When it comes to creating captivating videos, it’s not just about what you see on screen—the sound can make or break the experience.
But finding the right sound effects? That’s often a time-consuming task. Adobe’s Project Super Sonic, unveiled at their annual MAX conference, is here to change that.
This cutting-edge prototype shows how, in the near future, you could quickly generate background audio and sound effects using AI, whether it’s through text prompts, object recognition, or even your own voice.
AI-Generated Sound at Your Fingertips
Sure, generating audio from a text prompt is pretty cool. Type what you need, and bam—you’ve got sound. While similar tools, like those from ElevenLabs, already exist, Adobe takes things up a notch with Project Super Sonic by introducing two additional modes that are sure to impress.
In one mode, Adobe’s object recognition models allow you to click on any part of your video frame, auto-generate a prompt, and instantly create the matching sound.
This seamless combination of video and audio models speeds up the process and eliminates the need for manual sound searching.
But the real “wow” moment? You can record yourself mimicking the sound you’re looking for—whether it’s clapping, tapping, or trying to imitate a cat meow—and Project Super Sonic will automatically generate the appropriate audio to match your video.
Giving Creators Control Over Sound Design
Justin Salamon, head of Sound Design AI at Adobe, explained that the text-to-audio model was just the beginning. The goal, he says, is to put creators in the driver’s seat.
“We wanted to create a tool that not only elevates video content with sound but gives sound designers and creators precise control over the energy and timing of their audio,” he explained.
Whether you’re using vocal cues or instruments, the tool analyzes the sound’s characteristics and tailors the generated audio to match, offering a truly expressive sound design experience.
A Sneak Peek into the Future
As with many innovations showcased at Adobe MAX, Project Super Sonic is still in the experimental phase.
These “sneaks” may or may not make it into Adobe’s Creative Suite—but if this project’s progress is any indication, we could be seeing it soon in tools like Adobe Premiere.
In fact, the same team worked on the audio portion of Generative Extend, a feature that extends video clips and their audio seamlessly, which is already making waves.
So while there’s no guarantee, Project Super Sonic could very well be the future of AI-powered sound design.