Havas has launched its AI-powered production arm, Prose on Pixels (POP), in Australia, expanding a global network that now spans 15 locations. The move targets a persistent industry problem: strong creative ideas getting scaled back because of time and budget limits.
Matt Hearn, managing partner at Havas Media, becomes managing partner of POP Australia. He said the expansion "came from a frustration that I had, that the best idea in the room usually isn't the one to get made." The new operation pairs traditional production craft with POP's global technology and AI capabilities. Services cover filming, editing, post-production, animation, and VFX.
Hearn, who served as executive producer on the Australian horror film Wolf Creek, pointed to that experience as proof of what craft-first production can achieve. The film was the first HD feature in the Southern Hemisphere, and the team had to argue with film bodies about whether it could be classified as a film if it wasn't shot on film. "Craft is where it's at," he said.
The AI capabilities, Hearn added, "allows the craft in the room to be extended a lot further than we had before, and the budget doesn't get to shrink it." He drew a sharp line between the POP approach and the flood of low-quality AI output. "When you bring that craft into the realm of AI - and we're still following those principles and making it as best we can - then you're avoiding all the AI slop as well."
A borderless studio model
POP Australia will operate inside Havas Village ANZ, led by Chavvah Stuart, head of creative innovation, and newly-appointed head of creative technology Raoni Lima. Joris Knetsch, EVP at Prose on Pixels APAC, described a "borderless studio approach" where locations share a common toolset and tap into knowledge centres rather than duplicating every capability in each city.
"Australia and New Zealand fit really nicely into the whole Asia Pacific operating system that I'm trying to build, where origination happens at location," Knetsch said. He confirmed more POP offices are planned for the region soon. The structure means specialised knowledge can be accessed across locations without rebuilding teams from scratch.
Manoeuvrability over scale
Hearn contrasted POP's approach with what he sees from competitors. "What we found is that they're very rigid," he said. He described the difference with an analogy: "The rest are building Death Stars, we're building the Millennium Falcon - something that's much faster, more manoeuvrable, and a little bit cooler."
The flexibility extends to how POP handles audience targeting and creative versioning. Knetsch said the gap the team is bridging is "something that is end-to-end, where we know what the audiences are that we're trying to serve." He argued that most setups leave a disconnect where "creation cares about the big idea, media cares about the channels, but no one cares about the versions that need to be produced."
For creatives working with generative video courses and production tools, the POP model signals a shift toward AI that serves craft rather than replacing it. The emphasis stays on directors, editors, and workflow specialists driving the output, with AI extending what they can deliver within real-world constraints.
James Wright, group CEO of Havas ANZ, said the launch represents "a significant investment in production for this region." He added, "Clients want agility, integrated capability and production that delivers real outcomes, and that's what POP gives them: global craft and genuine AI capability, purpose-built and close to the work, backed by the full village."
Why this matters for creatives
POP Australia's pitch is straightforward: production that starts with audience needs and uses AI to produce more variations across channels, without sacrificing the craft that makes work worth watching. For creatives, the message is that AI tools are being built into workflows where human judgement still leads - and where "no" isn't the default answer to ambitious ideas. As Hearn put it, "Where they say no, we say yes."
Your membership also unlocks:
