Meet Stephen Gifford

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephen Gifford. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephen below.

Stephen, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

Quality is the product. I built my career at a small but powerful commercial / VFX house in NYC, where I learned adaptability and creative leadership from some of the industry’s best—mentors I still collaborate with today. They taught me the value of generous praise, honest critique, and above all else, an unwavering commitment to quality. In the content industry, our work isn’t sold on a shelf; it’s an experience. The best way to respect your audience is to make every moment count. I prioritize making fewer, better things—always choosing quality over quantity.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’ve always been drawn to movies. As a kid, I could lose myself for hours in a film—the dialogue like poetry, cinematography a portal to another world, and sound that would pull at your heartstrings. Reading certainly sparked my imagination, but movies were a mesmerizing fusion of art forms. It was pure magic.

Early in my career, everyone assumed I’d move to Hollywood, but something about that world never felt like the right fit for me. The long, linear process of filmmaking clashed with my restless curiosity. Instead, I explored theater, visual effects, short form commercial production, documentary filmmaking, sculpting, computer animation, print design, event media, screens producing, and eventually that all led me to immersive entertainment. A quote from my friend and wilderness survival instructor, Tom Brown Jr., stuck with me: “Master what you’re worst at.” When I struggle with something I love, I dive in head first—either mastering it or learning the best way to empower others who can to help bring my vision to life. That mindset shaped my path to becoming a Creative Director. I thrive on working with artists, understanding their process, and bringing out their best work.

That philosophy is at the heart of Pretty Damn Sweet, the digital experience studio I co-founded with Rick Sebeck, the only other person I’ve met who shares a passion for exploration of different mediums. We used to call ourselves “Masters of None” and joked about making that our company name when PDS was founded decades ago. We share a passion for exploration, technology, and film, believing that no idea is impossible with the right people and tools. If we can dream it, we can make it.

The creative media industry is transforming—film, TV, theater, and advertising are evolving rapidly. At Pretty Damn Sweet, we’ve embraced this shift for years, blending cutting-edge technology with storytelling. Rather than chasing fleeting trends, we develop tools and techniques that breathe new life into traditional mediums, helping to shape the future of digital storytelling.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Be a good listener. I don’t just mean sit quietly and wait for your turn to speak, or memorize what someone else has said, or pretend to listen while on a Zoom meeting while you’re checking your email or doing busy work. Be present. Really listen to people and care about them. Pay attention to not only what they’re saying but what they’re feeling. Don’t judge or assume. Listen with an open heart, an open mind, and be willing to learn. A good listener will always be learning and always improving because everyone has something to teach you every time they speak.

2. Have fun. If it’s not fun, ask yourself why? Other people can drag you down and you can choose to ignore them or leave. But at the end of the day, you’re in charge of your own emotions. You can make it fun, or make it not fun for yourself. Find a way to make the work fun and the work will always be better for it.

3. Learn to love imperfection. I strive for excellence and rarely give up on something when I have a strong vision for it. But growing up with an Italian grandfather who would rather add a wooden handle to the pot lid instead of buying a new one, I learned to know when great is good enough. Let things surprise you. Find the beauty in what you’ve made and be proud of it, once you feel happy with it.

4. Break the rules. Sometimes the best plans need to be altered. Trust your gut, and don’t be afraid to try things.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

Creative Integrity. More than ever, we must be mindful of how we create, just as we are mindful of recycling plastic bottles or not taking up more space than you need on the subway. Being mindful of our community and our world is something that has always been a choice and it’s up to us to be the best people we can be.

The debate over AI in the creative industry is intense, with fears of job loss and ethical dilemmas. As a creative technologist, I stand in the middle. So here’s my position: Technology will always evolve and you can’t put the AI back in the bottle. Tech can be a great ally, allowing us to reach new heights of what we can imagine; look at what Pixar did in the 90s with computer processing to elevate the world of animation, as an example. But Pixar continued to follow the traditional model of animation and filmmaking, just with a different toolset. The new tools were used to push the boundaries of what artists could create, discovering new techniques and with that new challenges that required more creative solutions and people to run them.

We must ensure the tech serves the imagination, not the other way around. Ideas must drive creativity, or we risk weakening our skills. If we uphold this principle and work responsibly, no technology will threaten us and we will instead find ourselves in an exciting new era of immersive storytelling. The choice is ours.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.prettydamnsweet.com/
• Instagram: prettydamnsweetagram
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prettydamnsweet
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prettydamnsweet
• Other: https://www.behance.net/pretty_damn_sweet