I’m an amateur filmmaker. I’ve dabbled in creating wedding videos for friends and family over the years, and I regularly document our family’s adventures on video. In 2023, we embarked on a particularly memorable journey: a long-distance road trip with our family of six in a fully electric vehicle. Inspired by YouTubers like ElectroDad and VanlifeRodina, I wanted to share our unique experience with the world. The final result of that trip, after weeks of editing last year, is available here: Our Electric Road Trip Adventure. BTW, I tried an AI tool to generate subtitles and translate to English for my colleagues, but at the end it was quite extensive manual work anyway.
With lot of material from last year summer vacation and approaching this year vacation, I had to start working on the video from the last year. But this time, I wanted to try something different. I’d heard about the rise of AI-assisted video editing tools and how they could streamline the process, especially the often tedious task of creating a rough cut. I envisioned a world where AI could magically identify the best moments, cut out the boring bits, and leave me with a solid foundation to build upon.
My AI Editing Adventure (and Misadventures)
Starting with a query to Google’s Gemini AI about recommended AI-assisted editing tools, I was directed toward Descript, Vidio.ai, and Wondershare Filmora.
First up was Descript. With my recent upgrade to a blazing-fast 1 Gbit fiber internet connection, I was confident that uploading the source material (about 40 GB) wouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Despite multiple attempts, I simply couldn’t get the upload to work. Descript, it seemed, wasn’t going to be my AI editing savior.
Next, I set my sights on Vidio.ai. The promise of automatic cuts and AI-powered scene selection was incredibly appealing. I happily signed up, ready to let the AI do its thing. However, my hopes were quickly dashed. When I tried to use the automatic cut functionality, I was met with a message stating that it was unavailable in my region, likely due to legal restrictions. Strike two.
Finally, I decided to try Wondershare Filmora. I downloaded the software, ready to experience its AI-powered magic. But my employer-issued laptop had other ideas. It simply wouldn’t allow me to install the program. Perhaps it was for the best, given my previous experiences.
You might be thinking, „What about the AI features in my GoPro subscription?“ And you’d be right to ask! In the past, I’ve used the GoPro Quik app’s auto-highlight feature quite a bit. It’s fantastic for generating a quick, short video clip – usually around 5 minutes – from a few days‘ worth of footage. It’s perfect for quickly sharing highlights from a weekend trip like this trip to Budapest.
However, for this particular family video, which was destined to be over an hour long, the GoPro’s automatic highlights simply wouldn’t cut it. The AI is designed to create a very concise summary, not a detailed documentary of a long road trip. So, I didn’t even attempt to use that tool for this ambitious project.
Back to the Familiar
Defeated but not entirely surprised, I decided to return to my old faithful: Final Cut Pro. It’s the software I know, the software I trust, and the software that, most importantly, works. While I didn’t get to experience the AI revolution firsthand, I did learn a valuable lesson: sometimes, the tried-and-true methods are still the best. I hope that next year, Apple include some AI assisted editing to this tool. I am even OK to pay a monthly subscription, as I usually have one or two long videos to cut per year so far.
Perhaps one day, AI-assisted video editing will be seamless, reliable, and accessible to everyone, even for longer-form content. But for now, I’ll stick with Final Cut Pro and continue to share our family’s electric adventures, one manually edited video at a time.
(This text was produced with help of Gemini AI)