Adobe Firefly video editor now auto-generates first cuts from raw footage

Adobe is adding a new feature to the video editor inside Firefly called Quick Cut, designed to use AI to assemble raw footage and B-roll into an initial draft of a finished video based on a user’s instructions.

In a typical workflow, editors upload footage and B-roll to a video editor, then manually sort clips, select the best takes, and arrange transitions. With Quick Cut, Adobe says users can instead describe the video they want in natural language. The tool will then automatically remove irrelevant parts of the footage, stitch together different takes, and use suitable B-roll to help create smoother transitions between cuts.

Users can also select specific frames from B-roll and use one of Firefly’s available video models to generate short transition clips.

In the Firefly video editor, users can use a prompt box to set preferences like aspect ratio and transition pacing, or add optional B-roll footage. Quick Cut can be applied to an entire project, a particular timeline, or only selected clips.

Adobe emphasised that Quick Cut is intended to generate a first draft rather than a finished product. Editors will still need to refine the output, including tightening cuts, combining takes, and polishing transitions to reach a final version.

“As we talk to our users, who are creators and marketers, the biggest problem they actually communicate is the need for fast turnaround, the need for time-saving techniques that just let them get to their creative vision as fast as possible,” said Mike Folgner, product lead for AI and next-generation video tools.

“One thing we do know is that some of the mundane parts that come with video [editing], like just getting the selects in order, that’s not really where they find joy and difference. They find joy in putting their spin on it. So Quick Cut is meant to help creators who have a set of media find the story very quickly and get to a story cut as fast as possible,” he added.

Adobe has been releasing frequent updates to its video tools. In December, the company launched a new timeline-based editor that introduced layers and prompt-driven editing, treating different elements as layers and allowing creators to modify them through prompts, along with controls such as resize and rotate.

Adobe has also added broader prompt-based editing functions to Firefly, enabling users to tell the model how to adjust video elements, colour treatments, and camera angles. The company has also included a timeline view that makes it easier to fine-tune frames, audio, and other attributes.