AI is uncannily good at nostalgia. So, I thought I’d use it to pay tribute to the classic stop motion TV shows of my childhood.

Like many chronologically challenged Brits, I was raised on regular doses of Trumpton, Camberwick Green and Chigley.

These puppet soap operas showcased the trials and tribulations faced by the inhabitants of model villages, and there were intense action sequences involving toy soldiers, firemen, neighbourhood gossips, and even drunken millers.

When Wonder Studios and the OpenArt AI announced an AI Ad competition, I thought I would attempt to conjure their spirit whilst creating my own village, characters and storyline.

OpenArt AI offers an impressive tool box, and I enjoyed deploying its Worlds and Character functions. It does boast a Director Mode, where you can input as many or as few elements as you like, then sit back and finesse its outputs. But I preferred to build my two-minute ad step-by-step, using Seedream and Seedance, before upscaling with Topaz.

I spent most of my career directing, so that approach appeals – but if you haven’t, the Director Mode offers a new way of working, where selection, revision and editing are at more of a premium.

I struggled a bit with proportion, but the whole process was relatively quick, painless and affordable, and I am hopeful that this will be the only ad combining puppetry, martial arts, and a none too subtle tribute to rave culture.

Here is the finished ad. No puppets were harmed in its making, and Huggy Buns are an entirely fictional product (sadly).