballpark before making finer adjustments.

Color Correction Basics – Primary Grades – Davinci Resolve Tutorial

MiesnerMedia walks you through primary grading in DaVinci Resolve. The tutorial is a few years old but the method is the same.

More about Primary Color Correction

Primary Color Correction. This article dives into primary color correction in DaVinci Resolve.

Step 3: Use Scopes to Adjust Colors

Scopes are a crucial tool for editors for consistent color correction. The vectorscope, featuring a skin line, is important for achieving natural-looking skin tones. The skin tone line represents the hue of natural skin tones, and you can adjust your footage to align with it.^[5]

Third-Party Scopes

DaVinci Resolve has built-in scopes. Premiere Pro has Lumetri Scopes. There are also third-party tools to upgrade your scopes in Resolve, Premiere, and other hosts.

timeinpixels Nobe OmniScope

Nobe Omniscope is the perfect companion to your video or photo color correction software. It bridges the gap between the scopes in your software and expensive hardware scopes, used by professional colorists.

In the video below, Jay Lippman shows you how to use in DaVinci Resolve.

Boris FX Continuum BCC VideoScope

VideoScopes is an overlay that shows scopes for Luma Waveform, RGB Waveform, YCbCrWaveform, a Vectorscope, and a Histogram.

VideoScope is included in the Continuum (subscription and perpetual) and also in the Continuum Color and Tone Unit.

Step 4: Fine-tune the skin tones.

Fine-tune skin tones using the curves tool, adding subtle reds to shadows if needed. Use color wheels to balance shadows, mid-tones, and highlights to maintain natural skin tones. Many of the tutorials shared on this page explain fine-tuning color.

Step 5: Check for consistency.

Look through your shots and ensure that skin tones and color look consistent throughout your project.

Step 6: Color grade to set the mood and add a cinematic aesthetic.

Now that your shots have balanced color and your skin tones look natural, artistically adjust your colors to add atmosphere and mood to your shots.

Secrets to Cinematic Color Grading

In this video from colorist Cullen Kelly, he talks about how to get a cinematic look.

Other things to consider

Common Mistakes to Avoid when Color Correcting Skin Tones

While working with digital footage, achieving perfect skin tones can be challenging and may lead to various issues. Avoiding some common mistakes can significantly improve the professionalism and overall appearance of your final product.

To achieve optimal color correction, it’s crucial to avoid these common pitfalls:

1. Skipping primary corrections: Before applying creative color grades, focus on essential adjustments to balance the image and establish a neutral starting point.
2. Unfamiliarity with color theory: Understanding how colors work together is vital for effective color correction.
   See How to Not Suck at Color – 5 color theory tips every designer should know
3. Using an improperly calibrated monitor: Inaccurate monitor settings can lead to incorrect color perception and adjustments that don’t translate well to other screens.
4. Grading in an unsuitable environment: The lighting and surroundings of your grading suite can influence your perception of colors. Be aware of reflections on your screen.
5. Neglecting shot balancing and matching: Ensure consistency across different shots and scenes before applying creative color grade.
6. Oversaturating or overcorrecting skin tones. Avoid pushing saturation too far, which can result in unnatural skin tones. Don’t try to make them lighter, darker, or tanner than they are. It will look unnatural.^[3]
   See Common Color Grading Mistakes among Beginners
7. Confusing color correction and color grading: Color correction should focus on balancing and matching shots, while grading involves applying creative looks.^[4]

Conclusion

Achieving flawless skin tones in post-production can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be overly complex. You will attain realistic and accurate skin tones by adhering to best practices, such as establishing the correct white balance and color balance, utilizing video scopes, and ensuring consistency among shots. This process requires a fundamental understanding of color theory and dedicated practice, regardless of the software you use.

Sources & Resources

1. What’s the difference between 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit color?, Computer Hope, 11/13/2018
2. Your Guide to Skin Undertones: Warm, Cool & Neutral, Look Fabulous Forever
3. Common Color Grading Mistakes Among Beginners, Qazi & Co. Color Grading Studio
4. Color correction vs. color grading: What’s the difference? Griffen Snow, Adobe
5. Color Grading Skin Tones – The Basics, Alex Bjorstorp, January 7, 2024
6. Perfect Colors, Perfect Shots: How to Use a Color Chart for Video, Justin Phillip, November 19, 2023

Demo Reels You’ll Have Over Your Career (in VFX)

Adam McCay discusses the different types of reels you’ll create throughout your career, hitting many points mentioned in this article.

