Experiments with AI: Khyati Trehan

Khyati Trehan, a New York-based graphic designer and 3D visual artist, had settled on a vintage kitchen as the backdrop for her sister Kavya’s music video. The song, titled Affection, is a dreamy, romantic number and Trehan was looking to balance a nostalgic warmth with surrealism. “I was thinking of a cozy setting complete with chintz, cakes and flowers,” she says. 

She began by crafting specific prompts for Photoshop’s generative AI tool. These included “vintage kitchen,” “warm lighting,” “filled with cakes,” and “romantic ambiance.” 

The AI instantly generated multiple background options. Each variation captured a different aspect of Trehan’s vision, with subtle changes in color palettes, lighting, furniture and decor. 

“It was overwhelming,” says the designer. “How do you decide where to stop, when the possibilities are infinite and so easily within reach?”

The Ping-Pong Process

Through her many experiments, Trehan has discovered a ping-pong process that works best for her. 

“From lots of dabbling, I’ve come to realise that creative AI tools don’t make me feel creative. The text-to-image model takes the joy out of making for me. It takes spending time on a piece, marinating on ideas, sleeping over it, making mistakes, solving them, and tons of iteration to take it to a place where it reflects me just as much as it surprises me. 

My workaround to settle this feeling has been to deliberately make a ‘back and forth’ between traditional tools and AI tools a part of the process, which makes for interesting workflow possibilities. This ping ponging makes a tool out of a ‘generate’ button. It’s also just really fun to play a game of exquisite corpse with GenAI instead of treating it as a means to an end.’ 

Khyati Trehan

With the music video, for instance, Trehan used masking techniques to overlay elements of the live-action footage she had shot earlier. (All the original footage was shot either on an empty roof or in front of a blank wall.)

Trehan then used Runway’s motion brush tool to add touches like making the flowers in a vase bloom.

For the title design, Trehan tried an animation, but then stuck to a classic type-based title overlaid on the film.

In the Hands of Creatives

Trehan’s experiment offers a glimpse into what is possible with very limited resources – a world where Generative AI technology enables artistic expression that would otherwise take substantial production effort. However, this is far from a world that does not need a creative community. Trehan points out that while access to AI tools may well add to the sea of mediocre content, you still need vision, storytelling and craft to create something that can emotionally engage an audience.

In fact, creators must now play an added role as tastemakers, guiding these tools with a firm vision to extract meaningful results. No surprise then that Runway hosts a film-festival called AIFF every year, where the work of artists embracing new and emerging AI tech is showcased. The company also runs a Creative Partners Program which gives filmmakers and artists early access to tool features and creative resources.

Other platforms are following a similar strategy. When OpenAI launched Sora, their generative video platform, they asked filmmakers to take it for a test drive. The result was fun – and fairly polished – films like Airhead, made by Toronto-based pop band and filmmaking collective, Shy Kids.

“It is only when a tool is put into the hands of talented creatives,” says Trehan, “that its full potential is realised. That’s why for my next AI movie-making experiment, I hope to collaborate with an experienced film-maker.”