Adobe’s new AI tools relight photos and edit full videos from one frame

Adobe revealed experimental artificial intelligence (AI) tools on October 29 that can relight photos after shooting, edit entire videos from a single frame, and correct audio mistakes, capabilities once reserved for expensive studio equipment and specialized skills.

The set of features, called “Sneaks,” premiered at Adobe’s MAX conference in Los Angeles. Comedian and actress Jessica Williams hosted the presentation, where researchers demonstrated tools that may eventually reach Adobe’s Creative Cloud software.

Project Light Touch is a sneak that lets photographers move light sources around in finished photos. They can brighten lamps that were off, change light colors from warm to cool, and adjust where shadows fall. The tool understands three-dimensional space, so moving a light source realistically affects everything in the scene.

Project Frame Forward transforms video editing. Editors normally spend hours masking objects frame by frame to remove or add elements. This tool eliminates that process entirely.

Change one frame—erase a person, insert an object, replace a background—and it automatically applies those changes throughout the video. The tool tracks movement and adjusts the edit to match.

For audio work, Project Clean Take corrects mispronunciations and removes background noise while preserving the speaker’s voice characteristics. The tool separates different sound sources, letting editors adjust specific elements without affecting others.

Other experimental features include Project Turn Style, which rotates flat objects as if they were three-dimensional models, and Project Surface Swap, which changes textures and materials on furniture or walls while preserving realistic lighting and shadows.

Adobe showcased additional tools during the session, which can be found on Adobe’s blog.

Not all Sneaks become products. Some remain experiments. But Adobe’s track record shows promise as this year’s Harmonize tool for Photoshop started as a 2024 Sneak.

At a separate session the day before, filmmakers discussed using Adobe’s Firefly AI platform to create short films. The panel showed how small studios are already testing these capabilities in real projects.

Nik Kleverov from Native Foreign stated that the tools opened up new possibilities for small studios. “It wouldn’t have been possible to do for a small studio like ours before AI and before using Firefly,” he explained. “I want to tell more original stories.”

Dave Clark from Promise Studios combined AI-generated images with live action footage. “We were taking AI generated imagery and compositing that with live action on a blue screen and it just really allowed us to iterate,” he said.

The tools Adobe presented reduce production time from months to weeks. But they still require creative judgment and quality control from human editors. The technology handles the technical heavy lifting, letting creators focus on storytelling decisions.