Staub
Switzerland
Where do you locate yourself in relation to the systems you work with?
Where are you heading, and what is pulling you there?
How would you describe the space your practice is currently unfolding in?
Description
The work is about the feeling of being at home and fully at ease. It begins with a familiar moment of relaxation, where comfort slowly turns into drifting off. As the character falls asleep, that calm space shifts into a dream. In the dream, a single clothing piece they have been thinking about takes over, blending comfort, desire, and imagination. At the end, the character wakes up and looks at the TV. On the screen, the beginning of the same scene appears, revealing that he is watching the commercial he is part of. The work closes on this quiet paradox. Comfort, desire, and media fold into each other, blurring the line between experience, dream, and image.
Process
The idea started from a very personal moment. I had a specific jewelry piece from another brand on my mind, and I kept thinking about it while lying in bed with my eyes closed before falling asleep. That feeling of wanting a product so much that it follows you into rest became the emotional starting point of the film. I wanted to translate that quiet obsession into a visual narrative about comfort, desire, and imagination. The twist of the character watching his own commercial was inspired by my interest in films that play with perception and time, especially the work of Christopher Nolan. I liked the idea of a subtle loop rather than an obvious reveal. Throughout the film, I added small details to strengthen the world of the brand. The star logo is embedded into the background, and textures from the brand’s website were used as wallpapers to reinforce its visual identity. With the exception of the intro shot, every scene was composited or style-polished in DaVinci Resolve. This allowed me to give the film a more authentic, tactile, and distinctive visual feel.
Tools
WORKFLOW: 1. Creative alignment: define concept, mood, references, and end use (campaign, fashion film). 2. Character development: build a strong look aligned with the brand and story. 3. Environment design: create narrative-supporting world using Midjourney, Grok, and Nano Banana Pro. 4. Composition: combine subject and environment using pose, camera, and perspective references. 5. Final image polish in Photoshop. 6. Animation using Freepik Kling 2.5 / 2.6. 7. Edit, color grade, and sound design in DaVinci Resolve. TOOLS: - Nano Banana Pro - Prompt Enhancement GPT - Kling 2.5 / 2.6 - Epidemic Sound Library - DaVinci Resolve - Dehancer Plugin for color grading
Vivien Schulze is a multidisciplinary designer and creative director at Demodern, an agency focused on creative innovative technologies. She creates projects in virtual and mixed reality and metaverses for clients like PETA, PwC, Sephora, and Bauhaus. In addition, she continuously explores, educates, and creates within the field of creative AI.
Honestly, I think I could smell this video before I even hit play. It has that thick, lived-in atmosphere that you just can’t fake with a random prompt. I picked this as my Golden Ticket because it feels like a high-end commercial that accidentally wandered into a basement and decided to stay there.
There’s something so satisfying about the “scenic imperfections” in this one. In a digital world that’s constantly trying to upscale everything to pure perfection, this piece leans into the grit. The graffiti on the sofa, the peeling posters, the absolute catastrophe of wires on the floor. I love its beautiful mess. It’s “ugly-cool” in the most intentional way.
The sound design hits that perfect lo-fi sweet spot, giving the whole messy room a soul you can actually hear. I’m drawn to this kind of tension: the “commercial” look colliding with a space that feels totally demolished. It’s a vibe that says, “I’m selling you something, but I might also forget you’re here.”
It’s human, it’s flawed, and it’s got a soul that’s louder than its resolution. In a sea of “perfect” AI art, I’ll take the flickering CRT and the stained couch every single time.
