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How AI Helped Us Sidestep Licensing Fees on a Music Video Project
Each quarter I would like to share some insights into a particular project that might provide some benefits to our customers.
Here is a quick story from a recent project that might spark some ideas for your own productions – especially if you ever find yourself caught between creative ambition and budget limitations.
The Challenge: Real-World Events, Unreal Budget
During May and June I worked on a music video that called for something pretty ambitious: green screen scenes featuring backgrounds inspired by real-life historical events and famous celebrities. The concept was bold, fun, and visually rich – but there was a catch.
The client didn’t have the budget to license the actual footage or images needed to represent those events or personalities. And as you probably know, using copyrighted material without permission is a legal and ethical minefield.
Image FX prompt result.
The Creative Fix: AI-Generated, Cartoon-Style Imagery
Rather than compromise the concept, I proposed a different route: using AI-generated still images to recreate the feel of these iconic moments. But to avoid any confusion around rights or realism, I pushed the visuals in a deliberately stylised direction – abstract, cartoon-like, and clearly artistic interpretations rather than replicas.
This ensured two things:
- No licensing issues – the visuals were 100% original, created from scratch
- Clear stylistic intent – the cartoon look made it obvious the images were artistic representations, not real footage
Not only did this keep us within budget, it gave the video a quirky, surreal visual style that actually elevated the concept. It’s a great example of how leaning into a constraint can lead to unexpected creative solutions.
You can see the final result here:
Takeaway: AI Isn’t Just for Pre-Production
While I’ve been using AI tools to help clients visualise their ideas more clearly before a shoot, this project shows just how useful they can be during post-production too. Especially when you’re working with tight timelines or tighter budgets.
The key is to use these tools thoughtfully – not to cut corners, but to open new creative possibilities. And when you use them with intention, the results can be surprisingly powerful.
Screen shot of the music video’s editing project.
And this ties directly into what I talk about in this quarter’s main article: A Fictional Client, Me, and a Bunch of AI-Generated Images, the use of Google’s AI tool ImageFX to illustrate a blog article about the 5 stages of video production.
As always, if you have a wild idea but aren’t sure how to make it happen (or afford it), feel free to reach out – creative problem-solving is my favourite part of the job.
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