AI innovates content production processes.
ZDF Digital produces 3D animated Terra X intro using Adobe Firefly in record time.
3 days
to produce 60-second digital intro
Objectives
Design customised image elements instead of using static stock content
Convert 2D content to 3D quickly
Use artificial intelligence to create images that are safe for commercial use
Results
Generates all image material using AI in one hour
Renders GLB format objects in the same 3D space as native cameras, lights, and other 3D layers
Supports creative production cycle that follows AI Ethics principles of accountability, responsibility, and transparency
Efficient and innovative AI helps produce Terra X intro in 3 days
ZDF Digital, a media company of the ZDF Group, is renowned for its journalistic diversity, creativity, and passion. The service provider uses the latest technologies to produce immersive experiences and user-oriented, interactive content.
For the well-known Terra X documentaries covering history, nature, archaeology, and science, the ZDF Digital team usually needs several weeks to create and produce a high-quality animated intro for the Terra X documentaries. But this time, the team led by Renée Abe, Head of Innovation & Creative Production, and Mario Hill, Team Lead Design – 3D / Motion Design / 3D Realtime / Virtual Production, didn’t have that long. With just three days to complete the task, they raised the bar for digital video production speeds using Adobe Firefly to produce a complete digital intro for the theme of ‘time’ within the deadline.
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Quality of output
Instead of the traditional method of trawling through a stock image library for suitable material, the team described their visual concepts in their own words and used these as text prompts in Adobe Firefly, Adobe’s family of generative AI tools. “On one hand, coming up with the vision yourself, without the help of models or templates, is a challenge. On the other, that’s what allows you to maximise your own influence on the design of each image,” says Abe. The tool’s ease of use, like the ability to use keywords in the prompts and the range and variety of generated content, played a key role in helping the team keep on schedule. “It only took about an hour to produce images for the intro that met our standards.”
“You don’t have to be a prompt engineer to use Firefly. It’s intuitive and easy to use and intended to be a user-friendly AI tool. It’s about using a simple tool to get great results and working seamlessly within a connected Adobe Creative Cloud workflow,” explains Hill.
Transforming 2D to 3D
Using Adobe Photoshop and Generative Fill, the 2D prompt content was converted to 4K images. This allowed the images to be given more depth, in order to achieve a feeling of dimensionality and realism within a scene. While depth is used naturally in 3D rendering, it’s not always easy to capture or create when working with 2D formats. At this point, Hill turned to ZoeDepth, a tool that calculates depth effectively and allows artists to create realistic 3D meshes from 2D backgrounds and save them in GLB format.
Using the true 3D workspace in Adobe After Effects, the 3D meshes were then adapted accordingly: thanks to the native model import feature, objects in GLB format could be rendered in the same 3D space as native After Effects cameras, lights, and other 3D layers. “In one scene, you see a watch on someone’s wrist and, thanks to the camera movement we chose, it looks like the person has goosebumps, which is pretty cool,” says Hill, describing what’s known as the parallax effect. To achieve this effect, various design objects are positioned in front of each other on different layers and then moved at different speeds to each other to simulate three-dimensionality or motion.
Professional ethics built on credibility
Being able to work creatively without worrying about copyright is a concern for ZDF Digital. To maintain its position as an innovator in the digital production space and enable its employees to use the latest methods to think outside the box, ZDF Digital needs secure and functional tools. Thanks to Adobe Firefly, the company is able to ensure its use of AI-generated content is legally compliant. The AI solution is subject to Adobe’s AI Ethics principles of accountability, responsibility, and transparency and is trained using only licensed content and content in the public domain that is no longer protected by copyright. Images generated by Firefly can therefore be used for commercial purposes. Authenticity and credibility are fundamental aspects of any company, but especially of a public media institution. Content that is fully traceable and thus helps prevent the spread of fake news is not created for the sake of credibility, but instead provides the foundation on which professional ethics are based.
Using AI to boost creativity
According to the ZDF Digital team, the Firefly workflows made the Terra X intro significantly easier to create. The time saved with the use of Adobe Firefly has inspired Abe and Hill to develop new creative workflows. According to the ZDF Digital team, the Firefly workflows made the Terra X intro significantly easier to create. With time saved, the team is able to focus on developing new creative approaches to the project. “Of course, all designers aspire to create something new, something you can’t just get ‘off the shelf’. Some things will always need to be done by the professionals,” says Abe.
In the future, the team hopes to be able to use AI enhancements in its preferred creative applications, for example, to generate a moving image directly via a prompt or to create re-enactments of real historical events for which few or no documented images exist – and present them as authentically as possible.
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