Hyping Up Kai Cenat Fans for Sekiro Marathon Stream

Celebrity streamer Kai Cenat has recently been streaming video game marathons – playing a game non-stop until he completes it – to his over 10 million followers on the streaming platform Twitch. He has been making his way through the catalogue of Japanese game developer FromSoftware, known for its extremely difficult and immersive titles, including ‘Dark Souls’ and ‘Bloodborne’.

This weekend, Kai took on ‘Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice’, FromSoftware’s deviously challenging shinobi action-adventure game, streaming for 46 hours until its completion. But to promote the much-anticipated stream beforehand, the streamer partnered with Black Screen Productions and creative agency No Face Studio to create a cinematic trailer befitting of his challenge ahead.

Directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker, Zen Pace, the visceral, high-octane trailer takes inspiration from ‘Kill Bill’, ‘Sin City’ and samurai media tropes, building hype for the marathon and capturing the beasts and blood of the game’s mythical feudal Japan setting.

From putting Kai in a harness for ‘Crouching Tiger’-esque flying sword fights to replicating the horror of unbeatable bosses, the director, Zen Pace, and director of photography, Gaul Porat, tell LBB how they brought the trailer to life.

LBB> How did this project come about? What was your reaction to learning about Kai Cenat and his content?

Zen> It all started with a phone call from producer Henry Wolf at Black Screen Productions. He opened with, ‘Sooo, you wanna turn Kai Cenat into a ninja?’. Naturally, I said yes! The more I learned about Kai, the more fascinated I became with the world of gaming. I hadn’t fully realised just how massive Twitch gaming is. 

What’s really cool is that Kai and the team at Black Screen are creating these cinematic promos that function almost like commercials for his streams. Founder/EP Michael Daniel, professionally known as director Prime, has crafted his own little niche world at his production company, which just shows how this industry is always evolving. And then you have Kai who is the only streamer making these cinematic trailers, something entirely his own. That uniqueness excited me.

LBB> How was the experience of directing Kai on set? 

Zen> Working with someone who has become such a prominent figure is always intriguing – you never know quite what to expect. But Kai was great, professional. At his core, he just wants to have fun, create good content and keep his fans engaged. His commitment to continually levelling up is really inspiring; it’s the growth mindset of an entrepreneur. I’m pretty sure he finished a massive marathon stream just six hours before our shoot – that’s wild!

LBB> You grew up a gamer – what were some of your influences for this film? Did you have to play ‘Sekiro’ yourself?

Zen> I did play ‘Sekiro’! I was excited because I’ve been obsessed with ninjas since I was a kid. But my god, that game is HARD. It’s unlike so many others in that you don’t level up – you simply have to get better. As a gamer, I felt at home in this world, so I incorporated some Easter eggs. For example, the voiceover is done by Lenval Brown, the narrator from [detective role playing game] ‘Disco Elysium’, and elements from Sekiro’s bosses influenced the visuals. The writing of the voiceover itself was also inspired by the game.

LBB> The promo has a cinematic quality – what tools and techniques helped you and DP Gaul Porat achieve this?

Zen> As is often the case in film, we had budget constraints. Gaul and I discussed what would give us the speed we needed while ensuring we could cover the scenes fully. We ended up using an Angénieux zoom lens, which gave us these crisp snap moments from the lens. 

Gaul> Zen presented me with a wish list of scenes they wanted to create for this one-day shoot, and I loved all of them. But how could we possibly create all of this in that time? Pre-lighting multiple sets, sword fight choreography, rigging for stunt wirework, Steadicam, dolly – all on one camera with a very limited budget for gear. We decided to put more of our eggs in the basket of having more time to light and block our scenes, rather than relying on the perfect lens for every shot. It’s a compromise, but an intentional one.

In that sense, the Angénieux EZ1 lens (30-90mm T2) was the perfect choice for us. We thought for some accent moments we’d want a more intense close-up than a 90mm could get us, so we tacked on a 135 Canon FD lens, which we used for two of the shots.

Zen> The cinematic quality also comes from the amount of prep we put into it. I worked with an incredible storyboard artist, and having that level of detail in place really set the tone for the entire crew. It provided a North Star, though we still allowed room for flexibility on set. I’ve come to realise the power of preparation - it’s like the saying, ‘You can’t break the rules until you know them’. Every project demands its own set of rules, visual language and understanding, whether it’s a narrative film or a 30-second commercial.

LBB> Who did you collaborate with on the ‘Sekiro’-inspired set and prop designs? 

Zen> This part was fun because we needed massive shoji screens and, as it turns out, you can’t just buy those online! Two days before the shoot, I called Luke Polihrom, the one fabricator I know, and thank the Greek gods, he said he could do it. The day before the shoot, Luke was building a massive set of shoji screens by hand, solo. That’s the level of excitement we creatives get when a project like this comes along. 

For the overall set and props, Illana Portney did a fantastic job. She took us into that dojo world, reminiscent of ‘Kill Bill’, but with a more refined feel that gave it its own personality. She also created a dirt mound full of tar, which was wild – her team piled all that dirt into a mound with only an hour and a half left in the day!

LBB> As well as the ‘Kill Bill’ silhouette sequences, there's a ‘Crouching Tiger’-style flying sword duel near the end – what went into creating those visuals? How much was captured in-camera versus in post?

Zen> The silhouette shots were all practical, and I’m so happy you mentioned ‘Crouching Tiger[, Hidden Dragon]’! I wasn’t consciously thinking about it at the time, but it’s one of my favourite movies, so I think my inner child was saying, ‘Do it. Make them fly’. Our VFX supervisor, Rickard, came to set, and the biggest challenge was that our blue screen needed to be even bigger for the epic shots we were aiming for. Harness work is also tough, as it’s not the most comfortable experience for the actors, but Kai was a champ. The stunt coordinator did a great job making everyone feel both comfortable and empowered. 

The nod to ‘Kill Bill’ is also mixed with ‘Sin City’ vibes, as we went for that black-and-white look with just a hint of red blood, inspired by ‘Blue Eye Samurai’.

LBB> The person covered in oil is particularly frightening! How did you communicate the difficulty and fear factor of ‘Sekiro’?

Zen> There are a lot of creepy bosses in ‘Sekiro’, but I wanted to personify the fear we feel when we want to give up during a challenging video game. That moment when it feels like too much, and you just want to run away. Kai touching the controller earlier in the promo pulls us into this world, and the build-up culminates in that horror we gamers experience when facing seemingly unbeatable bosses.

LBB> What is your favourite shot from the production and why? What was the hardest challenge, and how did you overcome it?

Zen> The silhouetted blazing sun shot is my favourite. Four years ago, I started in non-profit work, watching directors tackle these massive sets with brilliant VFX, and when this opportunity came my way, I knew I wanted to create the kind of shots I’d always dreamed about as a gamer - shots that would hype up Kai’s audience. Judging by the YouTube comments, it worked. That shot was also the most challenging because of the time it required and the stunt prep involved. 

However, the biggest challenge overall came in post-production. I initially envisioned the piece being slower, with more moments to linger in this world, but that approach felt inauthentic to what the piece wanted to be. So our editor Will Mayo cut it down. The reason this was hard is that, for me, what I’m realising in my journey as a director is that sometimes you have to push a project to become the best it can be. You have to speak up. And that can be scary because you don’t want to piss people off. I think in my early days, I would have just accepted something, even when I wanted more from a moment. But I’m learning to trust my gut more.

Will allowed me the space to gracefully explore that. It felt safe. You want that with your editor. I shared references with him and conveyed the emotions I wanted the audience to feel, and we took it from this slow-paced thing to what it ultimately is now.