AI & Storytelling Today

While stills are being adopted in South Africa, AI video remains largely untapped due to its complexity. Dozens of tools—from video generation with built-in camera moves to motion style transfer—are now maturing. Legacy platforms like Adobe are integrating AI rapidly, while major players (Google, Meta, OpenAI, etc.) are investing heavily in creative AI ecosystems.

We’ve already produced high-quality commercials using Gen-AI at a fraction of traditional costs. For instance, a recent juice brand ad for a Norwegian client—valued at over R1m—was executed for under R50K using Gen-AI workflows.

Opportunity: AI Hub at HYH

With the global trend of agencies building internal AI hubs, there's an opportunity for HYH to lead in South Africa. I propose starting with just one AI specialist on a lean monthly software budget of R5K–R10K (covering top tools from $10 to $100/month).

This role would:

  • Integrate AI into current creative workflows (storyboards, pre-vis, treatments, social content, styleframes).

  • Keep the team updated on the latest tools and breakthroughs.

  • Identify which AI tools are best suited per project—reducing costs and timelines without compromising quality.

  • Have weekly meetings with the team speaking about the latest movement in AI Storytelling, AI Marketing and all the latest AI tools and their features.

  • This will open up creatives to slowly embrace AI to cut costs and increase productivity and creativity.

How HYH Could Benefit from a Dedicated AI Specialist or internal AI Hub:

  1. Faster Creative Turnarounds: Instantly generate visuals, concepts, or animatics for pitches or campaigns—saving time in pre-production.

  2. Cost-Efficient Production: Execute ambitious ideas with smaller budgets by augmenting traditional workflows with Gen-AI.

  3. Creative Versatility: Produce visual content across formats—from stills to motion to 3D—without external vendors.

  4. Internal AI Knowledge Hub: Stay ahead of international agencies by embedding real-time tool knowledge and testing within your team.

  5. Pitch Acceleration: Use AI to mock up campaign visuals or videos in days rather than weeks—boosting win rates and creative confidence.

  6. Strategic AI Integration: Gradually inject tools into real client work, ensuring smooth adoption across teams without disruption.

I’d love to contribute to any current or upcoming AI efforts at HYH—whether as a consultant, freelancer, or part/full-time collaborator. I'm passionate about using Gen-AI to enhance—not replace—traditional filmmaking and creative execution.

Let me know if you'd like to explore a trial project, workshop, or role setup.

Key KPIs

  • Contribute to at least 20% of active projects across development, research, production, and post-production phases.

  • Drive measurable cost savings in key areas such as stock imagery, pre-visualization, storyboards, and treatment development.

  • Leverage AI tools (within subscription tiers) to enhance the quality and efficiency of internal pitches and ongoing projects.

  • Conduct regular briefings with cross-functional teams to share insights and updates on emerging AI technologies and tools.

Team

  1. TBD

  2. 3 month Trail

Costs

  1. Talent

  2. Subsciprtions