Avid AI Developments Showcased at NAB 2024
From innovation around trending news stories, to assistance in getting the right shot quickly into the timeline, Avid AI developments showcased at NAB 2024 were fully in evidence in the Avid booth.
A wide variety of solutions were showcased in the booth — with one pod dedicated to showing purely AI-based enhancements in Avid tools such as Media Composer and MediaCentral.
Two new proofs of concept were demonstrated in the web-based application MediaCentral | Cloud UX, along with other AI solutions already available or coming soon.
The first related to news, where AI services interrogated stories within the MediaCentral | Newsroom Management system (formerly known as iNEWS) to identify trending topics. Results are displayed in word cloud, where users select a word and then view not only related stories from wire agencies for example, but also any relevant suggested video content from within the MediaCentral | Production Management system. The AI service is locally deployed, so no cloud services are required.
This AI support could significantly speed up the workflow for journalists, says Régis André, Avid Senior Director of Product Management
“We know that journalists face a mountain of information and footage in their daily work,” André explains. “Solutions like these, where we use the power of AI to help them identify stories and footage almost instantly could be hugely beneficial in helping them create and deliver stories faster to more platforms.”
The second proof of concept demonstrated ways in which AI can be deployed in the realm of editing. Again, in MediaCentral | Cloud UX, a journalist can write a script and record their voiceover to the timeline. They then select a section of the timeline and ask the AI service to identify relevant footage that matches the script.
“The key thing here is that the journalist is still in control of the final output,” André says. “The AI is acting as a co-pilot, helping the journalist to do their job but leaving them in charge of the decision-making process and what gets published ultimately.”
Delegates at the show at the Las Vegas Convention Center also saw how AI can be used by journalists. As they are typing a script the system offers relevant footage which can be applied for later use.
These examples were shown along with other AI advances around the use of speech-to- text transcription and summarization, where interviews or shows can be transcribed and summarized. In addition, transcripts and summaries can also be translated into multiple languages if required. View examples of these AI tools here.
In addition to these proofs of concept, Avid solutions which already include AI were also shown such as PhraseFind AI and ScriptSync AI in Media Composer and the use of services such as Azure Analytics in MediaCentral to enhance metadata.
“This is a really exciting area of innovation for us and the wider industry, but it is critical that we develop these solutions in a responsible way, providing assistance to the creative teams, and ensuring the security of our customers’ content at all times,” André remarks.
Find out more about Avid AI developments showcased at NAB 2024 at www.avid.com/ada
Craig Wilson
Craig Wilson is a newsroom specialist with over thirty years of experience in the broadcast industry. Craig has held various roles with Avid and is now the Global Media and Cloud Product Evangelist and host of the Making the Media podcast.