AI in the Wild

Bringing Generative AI to my Yosemite Trip

This past weekend was a whirlwind of family, nature, and a little bit of generative AI. My parents, sister's family, and mine (11 of us!) gathered in Yosemite for a long weekend adventure. It was the first time we were all together in person, and I knew I wanted to capture the magic of the trip with a video montage. This time, however, I decided to challenge myself by using generative AI as much as possible while creating it.

From Granite Cliffs to "Lumineers Meet Little Miss Sunshine"

First up, the cover slide. I wanted to lean into the striking imagery of Yosemite's iconic granite cliffs, so I turned to Adobe Firefly to generate stylized text. With the prompt "granite cliffs of Yosemite," Firefly turned the word “Yosemite” into a visual representation of it, perfect for the video's opening.

Next, I moved on to the soundtrack. I wanted music that captured the spirit of my family trip, but I have difficulty explaining exactly what that should be (turns out that what I wanted was something that captures warmth, grandeur, and a sense of adventure). I used the multimodal functionality of Google Gemini to help me brainstorm what the perfect type of soundtrack would be. I provided Gemini with a list of video clips from the trip and asked it, as an "experienced videographer," to describe the ideal soundtrack. Gemini's response was: "Uplifting indie folk with soaring orchestral touches. Think Lumineers meet "Little Miss Sunshine" soundtrack. Warm, majestic, emphasizing family and nature's grandeur."

With this musical inspiration in hand, I turned to Suno, a platform that allows you to create music with AI prompts. I fed Gemini's suggestions to Suno, and the result was an uplifting, orchestral track with surprisingly amazing lyrics that perfectly captured the spirit of our Yosemite adventure.

Increasing Creativity vs. Saving Time

While the final video montage turned out beautifully, the reality is that using generative AI tools for this project didn't make the process faster. It still took me hours to source content from all the family members, select the best clips, download them, convert them to compatible file types, edit them in iMovie, and adjust the soundtrack. Generative AI didn't eliminate any of those steps.

However, what AI did do was allow me to be more creative. Instead of spending hours trying to apply text effects to the word “Yosemite”, or struggling to find the right music, I could focus my energy on crafting the perfect narrative for the video.

Small Delights and Big Takeaways

A small but enjoyable aspect of using Suno to generate music was that it also created an accompanying image and title. It's these little surprises that highlight the ever-evolving capabilities of generative AI and the importance of user delight.

Ultimately, my Yosemite adventure was a testament to the power of both family and technology. Generative AI tools can't replace human connection, but they can enhance our creative expression and make our experiences even more memorable. The journey to seamless integration between AI and human creativity is ongoing, but with each step, we're getting closer to a future where the possibilities are limitless and the only constraint is our imagination.