Your winning film “Aqua Aria” combines stunning visuals with an eerie, haunting atmosphere. What drew you to exploring themes of femininity within the supernatural, almost mythical, that you have placed your characters in?
Paola Rocchetti: For me, AI is not just about generating images or video; it’s about creating worlds that feel tangible, yet untethered from reality. With Aqua Aria, I was drawn to the idea of femininity as both ethereal and powerful, something fluid and ever-changing—like water itself.
The supernatural and mythological aspects stem from my interest in reinterpreting classical themes in a contemporary, surreal way. Throughout history, feminine figures in mythology—sirens, nymphs, goddesses—have been depicted as alluring yet dangerous, revered yet feared. Aqua Aria plays with that duality, embracing both the delicate and the unsettling.
The haunting atmosphere comes from this tension between beauty and unease, between the familiar and the unknown. I wanted the visuals to reflect that feeling—dreamlike, but with an underlying sense of something just beyond reach, something almost unsettling. AI allowed me to push these ideas even further, blending elements in ways that traditional techniques wouldn’t allow as easily.
Creaturessa is a feast for the ears and eyes. What specific technologies did you employ to achieve these visual triumphs? How did you utilise them to achieve the stunning water effects, character models and sounds the audience sees in the film?
Paola Rocchetti: For Aqua Aria, I wanted to push AI tools to their creative limits while maintaining a distinct aesthetic that feels both organic and surreal. I was fortunate to have early access to Runway’s Gen-3, which at the time was still in its early stages—text-to-video only, with no camera control or motion brush features yet. Even with those limitations, the results were already impressive.
I used Runway for the video generation, testing its strengths in rendering fluid movement, atmospheric lighting, and organic textures. While its characters weren’t as edgy as what I typically achieve with Midjourney, it excelled at liquid physics, making it a great fit for Aqua Aria’s dreamy underwater world. The water effects in particular benefited from AI’s ability to simulate motion in a way that feels both painterly and hyperreal.
For sound, I used Suno to create an evocative, almost haunting audio landscape. I see sound design as an extension of the visual storytelling—something that enhances the immersion rather than just accompanying the imagery. AI-assisted tools like Suno allow for more spontaneous, unexpected sonic textures, which complemented the otherworldly feel of the film.
At its core, Aqua Aria was an experiment—testing the boundaries of AI-assisted filmmaking while staying true to my own visual language. It’s a glimpse into where these tools are heading and how they can be harnessed to create emotionally resonant, visually stunning narratives that blur the lines between the digital and the dreamlike.
What message, if any, would you like viewers to take from your film? At the very least how would you like your film to influence people's opinions of AI in the creative arts?
Paola Rocchetti: I don’t think Aqua Aria carries a singular, direct message—it’s more about evoking a feeling, a sense of wonder, and maybe a little unease. I like to create worlds that feel both familiar and otherworldly, where beauty and mystery coexist. If anything, I want viewers to let go of expectations and simply experience the atmosphere, the movement, the sound.
When it comes to AI in creative arts, I hope Aqua Aria shows that AI is not a shortcut or a replacement for real artistic vision, but rather a tool—one that, in the right hands, can bring ideas to life in ways that weren’t possible before. There’s a misconception that AI-generated work lacks soul, but I think the opposite is true when it’s used with intent. The choices I made in crafting Aqua Aria—from the aesthetics to the pacing to the sound—were all deliberate. AI was just the paintbrush, not the painter.
I’d love for people to have a more open-minded perspective on AI in art—to see it not as something that threatens creativity, but as something that expands its possibilities.
Where has your AI filmmaking journey taken you thus far? What are your future plans, if any, and how do you see the current relationship between AI and filmmaking developing in the future?
Paola Rocchetti: My AI filmmaking journey was a natural progression in my career. When I first started experimenting with AI, I was genuinely excited. I saw the potential immediately, even in the first version of MidJourney, despite its many faults. The same happened with video generation. As soon as I got my hands on the early models, I could already envision where this was headed.
Right now, AI filmmaking feels like a race—not just between the tools themselves but also for designers and creators like me, trying to keep up with the ever-changing AI landscape. The pace of innovation is relentless, with constant, almost daily updates that shift what’s possible. It’s exciting but also challenging—it requires a mix of adaptability, experimentation, and strategic thinking to integrate these evolving tools into real-world creative workflows.
So far, AI has allowed me to push my creative boundaries, from working on experimental projects to being recognized in AI film competitions like Meta Morph AI Film Awards and Culver Cup AI Film Competition, and being selected for SHOWstudio’s Fashion Film Showcase. Beyond personal work, I see huge potential for AI in commercial production, from rapid prototyping to developing entirely new visual aesthetics that weren’t feasible before.
Looking ahead, I want to continue refining my use of AI in high-end, cinematic storytelling, merging it with live-action, and integrating it into commercial and branded content in ways that feel natural rather than gimmicky. AI filmmaking is still in its infancy, and while there’s skepticism, excitement, and a lot of misunderstanding, I see it becoming a standard tool in the creative pipeline—much like CGI and digital editing once were.
What excites me most is the idea of real creative control—right now, AI tools still have a degree of randomness, but once we can direct AI outputs with frame-by-frame precision, the possibilities will be endless. AI isn’t replacing creativity—it’s expanding it..
Please feel free to share any work you have done since your win last year or any exciting announcements for the upcoming year!
Paola Rocchetti: Since my win last year, I’ve continued pushing my AI filmmaking experiments further, blending AI tools with traditional workflows to explore new storytelling possibilities.
Two recent projects:
Relatively Disconnected – A short film selected as an Elite Eight finalist at the Culver Cup AI Film Competition. It critiques our obsession with smartphones through a surreal, AI-generated lens.
Watch more here: https://paolarocchetti.com/relatively-disconnected
BAITLJC – Featured in SHOWstudio’s Fashion Film Showcase: Digital Reality 2024, this piece plays with avant-garde aesthetics, AI-generated fashion, and experimental animation.
Watch more here: https://paolarocchetti.com/baitljc
For the upcoming year, I’m excited to continue integrating AI into commercial and creative projects, testing new tools, and refining AI-driven workflows. There’s a lot in the works—looking forward to sharing more soon.
Shinigami Eyes – an exploration of AI capabilities, going seamlessly from frame to frame using only video generation, and Luma AI handled it impressively well! The AI hallucinations? Well, they’re all part of the fun in this one.
“AND, OR, or NOT” Exhibition participation – Vienna, opening June 26 2025
For the upcoming year, I’m excited to continue integrating AI into commercial and creative projects, testing new tools, and refining AI-driven workflows. There’s a lot in the works—looking forward to sharing more soon
コメント