The Planning Stages: Strategizing Your Demo Reel

Choosing and Preparing Content

Suzanne from GVSU graciously provided a worksheet she uses in her Digital Post-Production class to guide students through preparing their reels. Rather than delving into technical aspects like duration or music selection, the focus is squarely on content. This worksheet serves as a valuable tool to prompt critical thinking about the content and objectives of the reel.

Below are the worksheet questions she distributes to her students along with my commentary:

Additional Considerations for Content Collection:

Seek Permission from Clients: While your contract may grant you the right to use creative work for your reel, it’s courteous to seek permission from clients. This demonstrates professionalism and also offers an opportunity to reconnect with former clients. Be mindful of any restrictions on using certain content, such as material designated for internal use only.

Include Only Original Work: Avoid including projects that rely heavily on tutorials or templates, as they may undermine your credibility. Ensure that all showcased work is genuinely your own, authentically showcasing your creative abilities.

Avoid Outdated Content: Steer clear of including work that appears outdated or stylistically obsolete. Updating or excluding older projects that no longer reflect current industry standards is advisable to maintain relevance and showcase your current skills effectively.

By meticulously planning and curating your reel content, you can create a compelling showcase of your abilities that resonates with your target audience and effectively communicates your message.

10 Tips For Cutting Better Showreels! | How To Edit A Demo Reel – NEW

Garrett Sammons has straightforward advice on what to include on your reel, using spec work, and editing.

Choosing Music

Avoid copywritten music unless you have permission. Whatever song you end up using, get usage rights. You may think no one will care, but the algorithms on services like YouTube flag unlicensed songs immediately. Certain music is immediately flagged for copyright infringement.

How To Avoid Music Copyright Strikes on YouTube

Where to find music

There is a LOT of music out there and you will find something that is Creative Commons, quality royalty-free music, or independent musicians who would be happy to let you use their music.

People will judge you by your music choice, hence, choose wisely.  Pixar is pretty harsh about your music choice for their applicants. “Nobody cares about music/soundtrack. We turn off the sound. But sometimes we listen to it and get annoyed if we don’t like your taste in music. Keep it basic or leave it off.”  I watched a showreel recently from a very well-known motion graphics school. The work was excellent. The music was an obnoxious and grating dubstep track. Show some personality in your music choice. Dubstep and bland electronica show no personality, in my opinion. With this in mind, choose something that compliments your work, perhaps with a bit of quirk if it works for your content.

Editing your Reel

What is your theme? In this video, Zachary Ramelan begins with a cohesive theme that ties the reel together.

Of course, in the first video above titled Different Reels with Adam McCay, he says not to worry about themes. In reality, it’s your call.

Music will set the pace.

“Cutting to the beat is pretty restricting and results in a very mechanical edit,” says Philip De Wandeleir (aka Pixel Phil). “Just cut to the flow of the music, don’t be afraid of the off-beat cut if it feels/looks alright.”

Length

The consensus is to keep your reel about a minute long, and no longer than two minutes. Why so short? Short attention spans. People tend to stop watching after about 30 seconds. Check out this study from Wistia about the viewing duration. Decisions are made within the first 30 seconds. Impress a client fast by editing out the chaff, and leaving only the best content.

Best work first

To go along with the last point, show your best work first, in case they switch it off.

Second (or third) best work last

Frank Collins says, “Try to end on a high note. Like I was told with a portfolio years ago, best in front, maybe your third-best at the end.”

Don’t repeat footage

It looks like you’re trying to pad your reel.

Title cards

Include your name, email, and phone number at the beginning and end of the reel, but keep it simple. Michael Christophersson explains, “Avoid ‘showy’ intros with your name unless you can make it classy and fast. The sad truth is you are not as important as what you can do.”

