In my experience, moving to AI tools isnt just a gimmick anymore; its basically mandatory if you wanna stay competitive. Pro editing used to be 80% manual masking and noise cleanup, but AI changes that by handling the heavy lifting so you can focus on the look and story instead of clicking frame by frame. Here's what I recommend after trying a bunch of stuff for client work: * Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio 19: Their Magic Mask tool is actually insane for rotoscoping. Its built right in, so no round-tripping. The Neural Engine handles object removal and smart reframing way better than Premieres native tools imo. Plus, the AI-based Voice Isolation is a lifesaver for bad audio.
* Topaz Video AI 5: If you need serious upscaling or noise reduction that doesnt look like plastic, this is it. It's standalone software, but the results are way cleaner than any plugin. Tbh, I mostly stick to Resolve Studio for the color grading and masking cuz its just faster. Topaz is my go-to for fixing reallyyy crappy footage. Definately worth the investment for pro work!! gl

Seconding that! TBH Runway Standard Plan at $15/mo kills it vs Boris FX Mocha Pro 2024 on price for masking. Best value/ROI choice for ur workflow... seriously happy with it!!

Ok so, I've spent years testing AI. Quick question: what's your hardware setup? - OS?
- GPU?
Specs highkey matter more than the tools for high-end work!

Yo! I've been editing for over a decade now, and honestly, seeing how fast things are changing with AI is literally amazing!! I remember spending DAYS manually rotoscoping frame by frame back in the day—it was such a nightmare. I'm still kinda learning the ropes with these new tools myself, but wow, the time I've saved already is just fantastic! So basically the consensus from everyone here is that your hardware is lowkey the most important part... if your GPU cant handle the heat, these tools will just crash your rig. Plus, it sounds like people are really digging specialized cloud tools for masking since they're way cheaper than the classic high-end plugins, though some old-school noise reduction software is still winning for reliability. I mean, it's a lot to take in, right?? Before you dive into a specific sub, I gotta ask: what's your actual budget for these tools? Also, are you looking for something that lives right inside your editing software, or are you okay with jumping out to a browser-based tool to get the job done? I've found that some of the web-based ones are actually sooo much faster for object removal, but the workflow can be kinda clunky if you're doing a ton of shots. My biggest lesson learned so far is that even if a tool is 'smart,' if it breaks your flow, it might not be worth it. Anyway, it's such a cool time to be an editor... gl! 👍

👆 this

i have been dealing with these exact same issues for nearly four months now and it is incredibly frustrating. i keep looking for tools that actually provide clean results for client work but everything seems to fall short when it comes to technical accuracy and frame-to-frame consistency.

• generative fills that dont maintain temporal coherence
• neural upscalers creating unnatural ringing artifacts
• automated masks that fail on complex motion paths unfortunately i havent found a single solid answer yet. it is really disappointing because the marketing makes these tools look perfect but the actual professional application is still not there for me.

This^ Also wanted to add that hardware is seriously the bottleneck people forget about. I remember trying a bunch of beta AI tools on an old rig once... total nightmare. I lost a whole weekend because the exports kept glitching. Nowadays, I'm way more cautious about what I add to my pipeline. If ur looking for high-end results without breaking the bank or ur PC, here are some tools I've found actually reliable: - **Object Removal**: Adobe After Effects 2024 has a Content-Aware Fill feature that’s super solid. Since u already have Premiere, it’s basically free and way more stable than third-party gimmicks.
- **Color Grading**: I've been using Colourlab AI 2024 for matching shots. It's a bit of an investment, but the value u get from not matching shots manually for hours is huge.
- **Noise Reduction**: Neat Video Pro v5 for Premiere Pro is still the gold standard. It's technically advanced but wont mush ur textures like some cheaper AI stuff does. Just make sure u test these on a non-critical project first!! gl!

> I’m specifically looking for tools that excel at clean object removal... Ok so, I'd suggest Neat Video Pro v5 for noise. It's more reliable than newer AI tools, but be careful with render times—they're heavy. It won't glitch your exports tho. GL!

What kind of source files are you usually wrestling with? Like, are we talking 10-bit 4:2:2 or just standard H.264 stuff? Honestly, the 'best' tool usually depends on whether your budget is in dollars or render hours. Since the others covered the big names, I’ve been benchmarking some more cost-effective options that actually hold up in a pro pipeline. For object removal, you should really check out Lama Cleaner. It’s open-source and the 'LaMa' model is technically superior for high-res in-painting without the weird smudging you sometimes get in Premiere's native tools. If you have a decent GPU, it’s basically free and super snappy. For upscaling, VideoProc Converter AI is a solid one-time-buy alternative that isn't as resource-heavy as Topaz during long batch exports. **TL;DR:** You can save a lot of money using open-source models like Lama Cleaner, but let us know your average timeline length so we can gauge the performance overhead for your specific rig.

Been using this for years, no complaints

Yep been there done that. Can confirm everything said above is spot on.

Building on the earlier suggestion, i am honestly stuck in the same boat right now. I spent half of last week trying to clean up a high-iso sequence for a corporate client and it was a total nightmare... the manual tracking just wouldnt stick and i felt like i was wasting my life away frame by frame. Like, i love the tech, but you really gotta be careful with how much you trust these plugins with high-res exports because they can be so unstable on professional timelines.

• I have been testing Boris FX Continuum 2024 for their new ml-based denoising tools, but make sure your gpu drivers are strictly up to date or it will just hang during a long render.
• You might want to consider Wonder Dynamics Wonder Studio if you are doing more complex object replacement, tho it definitely needs a solid fiber connection to work well since it is cloud-based.
• Be wary of Maxon Magic Bullet Looks 2024 too... the new ai diffusion is cool for smart color work but it eats gpu cycles like crazy. Honestly just glad i am not the only one feeling overwhelmed by the constant updates. Its basically a full-time job just keeping the software running smoothly these days, tbh.