By Loewe Tan
Although 2022 may be the year that marks the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the year has seen a sharp rise in regional conflicts and tension. As a result, demands for a more dynamic and robust media asset management system are now stronger than before. From media houses to national broadcasters, media assets are taking up more storage space — and improper labelling of media assets can lead to inefficiency in the production process.
Since the arrival of AI (artificial intelligence), post-production houses and streamers such as Netflix have tapped on AI to automate content workflow, saving US$1 billion a year. However, integrating AI to existing legacy systems needs a careful balance of cost and efficiency.
AI facilitates video retrieval
AI is no longer a budding technology in the media industry. The technology has provided several bespoke solutions from video editing to media assets management, automating mundane tasks and freeing up time for producers to focus on work that truly matters.
VSN, a video stream network that specialises in content management assets system, offers VSNExplorer MAM — an AI-powered tool that provides useful applications for the end-user.
Its specific segment retrieval tool enables users to retrieve specific video segments, instead of the entire video, reducing duplicated steps of editing the whole media file from scratch again.
Moreover, the search criteria will automatically include the mark-in and mark-out of the videos, negating the manual selections. For example, users can now perform a search on the AI-integrated asset management system to find a segment of the video, in which a specified politician speaks about a specific topic or retrieve even every foul and goal during a sporting event.
Despite fears of it replacing human intelligence, AI technology has overcome misconceptions by enabling producers to easily find key moments of the clips for replay and broadcasting, thus ensuring a smooth production process.
Search video archives via AI
In 2020, Reuters applied AI technology to 100 years of archived videos, enabling faster news discovery. With the support of Google Digital News Innovation (DNI) Fund, Reuters was able to extract vast amounts of data from the videos to provide accurate information for its editors.
For instance, Reuters Connect — a system powered by Google Digital News AI — was able to identify public figures highlighted in the videos, allowing easy navigation between sections of video and faster access to pictures of key historic events.
Sue Brooks, Managing Director of Reuter’s Product Development & Agency Strategy, said, “By applying AI technology to more than 100 years of archived videos, we can offer customers around the world a vastly enhanced experience.
“This innovation means users of Reuters Connect can discover the exact moments that matter in history — from Lenin to Trump, WWI to 9/11, Sarajevo to Gaza, and so much more. By unlocking this data, we will deliver unparalleled value to customers for years to come.”
At any 24/7 news agency, efficiency is crucial in delivering up-to-date news, and AI technology has enabled searchable video archives, thus reducing tedious work and enabling an intuitive workflow.
AI offers a magical touch to video editing
On the flip side, AI requires training to be able to replicate human problem-solving capabilities. Fortunately, video editing software trains the AI to understand some of the basic problems editors face and helps editors to resolve it automatically.
Not only does AI help with the video access, but it can also automatically suggest edits for mismatch in video colourations during the production process.
Blackmagic Design, a video editing software, offers DaVinci Resolve – an AI-driven effect that touches up skin tone, sharpens the subject’s features and relights the subject’s face.
With the automated detection process, editors can easily adjust the subject’s face and ensure consistency across all frames. And, there’s more – the DaVinci Neural Engine can analyse and suggest scene cuts, eliminating redundant editing workflows, thereby making it suitable for the non-linear editing environment.
Blackmagic Design has leveraged AI technology to improve workflow of the editors.
AI provides new tools for budding editors
Adobe, one of the world’s leading video editing systems, believes that AI features can shave off time from the editing process, offering opportunities for producers to focus on delivering creativity.
The Adobe Sensei AI and machine learning technology provides colour matching between different video clips, eliminating colour discrepancies between different shots. Similarly, it can also provide scene edit detection.
As a budding editor, finding scene transitions and placing cuts manually may not be an easy feat. Adobe’s Premiere Pro will not only cut your scenes for you, but it will
Indeed, advances in AI technology have a proven track record in automating tedious tasks and increasing the accessibility to video archives, allowing producers and editors to focus on expressing their creativity and achieving better work-life balance in the coming post-pandemic era.