Title your work

If it works with your reel, add lower-third titles about each project on the demo reel, such as the project title and your role. If it doesn’t work with your content, you can include this information in a shot breakdown list with your reel, either on paper if you’re mailing it, or in the description on YouTube or Vimeo.

Shot Breakdown List

Frank Collins suggests, “A shot breakdown on the back of your resume is a good idea, especially if you worked on layers/parts of the shot.” Many artists do this on Vimeo and YouTube and it’s useful information. Include the project title, the time code of the project on the reel, and the part you played in the production.

Double and triple-check for spelling errors

Enlist a second set of eyes to read over your titles.

Cut out the junk

Dorian Heller, a motion designer at Microsoft, explains, “Look at your reel once you’ve cut it and take out the worst thing about it”.

Other Random Reel Advice

Applying to the same company twice? Frank Collins says, “Something I heard a long time ago at SIGGRAPH is if you’re applying to the same company twice, make sure your second reel is ALL new. In other words, if you apply to a company again, later on, use a new reel.”

Do a film short instead of a montage? PremiumBeat mentions this in an article with Show Reel Tips that you might want to check out.

Keep your reel up to date

Keeping your work fresh is important but how often do you update it? There are no hard and fast rules on how often to update your reel. Let’s be honest: putting together a reel is a lot of work! If you’re busy with paid work, you’re probably not keeping your reel up-to-date anyway. Some companies put out a reel every single year. My old company put out a reel every 2-3 years.

Just note, if your latest reel says 2021 on the title, update that date!

Here’s some advice from Premium Beat.

DaVinci Resolve Studio-only Features

Below are features included in the Studio version of DaVinci Resolve, but not in the free version.

Technical Specs

With Resolve Studio, users get higher than UHD or 60fps timelines and renders, IMF delivery, encoder plugins, and more.

GPU/Hardware Accelerated Encoding and Multiple GPUs

Most users find that the hardware acceleration is worth the upgrade price to Studio on its own! With Resolve Studio you can switch between the CPU and GPU, which is substantially faster.

In addition, the free version doesn’t support multiple graphics cards, unless you’re using a Mac Pro.

Expanded Format Support and HDR Delivery

The free version supports several 8-bit formats. With the Studio version, you also get support for the following:

• Advanced HDR delivery with Dolby Vision, HDR10+ formats, DCP Encoding and Decoding
• Native IMF Encoding and Decoding – SMPTE ST.2067 compliant Interoperable Master Format
• DCP (Digital Cinema Packages) Encoding and Decoding
• AVCHD, AVC-Intra, and popular H.264 formats
• Encoding support for XDCAM, XAVC, P2 AVC Ultra, P2 AVC Intra, HEVC/H.265 Main and Main 10 profiles, and AS-11 compliant packaging.

Accelerated H.264 and H.265 Decoding

Most consumer-level cameras and phones use H.264 compression. Resolve Studio has decode options under Preferences. If you have an NVIDIA card, you’ll see that listed under the Decode Options. This decoding provides faster editing and smoother playback of H.264 and H.265 footage.

Watch comparison video

Note: Hardware acceleration is available in the free Mac version, not the free Windows version. ^[3]

4K Resolution Limit & Frame Rates over 60fps

4K Ultra HD Resolution is the maximum resolution for export on the free version. You can still import, edit, grade, and more with larger resolutions in the free version. You can’t export it. In addition, Studio can handle framerates over 60fps and includes advanced HDR delivery in Dolby Vision. Not only that, Studio can export HDR10+ formats and digital cinema packages (DCP) for theatrical distribution.

Version	Maximum Resolution & Frame Rate
DaVinci Resolve 19 Free version	4K / 60fps
DaVinci Resolve Studio 19	32K / 120fps

The DaVinci Neural Engine

The Neural Engine, introduced with Resolve Studio v16, is the AI engine that drives many features of DaVinci Resolve Studio. The main purpose of the Neural Engine is to minimize those time-consuming and repetitive tasks.

Some features that use the Neural Engine include:

• Text-Based Editing
• Audio Transcription
• Voice Isolation
• Audio Classification
• Face Refinement

• Super Scale
• Speed Warp
• Object Isolation & Tracking
• 3D Depth Map
• UltraNR Noise Reduction

• Music Remixer FX
• Film Look Creator
• IntelliTrack
• Relight FX
• Magic Masking
• And lots of others…

Color

Resolve Studio is known for its incredible color grading tools for colorists and those interested in detailed visual effects.

