I got the privilege to create and direct a short film at EDGLRD based on an idea by filmmaker Harmony Korine. Early conversations at the studio focused on games and ways to use game logic to disrupt conventional film language. We used emerging AI tools and realtime rendering to explore that intersection. Harmony and creative director Joao Rosa brought me an initial concept rooted in Miami street racing, with bright lights, dense crowds, and a high energy atmosphere. Unreal Engine was the natural choice to fuse game logic with cinema at 30 frames per second.
The structure of the film was important from the beginning. I drew inspiration from a Burnout Paradise teaser I saw when I was younger, particularly its shift from controlled city imagery into sudden, aggressive motion. That contrast became a reference point for the edit. I shared it with the team and used it to shape the first cut.
The film opens on a dark urban environment with a crowd gathered in anticipation. Using Unreal’s AI systems, I directed the crowd behavior to feel responsive and grounded, with varied animation and pointing them at the action. A diffusion based visual element then moves through the frame and transitions the film into a duel between two racers. That first version became street_v01. It established the visual language and the team liked it, but it was clear the concept needed another layer.
One of Harmony’s recurring ideas in the studio was “leprechauns versus the yakuza.” What initially sounded abstract became the concept that gave the piece its identity. The two racers evolved into a leprechaun woman and a yakuza man. I reworked the city around that contrast, using neon red for the city and green for the weather with respective rainbows and katanas. That revision gave the film a clearer point of view and made the confrontation feel more purposeful.
I kept pushing the visuals. 30fps on twos that goes to 60fps when the moment needed it. Unreal can handle nearly unlimited pawns if optimized correctly, so I built the crowd as dense in the streets as possible. I refined the diffusion pass so it remained controlled within the highlights without overwhelming the image. That balance helped preserve clarity and made the stylization feel intentional rather than arbitrary. Also I added grain and details that bloom in the bright parts while the darkness stays crisp, a trick I learned from watching old film. Around me, the team developed new systems for smoke, physics, liquids, particles, and paint, which I integrated into the final piece. The final image looked a cousin of spider-verse but with its own Miami EDGLRD style. This version became street_v02.
The finished short achieved the result we were aiming for. Harmony later developed the concept further with Drain Gang, with Bladee and Yung Lean bringing their own direction to the project. It ultimately evolved into a music video built on the same foundation. EDGLRD and Boiler Room presented it in Miami during Art Basel, where it was well received and covered by the press.
What I value most about the project is its execution. We used game logic to shape narrative structure, built crowd behavior, and combined realtime rendering with AI driven techniques to create something that felt distinct from conventional animation or live action. It was an opportunity to test a new visual language and carry it through from concept to final delivery.
JOSEPH CONOVER 