If AI Can Edit Faster, Do Stories Risk Becoming Formulas?
The Allure of Speed
In post-production, speed is everything. Clients want delivery yesterday. Editors juggle deadlines, revisions, and endless versions. AI promises to solve this: automatic rough cuts, instant color matching, and even predictive edits based on script or shot type.
At first glance, it feels like liberation. Hours of tedious work reduced to minutes. Deadlines met with ease. But beneath the efficiency lies a deeper question: if AI edits faster, are we gaining time — or losing originality?
The Risk of Formula
AI learns by studying patterns. It recognizes that certain camera moves match certain emotions, that certain cuts sustain attention, that certain rhythms “work” across platforms. But when editing becomes a matter of algorithmic probability, stories risk collapsing into formulas.
The “correct” pacing of a laugh.
The “optimal” length of a shot before viewers scroll away.
The “tested” sequence of images designed to hold engagement.
All technically effective. None truly surprising.
Editing as Art, Not Assembly
The great editors don’t just follow rhythm; they break it. They linger too long on a shot so the silence hurts. They cut too soon, forcing the audience to feel unsettled. They shape story through risk, intuition, and accident.
AI can recognize patterns, but it cannot feel tension. It cannot sense when a shot needs to breathe longer than the data suggests. It cannot decide when to break the rules in order to tell the truth.
The Human Imprint
At Fragrant Film, post-production is not just about finishing a project — it’s about shaping meaning. Every cut is a decision, and every decision reflects the heart of the storyteller.
AI may save time, but time saved is not the same thing as story told. Faster edits are useful; deeper edits are transformative.
Looking Ahead
The future of editing may be hybrid: AI handling the rough assembly while human editors shape the narrative. The danger comes if we mistake speed for story — if we let efficiency flatten the art into formula.
Because cinema has never been defined by how quickly it’s made. It has always been defined by how deeply it makes us feel.