UltraNR Noise Reduction (New in 19)

AI noise reduction tool and Spatial denoising, powered by the DaVinci Neural Engine. Dramatically reduce noise while maintaining image clarity. And, users can combine UltraNR with temporal noise for more effective denoising.

UltraNR was trained on footage to recognize noise so it works well in low light, looking clean and sharp.

Film Look Creator (New in 19)

The Film Look Creator allows users to replicate film properties like grain, flicker, halation, bloom, gate weave, and vignetting. Customize by adjusting color settings, vignette, halation, split tone, and much more. Create custom film looks or use Preset LUTS based on existing film stocks… all in one effect!

IntelliTrack (New in 19)

IntelliTrack is a super fast multi-point optimized Tracking, powered by the DaVinci Neural Engine. Track points to stabilize footage, or add effects in the Fusion and Color pages. Track motion and automatically pan audio in Fairlight! More on that in the Audio section.

In the video below, JayAreTV walks viewers through using IntelliTrack on the Fusion Page, the Color Page, and the Fairlight Page.

Face Refinement (Improved in 19)

Face Refinement is a beauty tool that allows users to make target color grading and effects on skin tones, using Face Detection tracking. In addition, it can be used to adjust side lighting, add makeup effects, and sharpen, brighten, and adjust the eyes, lips, and teeth.

The 19 update includes improved tracking, profile handling, and more skin options.

Relight FX (New in Resolve Studio 18.5)

Relight FX allows users to add virtual light sources into any composition or scene, fixing problems or changing the mood of a shot. The lights can be adjusted to create a spotlight, an overall ambient light, or anything in between. Users can modify the light qualities as needed.

Audio – Fairlight FX

Since Resolve v14, the advanced audio tools in FairlightFX are professional-grade audio tools for recording, editing, mixing, dialog replacement, sound clean-up and repair, EQ, dynamics processing, and mastering soundtracks. Get it all in standard formats from stereo and surround sound to the latest immersive 3D audio formats!

The tools below are only available in the Studio version.

• Immersive 3D Audio with Ambisonic surround sound (new in 19)
• AI Audio Panning (Intellitrack) (new in 19)
• Music Remixer FX (New in 19)
• Dialogue Separator (New in 19)

Immersive 3D Audio with Ambisonic Surround Sound (New in 19)

Immersive 3D audio creates a surround sound experience by using height, width, and depth to envelop listeners in a 360-degree field. In DaVinci Resolve Studio, this technology supports high-resolution 3D audio, allowing you to work with spatial formats as complex as 22.2 channels. Resolve Studio also facilitates the import and export of the latest IAB and ADM files, common in advanced audio workflows. Object-based formats can move sounds in a way that feels natural and immersive, adjusting to different listening environments, from home setups to large theaters. You also get native support for Dolby Atmos and MPEG-H, plus new fully integrated ambisonics Ambisonics audio with up to 5th-order capabilities. Tools like a 3D panner and Spaceview scope let you visualize where each sound is positioned.

Dolby Atmos Mastering

DaVinci Resolve Studio’s Dolby Atmos integration allows you to create 3D audio productions from the ground up. It supports channel configurations from 5.1.2 to 9.1.6 and provides seamless connections with remote mastering units (RMU) and the Dolby Atmos Production Suite through AudioBridge.

Re-mixing External Productions

For those working with Dolby Atmos, the Studio version can import mastered content from various file types, including .damf, .wav, and .mxf. It can also break these files into their original components, such as individual audio sources, buses, and VCA groups. Afterward, you can re-export your work into an Atmos Master ADMBWF or as an IMF with audio embedded.

IMF Audio Deliverables

IMF (Interoperable Master Format) is widely used in professional video workflows, and DaVinci Resolve Studio supports it by allowing you to add audio to video via IMF containers. You can create multiple audio deliverables simultaneously in formats like IAB-MXF or .wav. These deliverables can be derived from a bus or track in your timeline or sourced from an existing IAB file.

