Light UP

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  Light Up | AI K-POP MV, APEC Core Values × Silla Heritage Reimagined | Chroma Awards Submission

Inspiration

APEC’s three values—Connect, Innovate, Prosper—are reimagined through Silla-era heritage from Gyeongju. Signature icons—the Heavenly Horse, the golden mask (the “thousand-year smile”), Dabotap, and the contemplative Maitreya—are treated as living symbols of life, peace, and sustainability, turning memory into momentum.

If Gyeongju’s “face-patterned eave-end roof tile” (sumaksae) sumaksae Image Link🔗 had never existed, this video wouldn’t exist either. We might never have realized the surprising, joyful moments that Silla’s thousand-year smile still gives to people today. Beautiful cultural heritage invites us to reflect on the “sustainable tomorrow” that we, here in the present, must show and pass on to future generations. I hope this video brings you a little joy and a smile. Lyric line from “Light Up” (KR → EN): “지금 여기—문을 열어—더 넓은 세상으로—함께 가자—손에 손잡고—우린 빛날 거야.” “Right here—Open the door—To a wider world—Together we go—Hand in hand—We will shine.”

What it does

“Light Up” is a short AI music film connecting past, present, and future through choreography and symbolic transformations: the heroine travels across spaces; a golden-mask reveal resolves into a smile as the mask disperses into small birds; and a newly found Dabotap radiates into many paths—one light multiplying into a thousand.

How I built it

• Music-first: Composed and iterated a K-POP/techno-cinematic track, then timed scenes to bars/markers.
• Generation pipeline: Image concepts with Seedream 4 (reference-guided for consistency) with selective Midjourney assists; motion with Hailuo, Kling, Higgsfield; lipsync via Kling Speak; start/end-frame anchoring for stable edits.
• Post: Compositing/editing (Capcut), upscale (Topaz Video AI).
• Scale & selection: 3 days → ~200 track drafts → 1 final; 9 days → ~1,300 images and ~200 video generations; final cut assembled from 56 media pieces.
• Craft notes: The “golden mask” was refined purely by prompting (50+ passes) for form/material/eye shape, then reused as a reference to lock design continuity.

Challenges

Maintaining model-to-model continuity (face/props) across shots; suppressing temporal flicker during complex morphs and replications; balancing stylization with cultural fidelity; aligning lipsync/performance without breaking the heritage tone; and keeping legal/cultural due-diligence front-loaded.

Accomplishments I’m proud of

Reinterpreting millennia-old heritage as an original, future-facing music film—not a quotation or pastiche; and developing new motifs, choreography, and visual grammar that turn iconic artifacts into living story engines.

What I learned

Generative AI has leaped forward; with strong references and iteration, I staged complex, emotionally legible sequences that felt out of reach months ago—signaling even greater creative possibilities ahead.

What’s next for “Light Up”

I’ll pursue any path—across songs, short films, or collaborations—that can bring even a small moment of joy to people.

Built With

• capcut
• hailuo
• higgsfield
• kling
• midjourney
• munute
• seedance
• seedream4
• suno
• topaz