Creative Direction with AI: Behind the Scenes of Signal 001

NNZN was born exactly during the period we produced Signal 001. From NNNN we became NNZN, and started working on logos, fonts, colors, image style. A beautiful period, and not by chance: Signal is the first video I wrote a real script for.

The name is a mistake, on purpose

The Z in NNZN is a flipped N, and it sums up how we work. We like mistakes: not everything has to be perfect, hyper-realistic, spotless, and an image that is too clean often says nothing. In Signal 001 this idea becomes the plot: the story begins with an error made by the algorithm, not by a person.

The plot: a mistake that breaks perfection

Signal 001 is set in a desert city split in two. On one side an elite that can work, worship nature and breathe clean air; on the other a mass of identical people, all dressed the same, who may do nothing that others haven't decided for them. An artificial intelligence predicts their behaviour with 100% accuracy. Then something breaks: an error in the algorithm drops predictability to 99%, and in that margin Null, our character, wakes up.

Sound matters as much as image

Sound is one of the parts we talk about the least, but it's essential. In Signal 001 the contrast between the two worlds also runs through the music: the elite's world has the elegance of a classical piano, light arias; Null's awakening has a tight, almost military rhythm, made of footsteps and drums. The same scene, with a different soundtrack, says something completely different.

Real tools, no filters

For the images we started with Midjourney, with upscaling passes on Freepik. We tried Flux Context Max when it came out and then dropped it. For the clips we moved from Kling 2.0 to Kling 2.1 Master. The VFX work for the CCTV and glitch look took as long as the generated images.

My videos start, get to 70%, and then start over from zero, because something stops convincing me. It happens nine times out of ten.

What didn't work

We rarely say this, but it's the most useful part for anyone working with AI. The chase between two characters was meant to be the centre of the video, and we couldn't make it with the tools of the time: scenes with several people running together never worked, and the ending was cut. This happens often when the technology is still behind the idea.

Why we're telling you this

In 2026, creative direction with AI means knowing exactly what you want to tell before you open any tool, and having the patience to start again when the result doesn't serve the story. Picking the newest model matters very little. Signal 001 exists because there was an idea first: the mistake as a value.

If you want to learn this method, you'll find the full course in NNZN Academy. If you need this kind of creative direction for your company, let's talk about it on the

corporate videos and commercials page.