Capitol Hill Nightmare

This piece was inspired by the dark, surreal side of American politics and the idea of indoctrination. I wanted to create a vertical-format "nightmare" that felt like a loop, using a creepy nursery rhyme to contrast with unsettling, politically-charged images.

What it does

This is a 59-second, looping vertical video. It's a piece of political satire that uses surreal, dream-like imagery to critique media control, political indoctrination, and the rise of ideological forces.

How we built it

I used AI to generate a series of powerful, allegorical 9x16 images: the "Christian" SWAT team, the "Divide & Conquer" TV, the clown in the jack-in-the-box. The song, a twisted lullaby, was the key to binding them all together.

Challenges we ran into

The challenge was to be satirical without being preachy. The surreal, dream-like quality of the AI-generated visuals allowed me to explore these themes in an artistic, rather than literal, way.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The piece is genuinely unsettling. The combination of the innocent nursery rhyme with the dark political imagery is incredibly effective. The "loop" makes it feel like a true nightmare.

What we learned

The audio is the key. The creepy song choice is what makes the satire land. Without it, it's just a collection of weird images. With it, it's a story.

What's next for Capitol Hill Nightmare This is "Episode 1" of a potential series of "Nightmare" shorts, each exploring a different aspect of modern social/political life.

Built With

• freepik
• veo3