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Ride Like Everything's Out To Get You - Wombat

Jakob MarkyTransport NSW


For Transport NSW's Ride Like Everything's Out to Get You campaign, The Gardening Club was tasked with giving a real wombat a menacing screen presence. Working from filmed footage of the animal on location, the challenge wasn't to transform what was already there, but to add a subtle layer of performance. The goal was menace through restraint: a creature that feels utterly aware, unhurried, and in control. Using AI tools driven by the shot plates, the team introduced a carefully considered layer of performance. Subtle breathing, a barely-perceptible lowering of the head, the slow blink of an eye, a twitch of an ear - each cue was designed to feel completely organic to the animal while giving it an unmistakable sense of intent. The result is a wombat that doesn't need to move much to command the road. Still, watchful, and quietly threatening.

Healthy Choices

NHSHealthy Choices

We recognised early the opportunity for AI to elevate the creative ambition of this brief and established the approach to support it. Kenny's character development began during the pitch phase, resulting in a refined hybrid model that combines the discipline of live-action filmmaking with the precision of AI. Seamless by design, this approach expands what is creatively possible while remaining firmly grounded in the real.

The Sweetshop
The Sweetshop

We captured a live actor on set to ground the character in genuine human expression, then precisely applied AI to extend that performance into Kenny

The Sweetshop
The Sweetshop
The Sweetshop
The Sweetshop
The Sweetshop
The Sweetshop
Fantasy Herd

Meadow FreshFantasy Herd

The Sweetshop
The Sweetshop

The creation of the Fantasy Herd sat at the core of the project. Combining live-action filmmaking with AI, we crafted a world that is both heightened and believable.

As is often our way, loads of techniques were combined, Unreal Engine, live action and AI video generation were all thrown into the mix.

This workflow significantly accelerated concept development, enabling fast iteration and creative experimentation that would traditionally require extensive modelling.

The Sweetshop

The Gardening Club and Wonderhood Studios 'Burnable Billboards' reveal risk of sun exposure in real time

Burnable Billboard

British Skin FoundationBurnable Billboard

"AI doesn’t have to be a blunt instrument for cost-cutting; it can be a catalyst for something more ambitious, more humane." - Colin Davis

Live action sits at the heart of our approach, always.

At The Gardening.Club, AI is employed with deliberate restraint, extending the scale and possibility of the film while our focus remains exactly where it belongs: on human performance and emotionally truthful storytelling.

AI is there to sharpen the work. That might mean building background plates, scaling crowd shots, or replacing generic stock with footage that feels shot-for-purpose. But only where it elevates the idea.

From the very first draft, we look for ways to shift time and budget back toward the beating heart of the film - performance, story, and craft. AI allows us to handle things like product swaps without reshoots, deliver translations and localisations that feel natural, and generate additional footage that blends seamlessly with what’s already been shot.

We have other AI films that are currently not released that we can show you in a presentation.

Please contact us, and we can arrange a suitable time.

Our Team

Colin DavisGlobal Head of Innovation

Colin Davis, our new Global Head of Innovation brings something new to the mix, a future-facing vision grounded in creative integrity. His work might already be familiar to many of you, but some of his most notable projects include the Cannes Grand Prix winning Pedigree Adoptable, the Google x Gorillaz AR virtual concert and immersive products for Meta, NBA and others. He’s been working with the leading-edge technologies (AI, mixed reality, game engines and many others) finding ways to elevate and expand creative opportunities, in the role as Head of Production - Immersive & EP at Nexus Studios. (The Pedigree project is still taking the awards circuit by storm!)

Tom Roopeco Founder & Chief A.I. Strategist

Tom Roope is a digital creative director and futurist with over 30 years of experience in the industry. He has been at the forefront of exploring the intersection of technology and creativity, particularly in the realm of AI. Notably, in the digital space, he has worked with many high-profile clients such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Google, LVMH, Pharrell Williams and David Beckham and produced a crowdsourced campaign for Xbox with Lily Allen that garnered an enormous viewing of 32 million in 2012, and was rumored to have inspired the early days of Music.ly/Tik Tok. Tom and Jacqui co-founded The Rumpus Room with The Sweetshop in 2007, a digital agency focused on creating immersive experiences. In 2016, Tom took on the role of Group Creative Lead at Google ZOO, their creative think tank where he led a team of creative technologists to solve complex problems for Google’s top clients using advanced technologies like machine learning. ‘Fabricus’, was a project conceived by Tom’s creative team at Google, while working on Ubisoft's "Assassin's Creed Origins" the team created the concept and software to harness the power of machine learning to translate hieroglyphics. Tom has won many awards for his digital and creative work, including 3 D&AD Silvers and a Gold Lion at Cannes. He is an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry (awarded by the Royal Society of Arts), is in the BIMA Digital Hall of Fame, and has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lincoln for his contribution to digital culture. Tom's latest project has been to create an AI tool for Black Eyewear. Tom worked with the founder, to train an AI with his perceptual skills, that can now make personalized recommendations at any time, from anywhere from your phone.

Melanie Bridgeco Founder & CEO The Sweetshop

As a creative, AI is the most incredible way to get an idea out of your head, explore it, and make it better than you ever thought possible. AI is smart in many ways but needs a good idea and an artist's vision to produce truly groundbreaking results. Melanie is leading The Sweetshop's focus on AI in partnership with Tom and Jacqui and has been learning AI filmmaking since the partnership began, with the aim of exploring her AI work in both commercials and long-format film, while guiding the company and its directors through all of the possibilities AI offers. "From my work so far, I genuinely believe it is the most incredible tool for storytelling. I am already creating work." Early in her career, Melanie’s remarkable eye for filmic detail and visionary mindset propelled her to great success in directing, including being selected in the Cannes Young Director Showcase and nominated as one of the top 100 directors in the world. Committed to fostering a culture of excellence, Melanie empowers individuals within The Sweetshop, serving as a mentor, guide, and source of inspiration. Her ability to nurture and support the team has been instrumental in the company's success. Her understanding of the creative process ensures that the company maintains its unique identity and pushes creative boundaries. Melanie is immensely proud that The Sweetshop is one of the few fully female and director-led film production companies in the world, as well as being well on the way to gaining full global B Corp certification.