Adobe Jumps into AI Video: Exploring Firefly’s New Video Generator

TL;DR – What You Need to Know in 30 Seconds

1. Adobe Has Launched a New AI Video Generator: Firefly Video (beta) is now live for anyone who’s signed up for early access, promising safe and licensed content.
2. Commercially Safe Creations: The video model is trained only on licensed and public domain content, reducing the headache of potential copyright issues.
3. Flexible Usage: You can create 5-second, 1080p clips from text prompts or reference images, add extra effects, and blend seamlessly with Adobe’s other tools.
4. Subscription Plans: Ranging from 10 USD to 30 USD per month, you’ll get a certain number of monthly generative credits to play with, along with free cloud storage.

So, What is the Adobe Firefly Video Generator?

f you’ve been keeping an eye on the AI scene, you’ll know it’s bursting with new tools left, right, and centre. But guess who has finally decided to join the party, fashionably late but oh-so-fancy? That’s right — Adobe! The creative software giant has just unveiled its generative AI video tool, Firefly Video Generator. Today, we’re taking a closer look at what it does, why it matters, and whether it’s worth your time.

If you’ve heard whispers about Adobe’s foray into AI, it’s all about Firefly — their suite of AI-driven creative tools. Adobe has now extended Firefly to video, letting you turn text or images into short video clips. At the moment, each clip is around five seconds long in 1080p resolution and spits out an MP4 file.

The unique selling point is that Firefly’s videos are trained on licensed and public domain materials, so you can rest easy about copyright concerns. Whether you’re a content creator, a social media guru, or just love dabbling in AI, this tool might be your new favourite playground.

Getting Started: Text-to-Video in a Flash

Interested? Here’s the easiest way in:

• Sign In: Head over to firefly.adobe.com and log in or sign up for an Adobe account.
• Select “Text to Video”: Once logged in, you’ll see a selection of AI tools under the Featured tab. Pick “Text to Video,” and you’re in!
• Craft a Prompt: Type out a description of what you want to see. For best results, Adobe recommends specifying the shot type, character, action, location, and aesthetic — the more detail, the better — up to 175 words.. For example:

Prompt: A futuristic cityscape at sunset with neon lights reflecting off wet pavement. The camera pans over a sleek, silver skyscraper, then zooms in on a group of drones flying in formation, their lights pulsating in sync with the city’s rhythm. The scene transitions to a close-up of a holographic advertisement displaying vibrant, swirling patterns. The video ends with a wide shot of the city, capturing the dynamic interplay of light and technology.

• Generate: Hit that generate button, and watch Firefly do its magic. Stick around on the tab while it’s generating, or else your progress disappears (a bit of a quirk if you ask me).

The end result is a 5-second video clip in MP4 format, complete with 1920 × 1080 resolution. You can’t exactly produce a Hollywood blockbuster here, but for quick, creative clips, it’s pretty handy.

Here’s another one:

A cheerful, pastel-colored cartoon rabbit wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt. The rabbit is standing on a sunny beach, surrounded by palm trees and colorful beach balls. As it dances to upbeat music, it starts to juggle three beach balls while spinning around. The camera zooms out to show the rabbit’s shadow growing larger, transforming into a giant beach ball that bounces across the sand. The video ends with the rabbit laughing and winking at the camera.

Image-to-Video: Turn That Pic into Motion

To use this feature, you must have the rights to any third-party images you upload. All images uploaded or content generated must meet our User Guidelines. Access will be revoked for any violation.

If you prefer a visual reference to a text prompt, Firefly also has your back. You can upload an image — presumably one you own the rights to — and let the AI interpret that into video form. As Adobe warns:

Once uploaded, you can tweak the ratio, camera angle, motion, and more to shape your final clip. This is a brilliant feature if you’re working on something that requires a specific style or visual element and you’d like to keep that vibe across different shots.

A Dash of Sparkle: Adding Effects

A neat trick up Adobe’s sleeve is the ability to layer special effects like fire, smoke, dust particles, or water over your footage. The model can generate these elements against a black or green screen, so you can easily apply them as overlays in Premiere Pro or After Effects.

In practical terms, you could generate smoky overlays to give your scene a dramatic flair or sprinkling dust particles for a cinematic vibe. Adobe claims these overlays blend nicely with real-world footage, so that’s a plus for those who want to incorporate subtle special effects into their videos without shelling out for expensive stock footage.

How Much Does Adobe Firefly Cost?

There are two main plans if you decide to adopt Firefly into your daily workflow:

1. Adobe Firefly Standard (10 USD/month)
   • You get 2,000 monthly generative credits for video and audio, which means you can generate up to 20 five-second videos and translate up to 6 minutes of audio and video.
   • Useful for quick clip creation, background experimentation, and playing with different styles in features like Text to Image and Generative Fill.
2. Adobe Firefly Pro (30 USD/month)
   • This plan offers 7,000 monthly generative credits for video and audio, allowing you to generate up to 70 five-second videos and translate up to 23 minutes of audio and video.
   • Great for those looking to storyboard entire projects, produce b-roll, and match audio cues for more complex productions.

Both plans also include 100 GB of cloud storage, so you don’t have to worry too much about hoarding space on your own system. They come in monthly or annual prepaid options, and you can cancel anytime without fees — quite flexible, which is nice.

First Impressions: Late to the Party?

Overall, Firefly’s biggest plus is its library of training data. Because it only uses Adobe-licensed or public domain content, creators can produce videos without fear of accidental infringement. This is a big deal, considering how many generative AI tools out there scrape the web, causing all sorts of copyright drama.

Adobe’s integration with its existing ecosystem is another big draw. If you’re already knee-deep in Premiere Pro and After Effects, having a built-in system for AI-generated overlays, quick b-roll clips, and atmospheric effects might streamline your workflow.

But let’s be honest: the AI video space is already pretty jam-packed. Competitors like Runway, Kling, and Sora from OpenAI have been around for a while, offering equally interesting features. So the question is, does Firefly do anything better or more reliably than the rest? You’ll have to try it out for yourself (and please let us know your thoughts in the comments below).

This sentiment might ring true until Adobe packs in some advanced features or speeds up its render times. However, you can’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Adobe does offer free video generation credits, so have a go. Generate your own videos, add flaming overlays, and see if the results vibe with your style.

Will Adobe’s trusted brand name and integrated workflow features push Firefly Video Generator to the top of the AI video world? Or is this too little, too late?

Ultimately, you’re the judge. The AI video revolution is in full swing, and each platform has its own perks and quirks.

Wrapping Up & Parting Thoughts

Adobe’s Firefly Video Generator is an exciting new player that’s sure to turn heads. If you’re already an Adobe devotee, it makes sense to give it a whirl and see how seamlessly it slides into your existing workflow. You’ll enjoy its straightforward interface, the security of licensed content, and some neat editing options.

But with so many alternatives on the market, is Firefly truly innovative, or just the next step in AI’s unstoppable march through our creative spaces?

Could Adobe’s pedigree and safe licensing edge truly redefine AI video for commercial use, or is the industry already oversaturated with better and bolder solutions?

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• Try out the Adobe Firefly Video Generator for free by tapping here