By Hafsa Rizvi

You don't need a camera crew. You don't even need to film anything. AI is now letting anyone produce professional-looking video content with just text prompts and basic ideas. The latest wave of tools is changing who gets to be a content creator, and the barriers are dropping fast.

What Just Launched and Why It Matters
Meta just launched "Vibes," a new AI video feed inside their Meta AI app that works like TikTok, except every video is created by artificial intelligence. Users can start video creation from scratch, use existing content, or remix videos from the feed. It's not just another social media feature - it's a fundamental shift in how content gets made.

At the same time, Google updated their Veo 3 AI video generator to support vertical 9:16 format videos - the format everyone actually watches on phones. They also cut pricing significantly, with Veo 3 now costing $0.40 per second instead of $0.75, and Veo 3 Fast dropping to just $0.15 per second. When tech giants start competing on price, you know the technology is ready for mainstream use.

How This Actually Works
The process is surprisingly simple. You type what you want to see: "a cat wearing sunglasses walking through a busy market in Colombo." The AI generates the entire video - visuals, movement, even basic audio. You can upload a photo and ask the AI to animate it, or take an existing video and completely change its style while keeping the structure.

Meta's Vibes lets you remix existing videos by adding music or changing the visual style. Google's system can handle more complex prompts and produce higher-quality output, while other tools specialise in specific types of content like product demos or educational videos.

The AI doesn't just paste together existing footage - it generates new visuals frame by frame based on understanding what you've described. This means you can create content that would be impossible or expensive to film in real life.

The Big Opportunities
Cost Elimination: Traditional video production requires equipment, locations, actors, editors, and time. AI video creation needs none of that. A small business can create product demonstrations, a teacher can make educational content, or a local NGO can produce awareness campaigns without hiring anyone or buying equipment.
Speed Revolution: Videos that would take days or weeks to produce can be generated in minutes. This speed enables rapid testing of ideas, quick responses to trends, and the ability to create multiple versions of content to see what works.
Creative Democracy: Geographic location no longer matters. Whether you're in Colombo or Hambantota, you have access to the same content creation capabilities as someone in Los Angeles or London. Good ideas become more important than production budgets.
New Storytelling Possibilities: You can create content that would be physically impossible to film - historical recreations, fantasy scenarios, or abstract concepts visualised. This opens entirely new forms of storytelling and education.

Real Challenges to Consider
Quality Inconsistencies: AI-generated videos often have subtle problems - faces that look slightly wrong, objects that appear and disappear, or movements that feel unnatural. The technology is improving rapidly, but it's not perfect yet.

Authenticity Questions: As AI content becomes common, audiences will start questioning what's real. This creates both opportunities for creativity and risks for misleading content. Trust becomes more valuable when everything can be artificially generated.

Copyright and Ethics: These AI systems learned from millions of existing videos, raising questions about whether using them infringes on original creators' work. There's also the concern about deepfakes and misuse for deceptive purposes.

Over-saturation Risk: If everyone can create video content easily, the internet could become flooded with AI-generated material, making it harder for quality content to stand out.

Who Should Jump In Now

Small Business Owners: Restaurant owners can create appetising food videos, retail shops can showcase products from multiple angles, and service providers can explain their offerings visually - all without hiring video professionals.

Educators and Trainers: Teachers can create custom educational content, language instructors can demonstrate pronunciation, and corporate trainers can produce specific scenario-based learning materials.

Social Media Newcomers: People who felt intimidated by video creation now have a low-pressure way to experiment with content. You can test ideas quickly and learn what resonates with audiences.

Local Organisations: Community groups, religious organisations, and advocacy groups can create professional-looking content to communicate their messages more effectively.

Creative Strategies That Work

Hybrid Approach: The most successful creators combine AI-generated content with human elements. Use AI for backgrounds or animations, but include real human faces or voices to maintain authenticity.

Local Context Advantage: AI tools trained mainly on global content might struggle with local specifics. This creates opportunities for creators who understand Sri Lankan contexts, languages, or cultural references that AI might miss.

Iterative Experimentation: Since generation is fast and relatively cheap, you can try multiple versions of the same concept quickly. Test different styles, lengths, or approaches to see what works best.

Enhancement, Not Replacement: Use AI to enhance existing ideas rather than replacing human creativity entirely. Start with a concept you understand, then use AI to execute it in ways that would be difficult manually.

Sri Lankan Context Considerations
Language Limitations: Most AI video tools work better with English prompts than Sinhala or Tamil. However, you can create content in local languages by using English prompts and adding local language audio separately.

Bandwidth Reality: Generating AI videos requires good internet connectivity. Upload and download times for high-quality videos can be significant with slower connections, but the trend is toward more efficient processing.

Local Content Opportunities: AI struggles with specifically Sri Lankan contexts - local architecture, traditional clothing, or cultural practices. This creates opportunities for human creators who can provide that authentic local knowledge.

The Startup Opportunity

This technological shift creates space for local companies to build AI video tools specifically for South Asian markets. Understanding local languages, cultural contexts, and specific business needs could give Sri Lankan startups significant advantages over global platforms.

Companies that can bridge the gap between global AI capabilities and local requirements have the potential to build substantial businesses serving regional markets.

Getting Started Practically
Begin with simple experiments. Try creating a 30-second product demonstration or a basic explainer video about something you know well. Don't aim for perfection initially - focus on understanding how the tools work and what's possible.

Keep human elements in your content. AI can handle the visuals and effects, but authentic human voices, stories, and perspectives still matter most to audiences.

Stay transparent about using AI tools. Audiences appreciate honesty, and being upfront about your process builds trust rather than diminishing it.

The AI video revolution is happening now, not in some distant future. The question isn't whether this technology will change content creation - it already has. The question is whether you'll experiment with it while it's still new, or wait until everyone else has figured it out first.