AI Video Tools in Practice: Insights from a Professional Editor
December 9, 2025
Quick Answer: AI video tools are transforming video production, offering creators new levels of speed, flexibility, and creative freedom. These advancements are crucial for developing a truly professional AI video. In this blog post, our Senior Editor tries out different AI video creation tools.
As AI continues to evolve, so does the use of AI in video production, with new tools emerging every day. From Midjourney to Cling, Topaz, and the latest Gemini 3, these tools promise creators more creative freedom, flexibility, and faster time to output.
But can you achieve great video solely with AI tools?
At Digital Brew, we’ve specialized in creating high-quality animated videos for over 14 years. During this time, we’ve witnessed many techniques, tools, and trends, but the popularization of AI tools is by far the most significant shift we’ve experienced.
As creators, we can’t afford to be resistant to innovation. So we decided to put ourselves to the test with a case study. Our Senior Editor, Brent Mayorca, worked on a 50-second character-animated commercial using a variety of AI tools and workflows.
In this blog post, we’ll examine the process in detail, analyze the pros and cons of AI in video production, and share why, at the end of the day, we still believe that creating great AI video requires a human touch.
But first, take a look at the final result below, then continue reading to discover what it took to create it.
First Step: Script Writing vs. The Reality of AI Script Adaptation
Like all video production processes, this project started with creative direction and a script.
Was this plot the original idea from the script? Yes and no.
The general concept remained intact, and AI tools successfully generated content that aligned with our vision. However, many parts of the original script needed modification to achieve better results. Certain scenes were simply too difficult to replicate with AI while maintaining a natural look, or they proved too time-consuming to edit to justify including them.
What does this mean for clients and creators?
In traditional video production, you can expect the story to stay faithful to the script. Animators and editors adapt to the script, not the other way around. But when creating video with AI, you must be comfortable with the possibility of changes along the way that may not perfectly match your initial vision.
It’s worth noting that this limitation is diminishing rapidly as new AI tools continue to develop.
AI Workflows: A Multi-Tool Approach
Our Senior Editor, Brent Mayorca, experimented with different workflows that merged art direction, cinematography, and prompt engineering. Here are the tools he used and why each excelled in its specific role:
Midjourney: Character Design
Midjourney proved superior for character design due to its ability to generate stylized, consistent facial features and maintain artistic coherence. The platform’s understanding of aesthetic principles allowed Brent to establish a distinctive visual identity for the grandmother and grandson characters.
Gemini: Scene Composition
Gemini excelled at scene composition because of its strong spatial reasoning and ability to understand complex environmental layouts. It could effectively interpret prompts that described multi-element scenes, maintaining proper perspective and depth across various settings.
Cling 2.5: Animation
For bringing static images to life, Cling 2.5 offered the smoothest motion generation and best handling of character movement between keyframes.
Topaz: Final Polish
Topaz provided the professional finishing touches, upscaling resolution and refining details that elevated the overall production quality.
It took considerable testing from Brent to determine which tool worked best for each stage and how to combine workflows for optimal time management. Since no single centralized tool excels at every aspect of AI video creation, it’s necessary to maintain multiple subscriptions. Additionally, processing each section takes time, so workflows must be carefully planned for maximum efficiency.
The Rapid Evolution of Professional AI video
Our workflow from last month? Already outdated. Staying current is half the creative process.
Even between when Brent started experimenting and when he completed the final video, tools were updating weekly. The workflow he initially established wasn’t the most optimal by project’s end, though he successfully minimized production time and achieved significantly better results.
From the moment we finished the video until now, multiple platforms have released new versions. Gemini 3 launched alongside Nano Banana Pro, which represents a major leap forward.
According to its release notes:
“Gemini 3 Pro Image (Nano Banana Pro) is our new state-of-the-art image generation and editing model. Built on Gemini 3 Pro, it uses Gemini’s advanced reasoning and real-world knowledge to visualize information better than ever before. Nano Banana Pro can help you visualize any idea and design anything, from building prototypes, to representing data as infographics, to turning handwritten notes into diagrams.“
This constant evolution means what’s cutting-edge today might be standard practice next month.
Unexpected Benefits: A Studio in Your Pocket
The rapid pace of AI improvement brings us to an unexpected advantage: unprecedented creative flexibility.
Brent discovered that having a “studio in your pocket” allows for greater flexibility in where and when you create. Inspiration can strike anywhere, and now you can act on it immediately.
“I Generated Storyboards While Feeding My Baby”
Brent Mayorca, Senior Editor, Digital Brew
In fact, Brent was feeding his baby when he realized a better workflow for transitioning from static images to animation, and could test it quickly on his phone. Since generating images and video with AI requires processing time, he could “leave the machines running” while focusing on other projects.
The Limitations: Where AI Still Falls Short
We’ve discussed our process, the benefits, and how rapidly AI is improving. Now it’s time to address the main obstacles Brent encountered.
The Hardest Part? Achieving Consistency for Professional AI video
Keeping characters consistent across scenes is one of the biggest creative hurdles in AI filmmaking. Brent chose a 2D “Pixar-inspired” style for the characters, which helped maintain consistency across shots. Still, it required extensive prompting, re-prompting, and manual cleanup.
Brent’s 15+ years of video editing experience allowed him to spot mistakes faster, notice when angles were off, or identify when eye lines weren’t matching. This expertise was crucial, not just anyone with access to AI tools could have achieved these results. And still, Brent notices multiple sections that could have been improved.
Subscriptions, Credit Systems, and Expertise
Brent had subscriptions to multiple AI generation tools in their PRO versions, plus professional editing software to bring everything together. The costs add up quickly.
Anyone can prompt a video. But only a seasoned editor knows when an eye line looks “off” or when a reflection doesn’t match reality. That’s where the human touch still matters, professional human touch.
Even with expertise, some sections proved difficult to perfect. If you look closely at the video, you’ll notice the words “For Sale” reflected on the car windshield aren’t inverted as they would be in reality. Achieving that effect while maintaining character consistency in the scene proved too challenging within our timeline.
The Bottom Line of Professional AI video
Testing these tools was an invaluable experience. We’ve witnessed firsthand how they’re improving and providing creative freedom to more people. We also understand that every shot in our AI commercial could’ve been better, but that’s part of the process.
The takeaway? AI tools are powerful accelerators that expand what’s possible for creators. They offer unprecedented flexibility, speed up iteration, and democratize access to sophisticated visual effects. But they work best when guided by experienced hands that understand composition, storytelling, pacing, and the countless subtle details that separate amateur content from professional work. Creating great AI video doesn’t eliminate the need for human creativity and expertise
At Digital Brew, we’re excited to continue exploring this frontier, testing AI capabilities with our 14 years of storytelling expertise to create videos that truly connect with audiences.
Let’s Brew This!
FAQs
AI video tools have made impressive strides, rapidly improving in areas like image generation, animation, and scene composition. However, even the best tools require an experienced editor to guide the process, spot inconsistencies, and make creative decisions.
You can produce video content using only AI tools, especially for simple explainer videos or storyboards. For polished, consistent, and emotionally engaging work—especially for brand marketing or character animation, a skilled human editor is still essential to oversee the process, refine outputs, and ensure everything lines up with your vision.
Maintaining character and style consistency, managing costs across multiple subscriptions, and working through software limitations are the most common hurdles. Tools are improving fast, but each platform excels at specific tasks. Human expertise is still required to blend workflows, edit details, and ensure a cohesive, high-quality result.
