Microsoft is updating its Clipchamp video editor with artificial intelligence and two new features. Clipchamp users can now use AI to mute unwanted sounds and seamlessly remove and replace background images. The new tools are available to Microsoft 365 Insiders, but could expand to other users as the tech giant looks to incorporate AI into its media platforms.
These aren’t insignificant features for the average video editor. Unwanted noise is endemic in video production and is often cited as a headache for editors, despite the fact that it’s necessary to ensure a video sounds good. Using AI, the noise suppression feature in Clipchamp can filter out background noise while preserving important foreground audio. The AI can distinguish speech or music relevant to the video and cut out any other sound. Users can simply turn on the feature through Clipchamp’s audio settings, and the AI will work to remove problematic audio in real-time. So even if you don’t have access to professional recording studios or equipment, your video can sound the way it does.
AI video vision
Clipchamp’s other new feature is the image background removal tool. Thanks to the AI tool, users can deal with cluttered or distracting backgrounds that can take attention away from the point of the video. The AI is designed to seamlessly lift and remove a background without altering the overall look of the scene. Clipchamp users can right-click on any image within their video timeline and then click “Remove Background.” Once it’s gone, you can make the background whatever you want, overlaying a new image or even another video behind the subject.
Building AI directly into software like Clipchamp helps Microsoft make AI more available to users of many of its products, including video creators who may be hobbyists without much technical training in editing tools. And as AI continues to expand its presence in video creation, this is likely to become more common. For example, Adobe and its Firefly AI for video can already do all sorts of video editing tricks, including creating new sequences if needed. There are also programs like Veed that can select the best shots for you. The same goes for more public platforms like YouTube and its long-awaited AI music generator and new brainstorming tool.
Microsoft isn't stopping its AI-powered video plans here. It's already working on more advanced features, such as AI assistants for continuous collaboration, automatic scene detection, and video summarization to accompany editing.