IntelliTrack-Powered Audio Panning to Video (New in 19)

Automatically track people or objects in the Fairlight viewer and automatically pan the audio. See the IntelliTrack section for more.

Voice Isolation (Updated in 19)

Driven by the DaVinci Neural Engine, Voice Isolation now works better on a wider variety of source signals.

Dialogue Separator (New Track FX Plugin in 19)

The Dialogue Separator, a DaVinci Neural Engine AI-based effect, can separate dialogue from background sounds and ambience, giving editors individual control over the level of each component.

Music Remixer (New Track FX Plugin in 19)

Isolate, remix voice, drums, bass, guitar, and other instruments… without stems. Powered by the DaVinci Neural Engine, turn a vocal track into an instrumental, lower a guitar that is muddying the dialog, or remix drums to have them come in at a specific time.

OpenFX

OpenFX, or OFX, is a standardized software interface between the host and plug-ins for visual effects, editing, compositing, and finishing. DaVinci Resolve includes several filters under OpenFX, but some filters are not included in the free version, including Lens Blur, Camera Blur, Lens Flare, and Film Grain. One useful tool OFX tool is Face Refinement.

Third-Party OpenFX Filters

OpenFX is now widely used for visual effects and video processing and is supported by numerous hosts such as Assimilate, Blackmagic Design, Digital Anarchy, NewBlue, RE:Vision Effects, and more.

Resolve Studio offers support for additional third-party plugins and tools. In other words, these plugins can’t be used in the free version. You may see a watermark if you have them installed in the free version.

Third-Party OFX Plugins for DaVinci Resolve:

• Boris Sapphire (subscription and perpetual licenses available)
• Boris Continuum (subscription and perpetual licenses available)
• Digital Anarchy Flicker Free
• NewBlue Transitions 5 Ultimate
• RE:Vision Effects ReelSmart Motion Blur Pro
• RE:Vision Effects Twixtor Pro
• Red Giant Universe
• and many more. See the full list of Resolve Studio-compatible OFX plugins.

Stereoscopic 3D

Create 3D content with advanced stereoscopic tools with DaVinci Resolve Studio. Users have complete control over stereo-specific clip properties including convergence, floating windows, eye alignment, mastering, and output.

Special Thanks + Training

I also want to thank Patrick Imhofer and the DaVinci Resolve training on LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com). The training was helpful to me when writing the original article for version 16.

• DaVinci Resolve Certified Training Program from Blackmagic Design. The training is FREE and hits upon topics such as editing, multicam editing, visual effects, color, and more. It includes project files and many lessons are available in Spanish, German, and Portuguese. They’re all available in English.
• LinkedIn Learning. My library provides access to LinkedIn Learning for free.
• 9 Best DaVinci Resolve Courses for 2024: Professional Post-Production – From The Report. I don’t know this website but they list training options.

References

1. Learning DaVinci Resolve 16, by Patrick Imhofer. Lynda.com. December 2019.
2. New Features Guide: DaVinci Resolve 16, Blackmagic Design.
3. DaVinci Resolve Minimum System Requirements | A Reality Check, Richard Lackey.
4. Blackmagic Design Puts AI Into DaVinci Resolve 16, Jay Ankeny, The Broadcast Bridge, 19 August 2019.
5. Feature Comparison: DaVinci Resolve 15, Blackmagic Design.
6. Release of DaVinci Resolve Studio 19 Public Beta, Apr 12, 2024, Blackmagic Design.
7. DaVinci Resolve 19 Features Guide, Blackmagic Design.

What exactly is A.I.?

Artificial intelligence (A.I.) is an innovative area in computer science that aims to create smart systems capable of executing tasks that typically require human intelligence and interaction. This entails crafting intelligent tools that can generate knowledge from experience, and make decisions to achieve specific goals.

How A.I. Can Help Editors and Video Professionals

A.I. tools can automate repetitive tasks and enhance workflow efficiency. For example, use A.I. to transcribe footage, generate subtitles, perform morph cuts, recolor footage, smart reframing for social media, organize footage, upscale and sharpen footage, and so much more. They can remove unwanted noise, equalize frequencies, balance audio levels, and improve sound quality.

