Moreton Bay filmmaker Julia Lewis is combining more than 25 years of screen production experience with generative AI, using the technology across filmmaking, workplace learning and organisational communications.
“The interesting question isn’t simply what AI can generate. It’s what a creative professional can do with it when they already understand storytelling, production and their audience.”
Julia is the founder of City of Moreton Bay-based Margarita Media and has worked across broadcast television, documentary and digital production. Over the past four years, she has increasingly focused on how generative AI can be incorporated into practical creative and learning workflows.
She is also Queensland Lead for SHE IS AI and a member of the organisation’s Global Advisory Council.
One example is Maggie’s Music, a documentary project exploring the story of Australian composer Maggie Bell.
Julia has experimented with AI-generated animation to visually represent elements of Maggie’s story that could otherwise be difficult or expensive to produce traditionally.
But she argues the technology is only part of the production process. Decisions about what an audience needs to see, how a sequence should feel and what belongs in a story still require human judgement.
That approach extends to Julia’s work developing video and e-learning content, including projects for the National Association of Women in Construction and St Vincent’s Curran Foundation.
For businesses, she believes the opportunity is not simply about adopting the latest AI platform.
“There are hundreds of AI tools appearing all the time,” Julia said. “But knowing how to use a tool isn’t the same as knowing how to use AI well.”
For smaller businesses and creative teams, AI could help develop visual concepts, create learning materials and produce content that may previously have required considerably greater resources.
But Julia said businesses also need to consider copyright, consent, accuracy, cultural context and transparency when deciding where AI belongs in their workflows.
“AI gives us more ways to create, but that makes creative judgement more important, not less. Someone still needs to decide what is worth creating, why it matters and whether it is right for the audience.”
As access to generative AI grows, the opportunity for City of Moreton Bay businesses will be to determine where the technology can deliver genuine efficiencies or new capabilities, while retaining the expertise and oversight needed to use it effectively.
To connect with Julia Lewis or learn more about her creative AI work, visit Margarita Media.
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