Production reimagined

At Sky Creative Agency, AI isn't just another tool – it's fundamental to business strategy. “Our ambitions in production, our ambitions in personalisation – AI is part of everything we're doing,” explains Executive Creative Director, Robin Garton. 

Rather than seeing AI as a standalone initiative, Sky Creative views it as an enabler woven into their core objectives. “It’s a tool across so many different pieces,” Robin explains. “It's not an end in itself; it's a means to an end. 

For us, AI underpins everything from personalisation and campaign development to how we produce 

and validate creative ideas.”

From post to pre: reinventing production

The most transformative impact is in production, where AI is completely restructuring traditional workflows. 

“It used to be that you'd get a director and a production company, and then you'd be into post-production with an external production company,” says Robin. “Now, AI is fundamentally changing that linear process. We're no longer talking about post-production. We're talking about building worlds in AI – virtual environments we then supplement with filmed content.”

This shift means creating systems rather than individual assets. “We are thinking about production as an internal process, rather than an external one that takes place once we've done the ideation and created the campaign,” Robin notes.

There's no longer this linear process...

It's all happening at once.

This evolution is reshaping not just how Sky creates, but who creates – transforming the skills and roles within its teams.

Talent transformation

The transformation is driving significant changes in Sky's talent strategy. While their overall team size remains stable, there’s a shift in where the growth is happening.

“High-end skills in whatever discipline are going to remain as important as ever, if not more so,” Robin emphasises. “We’re still going to need creative thinkers as we always have done. It’s still about brilliant creative thinkers. AI just helps them 

move faster.”

Sky is investing in roles that combine technical and creative expertise. Robin notes that finding these hybrid profiles isn’t easy. 

There’s a huge appetite to go forward with AI, but there’s a shortage of talent who truly understand both the creative and technical sides.

“We’re expecting people in any role we hire to be able to talk about AI as well as anyone here can – hopefully better,” he explains. “We’re not necessarily hiring 

for AI specialists; we’re hiring for people who know this is where the industry is going.”

While selective, Robin is clear that curiosity matters more than completeness. “We’re not expecting people to come fully formed,” he says, “but they need the appetite to learn fast. At interview, we’re looking for people who light up when you talk about the possibilities.”

Building capability

Sky has the advantage of an existing in-house post-production team that is transitioning “from traditional post into being absolutely at the forefront of AI.” They’re supplementing this by recruiting talent from traditional post-production backgrounds who bring “both that creative and that technical ability.”

When it comes to training, Sky favours practical learning. “Show some interest, go sit on the shoulder of that person over there who's doing it, and by the end of the day, you'll have learnt more.”

They combine this hands-on approach with internal knowledge-sharing sessions and connections to leading technology companies. Senior leaders regularly visit tech giants like Google, Adobe and OpenAI, returning to disseminate new insights across the organisation.

Robin acknowledges that carving out time to experiment remains a challenge. “Studios are busy,” he says. “We try to use projects with a bit more breathing room to test things – you’ve got to let people prototype and learn in real time.”

Young, enthusiastic people with the right attitude will always be useful.

Looking ahead

For Robin and the Sky team, the future of creative work isn't about AI replacing people, it's about reimagining what's possible when human creativity partners with intelligent systems from the earliest stages of production.



“Technology will keep changing,” Robin reflects. “Curiosity to explore – and the judgement to use it well – that’s what will keep us ahead.”

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