# JBN — AI tools for creative work

What we use, what each tool is good for, and where judgement belongs. Reviewed 27 October 2026.

## Start with the work

Choose one task that is slowing you down, then test a tool against that task. A useful result should save effort without making the work less specific, less truthful or less yours.

These are tools we use across creative development, production and tool building, organised by the job they help us do. Start with the task, rather than a model ranking. Features and terms change; check the linked official pages before committing to a workflow. There are no affiliate links in this guide.

## Capture and think

### Granola — meeting notes

Useful for research conversations, production meetings and keeping track of decisions while you stay present in the conversation. Start with a debrief: what was agreed, what is unresolved, and who owns the next step. Read the original notes before turning a summary into a claim. Agree recording and sharing with the people involved, and check the workspace’s access settings.

Official guide: https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/getting-started/granola-101

### Wispr Flow — get a first draft out of your head

Useful for dictating a rough treatment, an email or the thought you keep losing while trying to type it. Speak in short, complete ideas, then edit the result. We find the value in getting past a blank page, rather than treating the dictated version as finished writing. Review names, numbers and wording after cleanup.

Official guide: https://docs.wisprflow.ai/articles/2772472373-what-is-flow

## Research, plan and build

### Claude — a structured creative working session

Useful for discussing a brief, comparing sources, turning notes into a production plan and building tools around a real workflow. Give it the project’s constraints and a clear deliverable. Ask it to separate evidence, assumptions and ideas. Skills are reusable instructions, not a substitute for a source or a decision-maker. Our free production pack provides a place to start.

Official site: https://claude.com/

### Codex — make a small tool for a specific problem

Useful when a repeated creative or production task needs its own interface: a searchable archive, a planning view or a prototype. Start with one narrow action and an example of a good result. Keep a recoverable copy of your work, test with fictional material first, and review changes before using them on a live project.

Official product page: https://openai.com/codex/

## Explore images and motion

### FLUX / Black Forest Labs — visual development

Useful for testing compositions, visual worlds and directions before committing to a more expensive execution. Work from a specific question about the image and compare a small number of variations. Generated images are proposals; they are not evidence of a real place, person or event. Check the licence and the rights to any reference material for the exact model and service you use.

Official site: https://bfl.ai/

### Runway — test an idea in motion

Useful for motion experiments and exploring how an image or sequence might behave over time. Define the camera, subject action and intended use before generating. Judge the whole clip: timing, continuity, texture and performance. Build a small test into the schedule before promising a shot, and leave time for editing and finishing.

Official site: https://runway.com/

### Higgsfield — explore image and video workflows

Useful for trying visual ideas and different model workflows within one creative platform, including connected workflows through its MCP tools. Keep the brief and reference material consistent when comparing outputs. Note which model and settings produced a result you want to repeat. Costs, input permissions and usage rights depend on the particular model and feature.

Official site: https://higgsfield.ai/

## Connect the tools carefully

### MCP — access to tools and source material

Model Context Protocol is a way for an assistant to connect to external tools and information. In creative work, that might mean finding a permitted production document, working with an archive or passing an approved brief to another tool. It is a connection standard, not an app or a guarantee of accuracy.

Begin with one connector and a narrow task. Prefer read-only access until you understand the workflow. Decide which folders it may read and which actions need your approval. Do not give a public prompt pack access to your whole production drive just because an example mentions a connector.

Official introduction: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/getting-started/intro

## Keep the edit in the editor

Our tools support research, organisation and candidate assemblies. The final decisions about a person’s meaning, the rhythm of a performance and what an audience sees belong with the creative team. The Bridge is a tool in development around this principle: bring pieces to camera into a traceable, reviewable cutting workflow. It is not a public release yet.

## A first experiment

Take a fictional one-page film brief. Dictate the rough idea, use a research or planning skill to expose its gaps, then choose one visual question to explore. Keep the original, record what changed, and ask a collaborator whether the result is clearer. Buy a subscription only when a specific task justifies it.

Questions or workshop enquiries: hello@justbenice.tv
Just Be Nice Studios — https://www.justbenice.tv