A.I. as a Collaborative Tool

Instead of replacing professionals, A.I. empowers them to focus on higher-level decision-making and experimentation. A.I. lacks the creativity and unique perspective that humans bring to video editing and filmmaking. By embracing A.I. as a collaborative tool, professionals can use its capabilities to enhance their own creativity and have a more fulfilling creative experience.

Video Editing

You’d be shocked at the number of products that have incorporated A.I. into their algorithms, making them more efficient and taking care of tedious tasks for you. Several video editing tools that you’ve probably been using already have built-in AI Features for all sorts of repetitive tasks like organizing footage, transcribing audio, morph cutting, and lots more. And, of course, text-based editing! Streamline your workflow with A.I. Below, the products are grouped by task or category.

Grass Valley Edius NEW

Version 11, released in October 2023, adds AI Noise elimation. Utilizing AI based voice recognition, EDIUS 11 now allows you to eliminate even extreme noise better than ever before.

Upscale & Sharpen Footage

If your NLE doesn’t include built-in options or you want to try other options, below are some plugins to upscale and sharpen footage.

Colorgrading and Color Effects NEW

AI Color Match

BSKL AI Color Match brings professional color correction and grading to After Effects and Premiere Pro. In short, you can copy the look from one shot and paste it to other shots. It matches the exposure, contrast, white balance and more, automagically.

Visual Effects

A.I. can generate content for you but it can also help with tedious tasks like rotoscoping and keying by automatically isolating faces, skies, and more.

Autodesk Flame

Flame‘s Machine learning image segmentation allows it to easily isolate skies, human bodies, heads, facial features, or other objects using AI-powered keyers.

Image & Video Generation

Several tools can bring AI into your host application. We’re at the early stages of video generation however, I expect this to explode in the coming months.

For background, there are 4 main image-generating tools available right now: Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, DALLE-E, and Adobe Firefly. More on Firefly below.

According to Superhuman – Zain Kahn, these are the best tools for AI-driven video generation at the moment:

• D-iD for animating faces
• Runway v2 for converting text to video
• Synthesia for generating avatar videos
• ElevenLabs for voice cloning

I have not tried any of the video tools above, and the tech behind them is certainly not perfect, but they are capable of generating characters, animations, voices, and scripts. I have used some of the tools that we sell that have AI generation built-in.

Generate Images with Adobe Firefly & Photoshop Update

Adobe Sensei is the A.I. engine in Adobe products and runs all sorts of features, including text-based editing in Premiere Pro, generative A.I. in Firefly, Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop, Generative Color in Illustrator, and lots more. If you’re not familiar with FireFly, it’s a web-based generative A.I. tool, currently in beta.

Adobe integrated Generative AI and Adobe Firefly into Photoshop, so creatives can work at the speed of their imagination. Adobe Firefly allows users to utilize text prompts to add elements to images. Generative fill also uses text prompts to add or remove objects.

New in FireFly v2 (beta): Adobe’s new firefly model’s Text to Image is a fantastic update. In fact, the image header for this article was created with the Text to Image tool.

Read: Adobe Shares Expansive Generative AI Strategy and Products

Other new features include an editorial channel where you can change the composition (Macrophotography, shot from below, etc.) Users can also adjust Aperture, Shutter Speed and Field of View. You can also include negative prompts, meaning that you can tell Firefly to not include certain things in your image. They’ve also added Generative Fill right in Firefly.

Adobe Firefly can also create gorgeous text effects. For example, I used the following prompt to create some interesting text.

Create text covered with sea creatures and some underwater foliage in a photorealistic style

And it created this:

And before you say, “Firefly for still images. I work in video”, check out the video below.

ADOBE FIREFLY: The Future of AI Video Editing!

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Creative Cloud

Background Removal, Auto-Masking, Face Detection, etc.

If you google A.I. background removal, you’ll find hundreds of tools, but you can do this with built-in tools like Resolve Studio, Premiere Pro, and Content-Aware Fill in After Effects. Autodesk Flame also excels with these features.

