Roger Rangel - The Creative Key
Reclaiming the Past, Reimagining the Future
As a child, Roger Rangel was highly imaginative and expressive, playing Chopin on the piano at age six. But like many, that creative spark dimmed over time. It wasn’t until 2022, when he discovered generative AI, that his artistic drive was fully reignited.
A software engineer by training, Roger also holds a master’s degree in the geopolitics of AI and has lived in seven countries, conducting academic research across three continents. This global, interdisciplinary lens shapes every frame of his work, infusing it with emotional depth, technical rigor, and cultural fluency.
Today, Roger is a creative force. He crafts cinematic-quality ads, resurrects lost histories, and designs educational ecosystems for the AI era. He blends the precision of a developer, the perspective of a historian, and the vision of a filmmaker into a single creative pipeline. His work shows how the full spectrum of human talent can now be activated in ways that simply were not possible before.
Roger represents a new generation of global creators. Storytellers who no longer need permission. With the agility of a UGC workflow and the capabilities of a creative studio, he is proving that brands who embrace this shift will gain a powerful edge. Pairing high-fidelity visuals with a fresh voice and dynamic perspective is exactly what audiences are hungry for.
In this Imagination Age Spotlight, we explore how Roger is using AI not to replace human imagination but to expand it. And in doing so, reclaiming a powerful new dimension of creative possibility.
Q: You’re a software engineer, 3D artist, and filmmaker, with a background in international business and a master’s in the geopolitics of AI. How do all of these layers inform your creative vision and the work you’re producing today?
A: Interestingly, my creative process often begins with sound. I started at the age of 6 with Chopin on piano and at 11 years old with Bach and Handel on the flute—now I play Bossa Nova, Cuban salsa, and also enjoy cyberpunk and futuristic sounds as well.
My creative vision is therefore shaped by the intersection of several disciplines—software, geopolitics, filmmaking, and music. Each layer contributes a different lens.
In addition to this, I constantly experiment with new AI tools, workflows, and technologies. But no matter what I use, the foundation is always the same: meaning comes first.
Q: You created the first ever AI-powered ad in Morocco which feels cinematic and narratively interesting. Can you walk us through your creative process, from ideation to final cut?
A: The process began with concept development using ChatGPT and Midjourney to shape the narrative and visual tone. I created a basic storyboard and used prompt engineering to define the emotion and pacing of each scene. From there, I used tools like Runway, Veo2, Kling, Luma, and a few open-source models to animate and bring still images to life. For sound, I collaborated with Hailuo to create original audio and voice-over in Arabic—though in the end, I chose not to include narration in the final cut.
Q: Your short film Warsaw 1944 is incredibly moving. You’ve spoken about the importance of traditional filmmaking fundamentals even in an AI-driven workflow. How do you achieve human emotion and historical accuracy when co-creating with machines?
A: Well, this one is interesting. My grandfather left behind a huge library of books, around 5,000. Some of these books are very very old, spanning timelines and translations from the 7th century. Therefore, I have many stories that are accessible to me that have never been told. I also achieve historical accuracy because I have visited many large archives and resource centers in Europe, which has given me access to valuable information in Spanish, German, Polish, French, and English in their original versions. I read a lot :)
Q: You’ve shown how a one-person creative studio can now rival traditional ad agencies. Where do you see the biggest commercial shifts happening?
The biggest shift is in speed, personalization, and cost-efficiency. A solo creator can now deliver agency-level results in a fraction of the time and budget, thanks to AI. We're moving from long production pipelines to agile, idea-to-output workflows—this empowers niche brands, startups, and even global campaigns to tell stories faster and more creatively than ever before.
Q: Your automotive spec ad was created in hours, not weeks. What advice would you give to brands who want to embrace this new speed of storytelling, but don’t know where to start?
A: Start small but strategic. Choose one idea or message, and experiment with AI tools like ChatGPT for scripting or Midjourney for visuals. Don’t aim for perfection—aim for momentum. Collaborate with hybrid creatives who understand both brand and tech, and be open to iteration. The sooner you start, the faster you’ll learn what works.
Q: You’ve been experimenting with tools like Runway, ImagineArt, Blender, and even training LLMs for product simulation. What features or infrastructure do you think AI-native creators still need? What’s missing in the current stack?
A: After three years of market research, I’ve identified major gaps in the AI creator stack—on both the creator and brand/agency sides. What’s still missing is a cohesive, creator-first ecosystem that’s intuitive, fun to use, and built for monetization. Right now, tools are fragmented and not designed to work together in a seamless pipeline.
We need a platform where AI-native creators can ideate, produce, publish, and track performance—all in one space. That includes better real-time collaboration tools, smart asset management, and scalable infrastructure for streaming, databases, and analytics. I’ve already started building parts of this in stealth mode, including a new kind of “AI-native Netflix” designed to meet these evolving needs. I believe the future of AI creativity lies in making workflows as inspiring as the output.
Q: You’ve taught in Vienna and spoken about the importance of mentorship and knowledge-sharing. What gaps do you see in the current education pipeline for aspiring AI creators, and what should we be doing to fix them?
A: Let me get straight to the point—there are countless gaps in the education pipeline, and they’re multiplying fast. What we need is an AI for Dummies. Whoever builds that will absolutely nail it—not a million-dollar idea, but a billion-dollar one. Put simply, we need to rethink how humans and AI complement each other—not just technically, but socially and psychologically. I was already writing about this back in 2018 during my Master’s in Estonia.
At its core, the way we learn, collaborate, and grow as humans needs to be restructured for the AI era. Current platforms like Instagram or TikTok are built around engagement, not education or self-development. If we keep optimizing for addiction overgrowth, we risk accelerating a dystopian shift already visible today. What we need instead is an ecosystem that empowers people to learn, create, and evolve alongside AI—not be consumed by it.
Q: If you had to define the future of storytelling in one sentence, what would it be?
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
Q: Which genAI art or artists have inspired you recently?
A: Definitely Tatiana Tsiguleva :)