From Ferris Bueller to AI: Navigating the Fast-Paced World of Marketing
In the ’80s classic, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Ferris observes, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Wise words to live by from the loveable rogue and something AI can help with.
Professionally speaking, the pace can be relentless. With shrinking teams and escalating workloads, it’s easy to get lost in the daily hustle. However, I’m committed to working smarter and taking a moment to pause and reflect.
Rather than being daunted by the surge of AI tools in the communication and marketing sectors, I’ve tried integrating them into my workflow throughout 2023. Earlier this year, I wrote a blog titled “Maximise Your Marketing Budget with AI: How Artificial Intelligence Can Help You Work Smarter, Not Harder.” It explored the potential of tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney during the conceptualisation stage of marketing campaigns.
Recently, my focus has shifted to the plethora of AI tools designed to amplify video production. Their capabilities are genuinely incredible and improving at pace.
One tool that has caught my attention recently is Opus Clip. But before talking about its features, some context is in order. In 2021, a colleague collaborated with screenwriting icon Jimmy McGovern and producer Tom Sherry for a podcast, coinciding with the premiere of the fantastic series “Time.” While the primary medium was audio, we also engaged students from LMA Liverpool to capture it on video, aiming for a broader reach. The discussion was everything we’d hoped for. We always believed the content was rich enough to be segmented into multiple shorter videos. However, as is often the case, other work took precedence, and the idea was shelved because we didn’t have the time (sorry) to devote to it.
Enter Opus Clip, a generative AI video editing tool that transforms lengthy videos into short clips. It analyses video content to pinpoint the most engaging segments. Intrigued, I put it through its paces and directed it to the You Tube version of our talk with Jimmy McGovern. In less time than the video’s duration, it produced 19 concise clips, edited, subtitled, and tailored for platforms like YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram Reels. While the output wasn’t flawless, six or seven clips were solid, requiring only minor adjustments.
If we’d had this tool in 2021, we’d have had multiple new assets to showcase and promote the work. It did well at the time but could have done so much better.
The significance of staying abreast with AI tools cannot be overstated. These tools can help streamline our processes and unlock new avenues of creativity and efficiency. By embracing and integrating these innovations, we can empower ourselves and our teams to remain at the forefront of our industries, ensuring that we don’t just keep up with the times but lead the charge into the future.
Trust your creativity and let AI be your sidekick, rather than a replacement.
