Every week we’re treated to new AI advancements – each tend to be an improvement on the last. Some believe it’ll help us work better, some believe it will take our jobs entirely, others roll their eyes and laugh at the idea of AI becoming more integrated into society than it is now.
Adobe’s latest drop just turned many of those eye-rolls into raised eyebrows. Not the “beers after work?” kind – more the “holy shit” kind.
Last week at Adobe Max, we witnessed a suite of updates across their most beloved platforms. These ones deserve your attention. Let’s cut through the conference jargon and get to the stuff that’s about to change the creative space.
Premier Pro: Your Get-Out-Of Jail Free Card
Ever been asked “can we just extend that shot a few seconds?” while your soul leaves your body? Well… actually, yes. Yes we can.
Premiere Pro’s new Generative Extend feature is the main event, and for good reason.
It’s a frame-perfect, commercially-safe extension that can add up to 10 seconds of AI generated footage to your clips! Working between 12-30 FPS at 720p/1080p, it’s perfect for social content. Plus, it’ll extend your audio too, sparing you from those awkward cut-offs.
Firefly Video: B-Roll That Feels A-Roll
The Firefly Video Model is Adobe’s answer to every content creator who’s ever searched “city traffic stock footage” at 3 AM. Unlike some AI tools (CatGPT) – this one’s built for actual professional work.
You’re not just typing prompts into the void and praying for a usable result – you’ve got access to camera controls, motion parameters, and the ability to use reference images. Plus, everything’s trained on licensed content, meaning you can use it in client work without the looming threat of a sternly worded email from legal.
The below footage (sourced from Adobe) follows the prompt:
Detailed extremely macro closeup view of a white dandelion viewed through a large red magnifying glass
Original Clip
Generated Sequence
Mental.
Project Neo: 3D For 2D Minds
Ever tried to learn Blender? Yeah, us too. Project Neo is Adobe’s way of saying “sorry about all that” to 2D designers everywhere.
It’s a web-based app built specifically for designers who typically work in 2D, bringing 3D creation into a more tangible territory. Project Neo is your best (and most legal) chance at making Illustrator a little more ‘dimensional’.
Create and edit 3D shapes with tools that make sense, then export them straight to Illustrator as vectors. No more YouTube tutorials explaining why your boolean operations just created a black hole.
You’ll want to click play on this one.
Photoshop: Ctrl+z For Real Life
Photoshop’s new Distraction Removal tool is basically ctrl+z for real life. No, it won’t undo years of poor decision making – but it will erase that tourist who wandered into your product shoot. Those pre-teens that photobombed your launch event? Gone! Unlike previous attempts at this kind of tech, the AI actually understands what should be there instead of just taking a wild guess.
Frame.io: The Overachievers Update
Frame.io Version 4 is what happens when someone actually listens to creatives complain about their workflow. It now integrates directly with Canon, Nikon, and Leica cameras, meaning your footage starts uploading the moment you hit stop. Gone are the days of card transfers & extended periods of thumb twiddling – you can now enjoy instant access to your content!
The new platform lets you customise and manage the end-to-end creative pipeline, from initial shoot to final delivery. Think of it as your virtual production manager, minus the passive aggressive emails and scheduling conflicts.
Adobe Express: The Dark Horse
Turns out Adobe Express was playing the long game. That app you downloaded once upon a time for a “quick fix” just got a serious glow-up. The new Campaign Creation feature can turn single designs into full campaigns without the excessive copy and pasting. One design can be automatically resized for every social platform, with smart cropping that doesn’t behead your subject.
But they didn’t stop there. AI-powered copywriting that understands brand voice, animation that doesn’t look like a PowerPoint fever dream, and proper Adobe suite integration – Express might warrant a revisit.
Got a Halloween campaign in the works?
Embrace It
Adobe Max 2024 just changed everything. While the AI debate rages on, Adobe has quietly solved problems that have been haunting creatives since the dawn of… creating?
Undercooked clip lengths and 3D-phobias are problems of yesterday. These updates are less about replacing your creativity and more about freeing up time to work on the stuff that matters.
The creative industry is shifting fast, and we’re pretty excited to see just how far it can go. Spoiler – the answer isn’t close to conceivable just yet. We’ve only touched on a few of Adobe’s latest developments – dive into Adobe’s official resources to stay in the loop for everything else!