Creative production platform, PLAYE has used an AI-enabled production process to create a video for Fortescue, to avoid the cost and complexity of a traditional live-action shoot or full CGI build.
The campaign will run on Fortescue’s owned channels.
The agency’s creative partner Keir Crighton assembled a team led by senior creative director Paul Mansfield, to develop the campaign from initial storyboard through to final cut. The team refined transitions and visual style throughout production, working within tighter budget and time constraints than a conventional shoot would have.
The project demonstrated how AI can open new production pathways for enterprise brands, particularly for creative ideas that may have been considered too expensive, complicated or impractical.
“AI might give you a B+, and you need to then take it to an A+,” said PLAYE founder and chief executive Mitch Brown.
“The more niche something gets, the more obscure something gets, the less context the model has to base things on.”
Generative AI can produce strong initial visuals, it can also incorrectly interpret equipment, environments and movement. Logos can morph, technical details can shift and objects may behave in ways that appear convincing at first glance but do not reflect reality.
For the Fortescue project, PLAYE used a detailed storyboard to anchor the visual style, sequencing, composition and camera movement. Each AI-generated output was then closely reviewed and refined to maintain consistency and ensure it aligned with the creative direction and Fortescue’s brand requirements.
“You have to give it guardrails. If you give it too much room, it guesses. And if it guesses, it’s using its own imagination. It’s not based on reality,” PLAYE creative director Paul Mansfield.
The production process also required the team to apply a different level of quality control, reviewing every element for visual inaccuracies and inconsistencies.
“You have to have such good attention to detail now, in a different way than normal, because you need to look out for literally everything that could not be quite right,” said Crighton.
“We got some really good feedback. They even had a round of applause from company colleagues when they showcased the video,” a Fortescue representative said.
Credits:
Client: Fortescue
Creative Production Partner: PLAYE
Creative Partner: Keir Crighton
Creative Direction/AI Creative/Generative AI Artist: Paul Mansfield
Editor: Paul Mansfield
Sound Engineer: Eric Perlmutter
Visual Effects: Alex Edwards
Music: Artlist