Technically Creative by KoobrikLabs

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.

Get tickets to the next Artist and the Machine event in NYC on May 14th, you can access Early Bird applications on their site: https://artistandthemachine.com/

2025 Grimes Keynote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4LZfOaPifQ

In this episode of Technically Creative, Orlando Wood sits down with Dani Van De Sande, founder of Artist and the Machine — one of the most important gatherings anywhere in the world for artists, technologists, and creative leaders working with AI.

Artist and the Machine is the leading Summit at the forefront of AI & Creativity. The bi-yearly gathering in LA & NY is known for its elevated, strong curation that fosters inspiration and partnerships across brand innovation leaders, creators, and founders pioneering the future of Human-Machine collaboration. The AI & Creativity Summit returns to NYC on May 14, 2026 to gather 400 handpicked leaders in the space, featuring a Main Stage, bespoke breakout sessions & workshops, and interactive demos. If you’re exploring how AI is transforming creative work - you’ll want to be in this room.

Dani has built a rare kind of event: a place where engineers, filmmakers, researchers, and creative directors share a stage and show what they’re actually making right now. Not predictions. Not hype. Real tools, real experiments, and real creative breakthroughs.

In this conversation, Dani and Orlando explore the rise of the creative technologist, why artists and engineers need to be in the same room, and how the most interesting work today often couldn’t have existed even a year ago.

It’s a thoughtful, optimistic conversation about the people building the future of creativity — and the communities forming around them.

🔍 Highlights include:

Why the creative technologist is the defining role of the AI era
How Artist and the Machine brings artists and engineers together
The difference between AI hype and real creative practice
Why the most interesting work today is happening at the edges of disciplines