After Effects Advanced Roto Brush NEW

The new Roto Brush uses AI to make rotoscoping faster and b

CoreMelt Shot Anvil NEW

Goodbye Greenscreen (After Effects)

Blace Plugins’ Goodbye Greenscreen is a plugin for background matting and keying.

Goodbye Greenscreen

Mask Prompter (After Effects)

Simply use points and boxes and the A.I.-based plugin will create a mask from your prompt, for any object in your footage.

Mask Prompter

AI Face Detection & Blurring (After Effects)

Blace Plugins’ AI-based and automated face detection and blurring system for compositing and editing.

AI Face Detection & Blurring

Sheffield Softworks Keyper (FCP X)

Keyper uses Machine Learning to extract people from their backgrounds without requiring greenscreen or prepared backdrops.

Sheffield Softworks Keyper

Depth Map Generation and Estimation

There are a couple of tools out there that can create depth maps, extremely useful when color grading, adding fog, converting footage to Stereo 3D, and more. Autodesk Flame has it built in but here are a couple of the other tools you may want to check out.

Vegas Pro 21

AEJuice AI Depth Map

Build depth maps from images and video.

AEJuice AI Depth Map

Note: This is not a plugin. It opens a popup window that lets you convert images on your computer. 

Blace Depth Scanner

Create Depth Maps for After Effects 2022 & 2023. Windows only.

Get Depth Scanner

Tutorial: Create an AI animation in After Effects using Local Diffusion and Depth Scanner

Noise Removal NEW

One of the first things I read about AI in visual effects was AI-enhanced noise reduction. There are multiple AI tools to remove noise from renders, images, and footage. Below are a few options.

Adobe AI Denoise

Part of Adobe Camera Raw and included with Lightroom, Photoshop, and more, AI Denoise was released in April 2023. More: Denoise demystified

NVIDIA OptiX AI Denoiser

Many products use NVIDIA OptiX^TM Denoiser, and the list below is not even close to exhaustive.

Intel Open Source Image Denoiser

In July 2023, Intel released Open Image Denoise 2, an opensource AI denoiser, integrated into tools such as Cinema 4D, Blender, and Houdini. What’s different about the Intel denoiser is that it’s hardware agnostic and runs on GPU and CPU. Below are a few tools which use the Intel AI Image Denoiser. Again, not an exhaustive list.

Scripting

Klutz GPT

If you need help writing expressions in After Effects, check out Klutz GPT, a free tool from Hyper Brew. It brings ChatGPT directly into After Effects.

Workflow tools

Neural Enhancement Suite

Neural Enhancement Suite is an A.I. powered toolset for AI-based video enhancement to achieve results not previously possible in After Effects. It features denoising, hint-based colorization, superresolution, low-light enhancement, and much more. Windows only.

Repair Audio problems in your NLE

A.I. tools trained on millions of audio clips can fix wind noise, remove bird sounds, or remove that low rumble of an air conditioner with ease. Premiere Pro and Resolve Studio each have their own tools but below are some plugins that can drastically improve your audio quality.

Boris FX CrumplePop

CrumplePop, recently acquired by Boris FX, is an Audio repair and restoration tool that works in your NLE. Host support includes Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, Apple Final Cut Pro and Motion, and a slew of OFX hosts (Nuke, Silhouette, HitFilm, Vegas, and many more).

More about CrumplePop

Other A.I. Tools for Video Pros, Filmmakers, and Creators

• NEW ssemble – an online AI video tool that looks great for filmmakers and social media managers. It includes Text to video, Text to speech voice generator in multiple languages, a background noise remover, a Chat GPT script writer, and much more. Check out all the features here. There’s a free version and a more robust Pro Version available.
• Jeremy Presner shared a List of A.I. tools for Filmmakers that you need to check out! This is a MASSIVE list of tools
• Nupur Mittal walks you through 12 Mind-Blowing AI Video Tools to Enhance Creation & Editing. She has a more curated list of tools, focusing on AI video generation, AI editing enhancements, and AI video repurposing tools.

Several NLEs have A.I. features built in, including Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro X, and Magix Vegas. More on that below.

Create Better Videos INSTANTLY using THESE A.I. Tools!

Ignace Aleya has a list of his favorite tools for using A.I. as a video professional, which includes some on the list above.