Raising the bar with AI

When our client, Vestergaard, came to us with an animation brief, we knew there was potential to do things a bit differently without compromising on production value or creativity.

The challenge was compelling from the get-go: bring to life the powerful impact long-lasting insecticide-treated nets have on the fight against malaria. It was immediately clear that the story needed to be told with impact—something rich in colour, texture and emotion to match the gravity of the message.

But the big question was: what was the best way to get there?

Creative challenges rarely come with just one solution. But by bringing AI on as a partner, we knew we’d be able to dramatically boost production value and creative quality. We’ve chatted before about how AI isn’t about replacing the human touch but rather giving you more choice—and our approach to this project was a case in point.

So we let our curiosity take the reins and ran a little test. Two versions, side by side: one made the traditional way, and another where we let AI lead the way. That way, the Vestergaard team had the freedom to decide which version best fitted their brief.

We started by testing the animation side of an AI platform, quickly finding that the results were inconsistent, mismatched and not up to scratch.

What they did do, though, was give us heaps of inspiration. While the animation was lacking, one of the early outputs sparked a strong visual direction. So we shifted focus, using the AI platform to generate imagery before handing it back to the humans to refine and animate with their irreplaceable flair.

The final workflow was roughly 80% handmade design and animation, with 20% AI input. This hybrid approach wasn’t about speed or budget, but flexibility. By using the best of both worlds, we could test ideas, iterate and respond to the Vestergaard team’s feedback without having to go back to square one each time.

Voiceover-wise, the team went with an AI-generated performance. Capturing an authentic accent, however, proved tricky, but we got there with a bit of finetuning, using voice changing which we then refined with AI. Once again, it came down to finding the right balance: AI kicked things off, and the human touch made it shine.

Many people think working with AI means clicking a button and getting a perfect output. In reality, it’s almost never that simple.

There’s also the idea that AI should automatically make things cheaper because it speeds everything up. While that can sometimes true, it’s not a given. Really, it boils down to cost versus value. AI doesn’t always bring down the price tag, but it can unlock value in ways traditional methods can’t.

It can also give us the chance to be even more creative (more on that here). AI is especially helpful in the early stages of the creative process, giving us more space to explore illustration styles, colour palettes and the like. In this case, it gave us chance to layer in more depth, texture and colour, and move through creative iterations far more quickly than if we’d ploughed on without. And the Vestergaard team thought so too.

When we presented both versions—one produced traditionally, the other enhanced with AI— Vestergaard chose the latter, and were genuinely delighted with the quality of the finished animation.

But the thing is, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach. No two projects are ever the same, and with AI evolving so quickly, every workflow ends up looking a little different too. That’s all part of the fun—tweaking and adjusting until we reach the best solution for each brief.

For us, AI isn’t a shortcut. It’s about balance. We’re still learning, and always will be. But one thing’s certain: the real magic still lies in the balance between human creativity and smart technology.

That’s what makes the work worth watching.