Nick Kukaj
Production breakdown · 2026
Open Highway — Spec automotive spot — 43 shots kept from 54 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
Everything served one visual idea: commercial texture, controlled contrast, and compositions that hold still long enough to read.
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
- 43 of 54 generated
- Primary model
- Pixio AI
- Build time
- 10 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
Every shot started as a still. Compose it as an image, approve the frame, then push it into motion — iterating at image prices instead of paying for the discovery.
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 motionNaming the lens and the light source did more for consistency than any amount of style vocabulary.
Generating before the reference was locked cost more than any other decision here.
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
Assembly is where it became a piece rather than a reel. The first cut ran long and admiring; losing a third of it and tightening every transition gave it momentum.
Sound did more work than any single shot. Room tone and small practical details are what convince the eye that the spaces are real.
Team
Credits
- Director
- Nick Kukaj
- Motion
- Pixio AI
- Edit
- Nick Kukaj
- Sound design
- Nick Kukaj
- Platform
- Pixio
