Students from the inaugural cohort of the Master of Arts (MA) in Arts and Machine Creativity program at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have created an AI-generated promotional film and thematic promotional poster for the Keep Running XR project, continuing AMC’s collaboration with Zhejiang Satellite TV Digital Human Studio and China Mobile (Zhejiang) Innovation Research Institute.
The collaboration builds on the AI + XR Large-Space Project previously presented at AMC’s second Cross-Campus Exhibition, Symbiotic Signals: Entangled Perceptions and Algorithms, held alongside SIGGRAPH Asia 2025. Through this continued industry collaboration, AMC students further explored the application of generative AI in audiovisual storytelling, visual communication and immersive entertainment.
Bringing Keep Running into an AI-Generated Virtual World
The promotional film was created by Shiqin HOU, Yichao XU, Yixuan LUO, Jiayan CHEN, Kedi DONG and Haoyu DU, under the guidance of Prof. Anyi RAO, Assistant Professor of AMC. Working with the project’s promotional brief, the students used AI-generated content (AIGC) to reinterpret familiar elements of Keep Running through a first-person audiovisual narrative.
The film begins in a domestic setting, where Zhejiang Satellite TV’s virtual presenter Gu Xiaoyu invites viewers to enter a series of virtual worlds through a television screen. The journey features challenges inspired by Keep Running, including an approaching-wall obstacle course, water-ball dodging, name-tag battles and ejector chairs. Through first-person imagery, sound and transitions, the film presents the experience of stepping into the program and participating in its games.
Showcased in Hangzhou and Hong Kong
The students’ AI-generated film was screened on 23 September 2026 at a digital culture industry exchange event held at the Hangzhou Grand Convention and Exhibition Center as part of the fifth Global Digital Trade Expo. The event featured the project developed by Zhejiang Satellite TV and China Mobile (Zhejiang) Innovation Research Institute, bringing together AI, variety-show content and large-space XR entertainment. The project was also featured in Zhejiang Satellite TV’s Zhejiang Xinwen Lianbo in a report on digital culture reaching overseas audiences.
The collaboration was subsequently showcased in Hong Kong at the Huafu Carnival (華服嘉年華・天宮奇遇記), held at the Hung Hom waterfront from 25 September to 3 October 2026. The thematic promotional poster created by the AMC student team was displayed alongside related project materials, introducing the Keep Running XR experience to a wider public audience.
Extending Learning through Industry Collaboration
Through the project, AMC students applied their interdisciplinary learning in generative AI, audiovisual storytelling and visual design to an industry creative brief. Building on the collaboration first presented through the Cross-Campus Exhibition, the project provided another opportunity for students to connect academic learning and creative experimentation with practical industry applications.
AMC looks forward to continuing its exchange and collaboration with Zhejiang Satellite TV Digital Human Studio and exploring further possibilities at the intersection of art, AI and emerging technologies.
