Behind the Craft: Casper Smit
Behind every great creative project is a team of talented individuals who bring it to life. Ambassadors, is proud to work with an incredible team of artists each bringing their own creativity, expertise, and passion to what we do. In this series, we're taking you behind the scenes to showcase the people behind the craft. Today Ambassadors' is catching up with Casper Smit, process manager machine learning, to learn more about how AI is influencing and enhancing traditional craft.
Q> Who are you and what do you do?
Casper> At Ambassadors, I work in the VFX department, focusing on developing and integrating generative AI into our production pipeline. This includes testing new techniques, training models, and exploring where AI can enhance our creative process. It’s a collaborative effort that helps us push the boundaries of what’s possible while staying true to the quality we’re known for.
Q> How did you get your start in AI?
Casper> I’ve always been curious about new technology, what it’s about and how it can be used creatively. I initially wanted to become a filmmaker, but I ended up working in interactive product design instead. When VR came along, I jumped in and started building VR experiences and immersive video. As AI began gaining traction I became curious about its potential. Whenever something new emerges, I like to dive in and see where it takes me.
Q> Where do you look for inspiration? Who or what inspires you?
Casper> I’m a big fan of the Belgian artist David Claerbout. He has a traditional background in painting but embraced new technologies in his art. His main subject is time, and he uses clever ways to capture it in his work. What inspires me is how he’s unafraid to innovate, yet he stays true to his roots as a painter. Even his digital pieces have a painterly quality. I admire how he manages to keep his own signature while reinventing himself.
Q> What’s been your biggest learning in your career so far?
Casper> One thing I’ve learned is that every project comes with its own challenges. That’s actually what makes the work interesting. Even when things don’t go as planned, you often find new opportunities you wouldn’t have thought of before. I’ve also learned that it helps to focus on the underlying question or issue of a client instead of getting lost in details. It’s important to understand the client’s perspective and where they’re coming from.
Q> What do you enjoy most about your job?
Casper> I don’t think I’ve ever worked with a technology that’s evolving at this pace and having such a big impact. It’s incredibly exciting, but sometimes also a bit overwhelming. It feels like working at the cutting edge of what’s possible and it’s our job to figure out how to use it in a way that makes sense creatively. Working together with all the different disciplines at Ambassadors makes that even more interesting, because we can explore so many different ways to combine AI with traditional techniques.
Q> What project or piece of work are you most proud of and why?
Casper> For the Albert Heijn Christmas commercial last year, I used AI to turn summer outdoor shots into snowy winter scenes, inspired by Wham's ‘Last Christmas’ video. It was a bit of a challenge to make it work seamlessly with the plates, but in the end, I was really happy with the result. What made the project so special for me was how all the different disciplines at Ambassadors came together to make one final piece. It was the first time I got to be part of such a big, collaborative production, and that made it really inspiring.
Q> Is there a project that you wish you’d worked on?
Casper> Love Letter to LA. It’s an animated music video that combines traditional animation with AI. What I really like about it is how they used AI to enhance and scale the skills of the artists, without replacing the traditional methods like storyboarding, sketching, and drawing. It shows how AI can amplify the output of a small team of creatives and make something unique. I also liked that the director, Paul Trillo, shared a technical breakdown video where he explained the steps they took and the challenges they faced. I think it’s great when people are open about their process and share their learnings with the world. That kind of transparency makes the work even more inspiring.
Q> How do you think the creative industry will change over the coming months/years? What are you most excited about?
Casper> It’s difficult to predict where things are heading, but with AI developing incredibly fast, change is inevitable. The tools we have now we couldn’t have imagined just a few years ago. It’s mind blowing how easy it has become to generate content with AI, but I think that also challenges us to think about the creative process behind it. Creativity is about making deliberate choices that lead to something personal and unique. With AI, there’s a risk that we skip over that process and settle for generic results. I think the challenge now is to keep AI as a tool that supports the creative process, not one that replaces it. If we learn to work with AI in the right way, I believe we can do incredible things.
