What actually makes creative work matter?

In this final episode of Season 3 of Technically Creative, Orlando Wood sits down with Simon Cooper and Charlie Gatsky Sinclair — the outgoing and incoming Chairs of the British Arrows — as the awards reach their 50th year.

The British Arrows is one of the most prestigious institutions in advertising, celebrating excellence in craft, storytelling, and creative execution across film, television, and digital media.

But this conversation isn’t just about advertising.

It’s about craft.

Taste.

And the value of effort in an age where AI is making creative work faster and easier than ever.

As artificial intelligence, automation, and new production tools reshape the creative industries, a deeper question emerges:

What do we actually value in creative work?

Because while AI can generate content at scale, the work that resonates — the work that lasts — still carries the imprint of human effort, judgment, and taste.

Drawing on 50 years of advertising history, this episode explores how creative industries evolve through technological change, why audiences still respond to human endeavour, and what the future of creativity might look like in the age of AI.

In this episode:

• The evolution of the British Arrows over 50 years
• Craft vs automation in the age of AI
• Why effort and difficulty still matter in creative work
• The role of taste in advertising, film, and storytelling
• The Young Arrows and supporting emerging creative talent
• How AI is changing the creator economy and media industries
• What the best advertising work still gets right

Technically Creative is a podcast about AI, creativity, and the business of making things.

Brought to you by KoobrikLabs — helping creative companies implement AI in safe, practical, and transformative ways.

In this episode of Technically Creative, we sit down with Dan Jasnow, the Head of IP at ElevenLabs. He sits at the intersection of IP, legal, and policy at ElevenLabs and we talk about what copyright, consent, and control look like in the age of AI.

Before joining ElevenLabs, Dan spent over a decade advising companies across media, entertainment, and technology on how to navigate intellectual property in a rapidly changing landscape. Now, he’s on the inside — helping shape how one of the world’s leading AI companies approaches voice, licensing, and responsible deployment.

As voice becomes a primary interface for interacting with technology, the stakes are changing. Questions around ownership, authorship, and rights are no longer theoretical — they’re operational.

Dan shares what actually goes into building AI systems responsibly, how companies can work directly with rights holders rather than around them, and why many of the fears surrounding AI come from a misunderstanding of how these systems are designed and controlled.

Orlando and Dan explore:

Why voice may become the dominant interface for AI

How ElevenLabs approaches consent, licensing, and control

The difference between how AI is perceived and how it actually works

What changes when you move from advising AI companies to building inside one

The evolving role of copyright and fair use in AI development

How regulation is struggling to keep pace with innovation

Why trust is becoming a competitive advantage in AI

It’s a thoughtful, grounded conversation about IP, responsibility, and the future of human and machine interaction — and what it takes to build powerful technology while maintaining trust with the people it affects.

He’s done $100M in creator deals. What does he know?

In this episode of Technically Creative, we sit down with Kyle Hjelmeseth, CEO of GMB Digital Management, to explore how the creator economy has matured into a real industry — and what that means for entertainment, advertising, and anyone building an audience today.

Because the model has flipped.

Creators no longer wait to be discovered.

They build audiences first — and the industry is catching up.

Kyle has spent over a decade helping creators turn that attention into real businesses, facilitating over $100M in brand deals, and developing a model he calls:

👉 “monetizing the wake”

The idea that creators don’t need to be steered into traditional formats — they keep creating, living their lives, and building value through everything they’ve already made.

This conversation explores the evolution of the creator economy from early influencers to a structured, scalable industry — and why the most important shift isn’t technology…

It’s ownership of audience.

Orlando and Kyle explore:

• How the creator economy evolved from “wild west” to mature industry

• Why creators can now greenlight themselves

• What “monetizing the wake” actually means in practice

• How creators make money beyond brand deals (affiliate, licensing, content reuse)

• Why traditional entertainment is adapting to audience-first thinking

• The shift from gatekeepers to direct audience ownership

• How creators build sustainable businesses across platforms

• What brands and agencies are still learning about this space

It’s a sharp, forward-looking conversation about audience, ownership, and the future of creative work — in a world where distribution is no longer the barrier, and the real advantage is knowing how to build and monetize attention.

How do you curate infinite content?

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In this episode of Technically Creative, we sit down with Danny Edwards, co-editor of shots, to explore a simple but increasingly important question:

How do you curate infinite content?

shots has spent decades spotlighting the best work in advertising, film, and music videos — long before everything was instantly available online. Today, in a world where anyone can publish and the volume of creative output is exploding, that role has only become more valuable.

Danny shares how shots evolved from VHS tapes and DVDs into a global digital platform, how editorial taste actually works behind the scenes, and why celebrating great work still matters in an always-on content landscape.

This conversation gets into the mechanics of creative curation, the reality of AI in advertising, and the challenge of maintaining standards of craft when everything is available all the time.

