Firefly 3: AI updates generate excitement at Adobe MAX London
AI and dancing robots
Among the breakout sessions was one by global agency WPP; with 25,000 artists it is Adobe’s largest customer of Creative Cloud. In his session, Perry Nightingale, Senior Vice President, Creative AI, WPP, shared his experiences of working with clients to develop innovative AI-powered solutions, stressing the importance of ethical considerations in AI-driven marketing and the need for training talent to develop the ‘human idea’ behind every successful use of the technology.
He also discussed the the use of robots in content creation, showcasing Spot, a Boston Dynamics robot dog that WPP uses for LIDAR scanning for film production, and its capabilities and limitations.
“Spot has a huge amount of technology, mainly in his legs and feet,” said Nightingale. “What makes him so steady is a whole bunch of AI, continuously keeping him balanced.”
Creative inspiration
The line-up of inspirational guest speakers was particularly good this year. Among them, filmmaker and photographer Margot Bowman talked about the moment she found inspiration from the mutually beneficial ecosystem of fungi.
“I see filmmaking as an interconnected web of choices we all make together, each member of the ecosystem benefits from the exchange in a way that works for them and furthers our mutual goal of telling an incredible story,” she said. “Post ‘mushroom moment’, the biggest shift for me has been seeing what I do not as world building but as ecosystem creation. Framing my process in this way decentralises permission and ‘heroes’ the process of mutual exchange that’s essential to creating and sustaining all life, including that of the creative spirit of a project and everyone connected to it. Each project becomes its own ecosystem.”
In a highly moving presentation multi-disciplinary artist and designer Yinka Ilori showed how his family, upbringing and faith had influenced his work. He talked about the importance of community-led design in reimagining public spaces, emphasising the need to give people permission to create and dream big.
Film and TV graphic designer Annie Atkins, responsible for props and graphic elements from films like The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch, and Bridge of Spies, took us through the highs and lows of her career.
Atkins recounted the story of her route into film design, and her struggles to find work in the industry at first. She discussed the vital role of graphic design in filmmaking, emphasising the need to bring characters to life through visual elements, reference real-world designs for authenticity, and balance analogue and digital techniques to create immersive experiences.
She also highlighted the challenges of creating realistic graphic artefacts, such as props and signage, and the importance of understanding the time period and characters to achieve authenticity. She also stressed the importance of attention to detail in film production, particularly in the graphic design department, sharing anecdotes about mistakes she had made in movie sets.
