James Hilditch
Founder and Executive Creative Director of BearJam. I write and speak about where AI belongs in creative production, and where it doesn’t.
Films and campaigns for
- Revolut
- NatWest
- UBS
- Netflix
- Kellogg’s
- McDonald’s
- Nike
- Ocado
- Pfizer
- Red Bull Racing
- The FA
- Just Eat
- The Wall Street Journal
- NBCUniversal
- BBC StoryWorks
- Knight Frank
- Landsec
- Osprey
- Company of Cooks
- SD Worx
- Mitsubishi Electric
- Keysight
- IQ-EQ
Featured in and spoken at
- The AI Journal
- Communicate
- Little Black Book
- Creativepool
- PRmoment
- Silicon Valleys Journal
- Robotics & Automation News
- APA
- TwentyThree
Thinking
Recent writing on AI, craft and trust, published in the trade press and on BearJam Insights.
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AI policy is being written for two extremes. Most of the industry lives in the middleSilicon Valleys Journal
Why UK AI policy should account for businesses that pair AI with human craft and accountability.
- BearJam Insights
- BearJam Insights
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AI automation’s PR problem: businesses keep selling what it can do, not why it should be trustedRobotics & Automation News
The case for explaining oversight and accountability alongside speed and scale.
- BearJam Insights
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AI video has a PR problem. And the problem is trustThe AI Journal
Quality, consent, copyright and provenance as the real barriers to professional AI video.
- BearJam Insights
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The new VFX sandwich: how AI is repricing ‘high-end’ video for brandCommunicate
Why cheaper, faster production makes original ideas and careful finishing worth more.
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Behind the Brief, episode 1: The humans behind AIBearJam on YouTube
In conversation with Phoebe Aldrich about where AI fits in production and where it falls short.
Speaking
Keynotes, panels and case studies for marketing, comms and production audiences. Practical, honest about the scars, and built on work we’ve actually shipped.
Talks I give
- Craft IntelligenceWhy human creative direction is the differentiator when everyone has the same AI tools.
- The 85% Problem
- Trust and AI videoWhat brands need to get right on quality, consent and provenance before audiences will trust AI-made work.
- Running an AI-augmented businessWhat changed at BearJam when AI moved beyond the edit suite, with the wins and a few scars.
Recent appearances
Tech Futures: AI Strategy Lab
Case study speaker at Howden’s London HQ, on learnings from an AI-augmented business.
WonderBites: AI and comms, what’s the human advantage?
Panellist for Wonderland Comms, online, on human judgement and relationships in AI-assisted communications.
The Future of Advertising, APA
Panellist on “AI: We’re on it!” at Vue Leicester Square, covering AI in real production, budgets and business models.
VideoAgencyDay, TwentyThree
Opening speaker in “Meet the Video Agency”, on growing a video agency and building long-term client relationships.
Production Unplugged, APA
Presented the Osprey Charging Network case study: how its video strategy evolved, built with JamPlan.
AI: How to use it now, APA
Presenter at an online showcase on practical uses of AI in production, attended by more than 330 people.
Recognition
Personal honours, and the awards the BearJam team has won for work I’ve led or creative directed.
Personal
- Highly Commended, AI Communications Leader of the YearAI Comms Awards 2026, Communicate magazine
- Top 100 Creative LeadersCreativepool Annual 2026
- Member, APA AI TaskforceAdvertising Producers Association
With the BearJam team
- Gold, Best Use of AI in ESG, CSR and Sustainability CommunicationsAI Comms Awards 2026, with Nature Impact
- Four Lens Awards: one Gold, two Silver, one BronzeLens Awards 2026, for Landsec, SD Worx and Company of Cooks
- Inaugural EVCOM EyeEVCOM Clarion Awards 2026, for Landsec
- 17th in the UK Top 50 Pure Video rankingUK Top 50 2026, BearJam’s third year in the Top 50
- Highly Commended, EMEA Production Company of the YearBrand Film Awards 2025
In the press
- The Times, partner feature
- Creativepool, interview
- PRmoment, quoted
- Little Black Book, panel coverage
- Communicate, contributor
- Little Black Book, contributor
Most of what I talk about, we make at BearJam.
BearJam is the hybrid video production studio I founded in 2012: 14 people in Wandsworth, with a presence in New York, working across live action, animation and AI-augmented production.
About
Founder, director and producer. Still happiest on set.
I started BearJam in 2012 as a one-man band, filming and editing on evenings and weekends while working as a chartered surveyor. When the work outgrew the spare hours, I made the jump. The belief behind it hasn’t changed since: video should never be landfill.
Today I lead BearJam’s creative work across live action, animation and AI-augmented production, for brands including Revolut, NatWest, UBS and Kellogg’s, and partners such as the Wall Street Journal and NBCUniversal.
My view on AI is simple: everyone has access to the tools, but not everyone has taste. That’s the thinking behind Craft Intelligence. AI speeds up and extends what we make, while creative direction, judgement and storytelling stay with our people.
What I love most is still the mix of it all: pushing an idea further than anyone expected, and putting a nervous CEO at ease in front of the camera.
[Portrait of James]
Selected credits
- Director
- Uncover Qatar, for NBCUniversal
- Creative director
- UBS, Anatomy of a Craft: Formula for Success, with NBCUniversal International
- Director
- Netflix, Eurovision film launch (2020)
- Director
- Pfizer, Ticks (2023)
- Director
- Usana, The Gut Health Doctor (2020)
- Producer
- The FA Disability Cup, Nike Football Strike Series, Ocado Christmas
- Producer
- Audi TT, The Concept. The Car., for BBH London (2014)
Get in touch
Two routes, depending on what you need.
Speaking, writing and media
For talks, panels, expert comment and bylines.
james@bearjam.co.uk Connect on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)Projects and production
For films, campaigns and AI production, the BearJam team will take it from here.
Start a project with BearJam (opens in a new tab)