New Adobe Firefly video updates can take AI-generated videos to the next level and keep the company competitive in the busy AI market. The company will be able to add sound effects to its Firefly AI videos thanks to the beta release of its new AI tools announced Thursday. It is the second major tech company to release such features, following the launch of Google's VEO 3 in May.
Firefly video also has some other changes that can be used with Firefly's new external AI model and new prompt features and presets. The new configuration reference tool allows you to upload content, and Firefly uses references to mimic video motion and image layouts without having to explain all the details of the prompts. Cropping keyframes helps you resize content, with new style presets such as anime, vector art, black and white.
It was only recently that AI-generated videos also have sound. Adobe first teased this audio feature when it was just a research concept in the development of Adobe Max last year. After a warm reception from a live audience, the company continued working on the tools, leading to this week's beta release. However, Adobe's AI audio capabilities are not the same as Veo 3. This was a splash at the I/O conference this spring. There are several important differences between programs that affect the content you generate.
Here's what you need to know about Firefly's new Audible AI videos and how they stack up to Google: For more information, see How to Use Photoshop AI and the new Firefly Mobile App.
Creating AI audio with Firefly vs. Veo 3
To create an AI video with sound in Firefly, start with a regular Firefly prompt window. If you have a video you like, hover over it and click on the icon in the top right corner. Generates sound effects. This opens a new browser tab that can generate AI audio.
This is an example of the setup you use when generating sound effects via Adobe Firefly.
One of the biggest differences between Firefly and Veo 3 is the type of AI audio you can create. AI audio that can be generated via Firefly is audio that Foley artists can create, including sound effects and impact noise. However, it does not include dialogue. Each prompt generates four variations of an audio clip, typically 8 seconds long. You can create sound effects to record yourself and upload unique options as part of the prompt.
For example, if you want to give an AI monster a scary roar, you can record yourself groaning. Firefly also offers four variations to suit your typical cadence. But you cannot record yourself by saying, “You will never escape my evil hideout!” And then generate those words by Firefly. This is unlike VEO 3, and can generate audio on its own or from scripts provided at the prompt. Adobe has a new independent AI avatar tool in beta for dialogue creation.
Another difference is that with Firefly you need to manually sync AI audio to the video clip. Those who are familiar with creating Premiere Pro will recognize similar setups. This setup allows you to drag and drop audio clips to where you want to play in the Timeline. But for those who don't need or want such manuals, hands-on controls, automatically matching on VEO 3 requires a lot of work from creating AI videos.
Other differences between Adobe and Google
Adobe's AI video generator may not have the same level of audio functionality as VEO 3, but there are other things. Firefly offers access to 15 different AI models from popular AI companies such as Runway, Luma, Pika and yes, Google's VEO 3. Adobe will allow you to choose several new external models, including Moonvalley's “Clean AI” models Marey, Pika 2.2, and Luma AI's Ray 2.
This is important because Adobe's AI policy states that it does not train AI models on customer content and that all partner models must agree to this “no-training” commitment. So, if you're worried about maintaining some data privacy while using AI tools, generating videos with Adobe comes with a stronger policy than many other AI programs.
There is also a slight price difference between the two. Adobe Firefly plans start at $10 a month, with more expensive plans offering additional generation credits. Depending on the Adobe plan you are currently subscribing to, you may already have some firefly credits. Google recently added access to the faster version of VEO 3 to its Google AI Pro plan for $20 a month. This is a huge savings opportunity as the regular VEO 3 is paid on a $250 Google AI Ultra plan.
For more information, see Premiere Pro and Adobe's new Indigo Camera App's first AI feature.
