Directed and edited the concept trailer for Groundbreaking, a satirical meta-dramedy about digital fame, AI, and mass surveillance in the news media landscape, created by Preston Chaunsumlit (Preston Ken Zeng). Built from found footage and early-generation AI face-swapping, finished as a degraded 90s television broadcast.

Created by: Preston Chaunsumlit (Preston Ken Zeng) Role: Creative Director, Video Editor, AI Video Producer Tools: DaVinci Resolve, CapCut, Midjourney, Runway, Akool Year: 2025

Preston Chaunsumlit is a recognized figure in internet culture and fashion media, with coverage in the New Yorker, Vogue, and Vice. What I received was his written concept for the series, a folder of raw source material, and a rough creative direction. No script, no shot list, no footage shot for a trailer. The piece had to establish the tone of a show about surveillance and synthetic identity using material that was never made for it.

Built the visual narrative around Preston's concept and the elements he shared, translating it into a sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek trailer assembled almost entirely from appropriated material: news broadcasts, vintage fashion films, film noir, music videos, early internet memes. Cast members' faces were blended into archival and stock footage using open-source face-swapping alongside Akool, Midjourney, and Runway — back when those models were far less refined than they are now, which meant the artifacts and failures had to become part of the aesthetic rather than something to hide.

Also produced the soundtrack: a slowed, reverb-heavy remix of a classic 90s dance track.

The visual treatment leans into deliberate degradation — heavy pixelation, grain, and saturation pushed toward 90s broadcast television. For a show about surveillance and manufactured identity, a clean image would have been the wrong argument. The uncanny quality of early face-swap output reads as intentional inside that frame instead of as a technical limitation. All editing and grading in DaVinci Resolve, with CapCut's retouch tools used for face manipulation and stylization.

The series was shelved when the client stepped away for personal reasons. The trailer stands as a complete piece.

Post: DaVinci Resolve Generation: Midjourney, Runway, Akool, open-source face-swap Stylization: CapCut Sound: Original remix Format: Concept trailer