The Tech Focus

AI, web3, the metaverse and virtual production – the ongoing tech revolution seems to be evolving at an exponential rate. Are brands and marketers keeping up with the pace of change and the rising dominance of, and varieties within, the social scene? This month’s focus hears from industry experts and human chatbots about the finery of binary.

Craft

Is this the first ad generated entirely in AI?

Using GPT4, Midjourney, Runway Gen2, Eleven Labs, and SOUNDRAW, AI enthusiast PizzaLater managed to create a horrifying fake commercial for a pizza restaurant - Pepperoni Hug Spot - generated only from a few prompts. Surreal experiment or terrifying look at what's to come? Jamie Madge sat down with the creator to find out.

Talent

Carl Erik Rinsch: finding the new tools of the trade

Since the turn of the century, Carl Erik Rinsch has worked at the pioneering edge of tech and creativity. Now the era of AI is upon us, he talks to Tim Cumming about technology, creativity, evolution and why nothing will be quite the same again.

Insight

Weird Science: mixed media in the age of AI

Fresh from creating a nightmare-inducing experiment in the form of Synthetic Summer, Private Island director/co-founder Chris Boyle dissects the explosive impact of the AI tools at our disposal nowadays, and what understanding it now will mean for the future.

Talent

From VFX to SNL: the Diva-lution will be televised

Whether it's putting Pedro Pascal behind the wheel of a Mario Kart or force-feeding grannies low-fat ice-cream, YouTube OG Mike Diva brings his unique skillset and humour to all of his projects. Will Sansom sits down with the versatile wunderkind to find out how he brings his projects to life.

Insight

The age of AIsthetics

With what some are calling the fourth industrial revolution upon us (the first was steam/water power; the second, electricity; the third, computing) we tasked agency, production and strategy leaders to apply their genuine intelligence to issues around the artificial kind, asking them the following question: How do you think AI will impact creativity in the ad industry - positively and negatively - in the near future?

Insight

Dawn of the dinosaurs: will AI kill off young creatives?

Dave Billing, ECD at Fold7, explores how AI could be stealing the less-than-glamourous jobs that help designers and creatives learn their craft.

Insight

How can brands get ahead of the game?

Brands have long sought to crack the code of gaming and reach those spending time in a place where marketing is still scarce. But as much as this community represents an opportunity, it also represents a significant challenge. Stephen Whelan speaks to brand leaders and gamers about relevance, authenticity and the quest to add gaming experiences.

Insight

Sounding it out: The future of sound design in the wake of AI

Rich Martin, Head of Sound at Absolute, has been listening out for the disruptive explosion ignited by artificial intelligence as it lays waste to the creative sector. But that noise hasn't been heard, and he explains the reasons it might never be...

Insight

Why the children of the metaverse need a safe space

Generation Alpha is growing up with - and benefiting from - the metaverse as part of their daily lives. But, says Lucy McMullin, Strategy Director at EssenceMediacom, with these benefits also comes risk.

Insight

Frankenstein's (social media) monster: what does the perfect platform look like?

Social media might be ubiquitous, but it's also become homogenous. With platforms 'borrowing' features and cannibalising experiences everything is starting to look the same and Christina Miller, Head of Social Media at VMLY&R, says that users are being short-changed.

Insight

The rise of AI companions; advertising’s final frontier?

For advertisers, consumers developing an emotional attachment to their wares is the Holy Grail. But what if emotional attachment isn't just a consequence but, seemingly, the whole point of a product's existence? Here, The Moon Unit examines an artificial intelligence anomaly which has brought ethical confusion and governmental oversight into the arguments over AI.

Insight

Ad Infinitum: will machine learning change the industry forever?

As AI and its capabilities drive everyone to distraction, Tim Cumming stamps on his shattered ChatbotGPT plugin to talk to studio heads across the creative spectrum to discover how and where it is already being used, and what could be in store.

Insight

Capitalise on AI but make sure to take consumers with you

Artificial intelligence is entering the mainstream and brands are using it in a variety of ways. But, says Kevin Joyner, Director of Data Strategy at Croud, while brands should be confident about using AI in their businesses, they shouldn't conceal its use because consumers won't thank them.

Craft

How Paul Trillo’s short film found the artist within AI

The director/robot collaboration – made with Runway’s Gen-2 generative video – has resulted in a moving ‘human’ story that probes the nature of identity and memory. Here Trillo tells shots how he mined the subjective reality and genuine beauty that AI can create.

Instead of replacing us, can AI enhance our creativity?

Tech in Hollywood; when post becomes present

The actualities of virtual production

Insight

Is AI finding its voice in advertising?

Diederik Veelo, Head of Innovation at creative production studio Ambassadors and founder of Vocoda.ai, discusses the limitless potential of AI-based voice synthesis technology in the creative industry, from replicating the voices of deceased artists to generating impactful multi-language voice-overs for video ads.

Insight

The allure of IRL – is Gen Z meh about the metaverse?

Brands may be curious about the impact of the metaverse and web3 tech, but just how much does the younger generations care? Sinead Lambe, Associate Director of Communications at Gen Z market research platform Imagen Insights wonders if these virtual realities have taken the world by the storm they were predicted to.

Insight

AI is an opportunity to remind ourselves what creativity really is

Artificial intelligence is here to stay, but how scared should we be? Will computers take our jobs? Will technology render creative people obsolete? No chance, according to The Moon Unit, who, as we begin this month's Tech Focus, argue that there are two things which set human creativity apart which AI will never be able to replicate.

The Future Focus

What will tomorrow bring? Is creativity, or humanity, at risk from Artificial Intelligence? How will increasing eco-awareness impact consumerism? In a topsy-turvy world seeing fast-moving culture shifts, shots devotes two months to garnering insights from the soothsayers of ad-land on the shape of things to come.

The Short Films & Documentary Focus

shots looks at the synergies between condensed cinematic storytelling and advertising. We also delve into factual content and how brands – and charities – are increasingly leveraging the power of reality to connect with audiences.

The New Talent Focus

Who are the rookie directors/producers/creatives who’ve been waiting in the wings to level-up ad-land? Where do you find them, how can we nurture them, and what fresh ideas will they bring?

The Animation Focus

With toons on-trend during lockdown, now that live-action is back what is the state of the animation nation today? This focus draws on opinions and profiles of animation directors, producers and studios and looks at new trends and technologies in the medium.

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