Orlando and Danny explore:

• How shots became a global authority on creative work

• What makes something stand out in an oversaturated landscape

• The shift from physical media to always-on digital platforms

• How AI is influencing the type of work being made

• Why taste and curation are becoming more important, not less

• How to maintain creative standards in an age of abundance

It’s a sharp, thoughtful conversation about attention, taste, and creative judgment — and why knowing what matters is now the most valuable skill in the industry.

In this episode of Technically Creative, we sit down with Kevin Swanepoel — CEO of The One Club for Creativity and steward of The One Show — to talk about how creative standards are defined in an industry that is constantly reinventing itself.

Advertising produces an enormous amount of work every year. Campaigns, films, brand activations, social content, AI experiments. In a world where more creative work is being made than ever before, the question becomes: how do you decide what actually matters?

For decades, The One Show has been one of the places where those decisions get made. Known for its emphasis on craft and creative excellence, it has helped define the standards of American advertising while supporting the global creative community through education, mentorship, and initiatives like Creative Week in New York.

Kevin shares how The One Club balances celebrating great work with nurturing the next generation of creatives, why awards still play a crucial role in creative culture, and how the organization has expanded its global reach while staying rooted in craft.

Orlando and Kevin explore:

• How creative awards shape the culture of an industry

• Why craft still matters in a world of infinite content

• The role of education and mentorship in creative careers

• How Creative Week brings the industry together

• The challenge of curating great work in the age of AI

• Why celebrating creativity is still essential for the future of advertising

It’s a thoughtful and often funny conversation about taste, standards, and the responsibility of celebrating great work — at a moment when the creative industries are evolving faster than ever.

In this episode of Technically Creative, we sit down with director Marco Gentile of Magna Studios to explore a powerful idea about creativity in the age of AI: what he calls “The Invisible Contract.”

For nearly two decades, Marco has worked as a director in advertising, crafting visually meticulous films for brands around the world. But as generative AI rapidly transforms how images, stories, and media can be produced, Marco has begun asking a deeper question — not about technology, but about the relationship between creators and audiences.

His thesis is simple: storytelling has always been relational. When an audience watches a film, a commercial, or any piece of communication, they assume a human being stands behind it — someone who made choices, faced constraints, and took responsibility for the meaning being created.

The challenge posed by AI isn’t just about automation. It’s about what happens to imagination, authorship, and accountability when creation itself can be delegated to machines.

Orlando and Marco explore:

Why storytelling relies on an “invisible contract” between creator and audience

How friction and constraint shape meaningful creativity

The difference between speed and meaning in the creative process

Why imagination is a human faculty that must be exercised

How generative AI could change the way society produces symbolic meaning

What guardrails creative industries might need as AI tools evolve

It’s a philosophical and wide-ranging conversation about art, authorship, and the future of creativity — and why preserving human intention may be the most important challenge facing storytellers today.

In this episode of Technically Creative, we sit down with Jagger Waters — AI filmmaker, creator, and educator — to talk about what authorship looks like in the age of AI.

While much of the conversation around AI filmmaking centers on hype or fear, Jagger is focused on something far more practical: craft. From producing nearly solo short films to blending AI with live action and traditional editing workflows, she represents a new kind of creative — one who understands cinematic language and uses AI as leverage, not replacement.

As the lines blur between filmmaker and creator, Jagger is navigating both worlds. She’s building work independently, experimenting publicly, and actively helping higher education institutions understand the realities of the creator economy.

Jagger shares lessons from producing AI-driven narrative work, the discipline required to move from “prompting” to directing, and why removing the pressure to monetize every idea might be the key to protecting creative voice.

Orlando and Jagger explore:

Why AI doesn’t replace craft — it exposes it

The difference between generating and directing

How filmmakers are being pushed into the creator economy

What creators can learn from cinematic storytelling

Why building publicly accelerates growth

How to balance financial survival with creative independence

It’s a grounded, forward-looking conversation about control, identity, and the future of storytelling — in a world where anyone can generate, but not everyone can direct.

In this episode of Technically Creative, we sit down with Ross Richie, founder of BOOM! Studios, to talk about why comics remain one of the most powerful IP engines in modern entertainment.

Long before Hollywood fully embraced the franchise era, Ross was building story worlds from the ground up — proving that independent comics could become global film and television properties. Under his leadership, BOOM! Studios became a launchpad for creator-led storytelling and was ultimately acquired by Penguin Random House, marking a major moment for independent publishing.

Ross shares lessons from building a creator-first company in a system obsessed with scale, the discipline required to nurture long-term intellectual property, and why comics function as one of the most efficient R&D labs in the entertainment industry.

Orlando and Ross explore:

Why comics are Hollywood’s most efficient IP incubator

How creator ownership changes the quality of story worlds

The economics behind adapting comics into film and television

What studios look for in adaptable properties

How technology is reshaping publishing and IP development

Why story always comes before franchise

It’s a sharp, strategic conversation about ownership, adaptation, and the future of storytelling in an era where IP is everything — and where the smartest companies know it starts on the page.