Xukun’s music video represents a coming of age story in two different cultures. We really wanted to capture the dichotomy of ancient Chinese and the 21st culture shaping the lives of Chinese people. We see his journey in a modern day palace, which displays the new culture and wealth. Then he steps into a classical Chinese painting and passes through the hallmarks of Chinese figures and history. The main goal was to make everything aesthetically pleasing with traditional makeup and outfits. He walks through the countryside on his way to the sea, he passes by gorgeous ladies and landscapes ignoring them both driven to find his self. It can be hard for anyone escaping the safety of home to find a new adventure. Through the sea to a major metropolis, it is confusing and scary. And he feels trapped but he breaks through the box and becomes his true self.

The themes of the cultural journey of Caikun are not specifically Chinese, there are universal themes that all of humanity faces, finding your identity and voice and breaking through the challenges. The only thing an international jury may not understand is notion of being stuck in the middle. Chinese have the view that if you are not close to victory it is better to lose and save face and not press on. The society discourages from daring to go along. This has an adverse effect and discourages people from totally pursuing a dream even though it looks like it might fail. Kun fights his way through the history and the sea to pursue his dream even if he has to go it alone. Caikun's fighting and finding his identity is even more challenging and daring in the Chinese culture.

The idea was a collaboration effort between Cai and the Los Angeles team. We wanted to tell the story of Cai to international recognition. The story and idea is about finding the creative voice and identity amongst two major cultures representing Kun East and West. The Chinese paintings are powerful images representing Cai Xukun’s cultural and historical ties to the awesome cultural dimensionality of Chinese artists. We needed to show him breaking through the traditional mode into the 21st century. Everyone goes through the journey of identity but not everyone finds their true self. This led to the idea of the ocean and the jellyfish. Cai Xukun goes through the ocean amongst jellyfish, which became the metaphor to show him fighting against the current and challenges to reach self-actualization. He enters the city and then a boxed environment and eventually breaks through to achieve his strength.