Nick Kukaj
Production breakdown · 2026
Motion & Melody — Animated music video mix — 33 shots kept from 41 generated, built on a single rule: if a frame could not hold its own next to live-action, it did not make the cut.
Pre-production
The brief
Reference-led from the start — music framing, motivated light sources only, and no move the shot could not justify.
The hard part was consistency. Subject, wardrobe, and light had to survive every cut, so the references were locked before a frame of the final was generated.
- Shots in cut
- 33 of 41 generated
- Primary model
- Pixio AI
- Build time
- 5 days
- Year
- 2026
Design
Locking the look
The reference set came first — subject, palette, and a light test — locked before anything moved. It cost less than two full runs and saved re-rolling every shot that would have drifted.
Front
Profile
Wardrobe
LightingBuild the reference set before generating anything final. It is the cheapest step and it decides whether the rest is usable.
Production
Shot construction
Framing was settled on stills, then handed to motion. Deciding composition in video is the most expensive mistake available.
Prompt structure
subject: who or what is in frame, one action only
camera: lens, height, movement
lighting: source, direction, quality
grade: stock or reference
negative: drone shot, orbit, lens flare, slow motionThe prompts that worked read like camera reports, not wishes.
The expensive habit is re-rolling a prompt hoping for a better frame. Fix the reference instead.
Highlight
The set piece
The strongest section is the one built as a continuous run rather than isolated pieces — each part picking up from the last so the geography holds and the joins stop being visible.
Every hour spent on references saved three on re-rolls.
Post
The cut
The edit did as much as the generation. Shots that looked strong alone were the first to go once pacing mattered.
The mix carried the transitions, which let the picture cut harder than it otherwise could.
Team
Credits
- Director
- Nick Kukaj
- Motion
- Pixio AI
- Edit
- Nick Kukaj
- Sound design
- Nick Kukaj
- Platform
- Pixio
