Princeton Perez Owns His Next Era

Princeton Perez has lived several creative lives already, but this moment feels like the one he has been working toward all along. Known first to the world as a member of the multi platinum boy band Mindless Behavior, he grew up in front of cameras, stages, and millions of fans. Now, as an independent artist stepping fully into his own lane, Princeton is shaping a future that reflects his voice, his vision, and the artist he has become.

His new EP “Lost In A Daze” marks a clear turning point. It’s lean, intentional, and emotionally honest, showcasing a maturity that can only come from someone who has experienced the full arc of the industry: early fame, reinvention, and the courage to begin again on his own terms. Each track pulses with a confidence that feels earned rather than manufactured.

Today, he surprised fans with the release of a performance video for “All To Myself,” one of the project’s most striking songs.

This is only the beginning. Princeton just recently began working with director William Sikora on multiple visuals, constructing a cinematic world that matches the EP’s emotional depth and sleek production. 

“His vision was very clear and I understood exactly what he wanted, while adding my own cinematic touch to things, we were able to make some magic and I really think our first project together shines beautifully. We have some exciting stuff creatively in the works.” Sikora said.

For someone who entered the public eye so young, reinvention can feel risky. But Princeton Perez isn’t interested in looking back. Mindless Behavior was a chapter he honors, but this EP makes it clear he’s writing the next one with his own pen. This moment is about ownership, evolution, and the quiet power of choosing your path.

Princeton Perez isn’t simply releasing new work. He’s revealing who he truly is as an artist, and this EP and new video for “All To Myself” is the first signal flare of what’s still to come.” 

Coca-Cola Holidays Commercial Arrives

Coca-Cola has redefined its holiday legacy for a new generation, unveiling a breathtaking new campaign produced by Los Angeles–based studio Secret Level. Under the direction of Jason Zada and creative leadership of Tony Stern, the spot fuses cinematic artistry with generative AI to reimagine the brand’s iconic “Holidays Are Coming” universe.

Serving as Lead Artist, William Sikora III helped shape the emotional and visual core of the project, crafting the look and design of the world’s animal characters — from their fur texture and facial structure to the tiniest details down to the whisker. Each creature was carefully developed to feel alive, expressive, and cinematic, carrying the warmth and wonder that define Coca-Cola’s holiday storytelling.

This year’s Coca-Cola holiday campaign marks one of the brand’s most ambitious creative undertakings yet. Working closely with Coca-Cola’s global marketing team, Secret Level developed a production pipeline that merges human creativity with AI-assisted design, accelerating the process without sacrificing the artistry that defines the brand’s legacy.

“Last year people criticized the craftsmanship. But this year the craftsmanship is ten times better,” Pratik Thakar, global vp and head of generative AI at Coca-Cola, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “There will be people who criticize — we cannot keep everyone 100 percent happy,” he adds. “But if the majority of consumers see it in a positive way it’s worth going forward.”

In a culture where Hollywood creators worry about an AI takeover while a video-watching citizenry braces itself for a wave of synthetic media from Sora 2 and others, an AI commercial at this level is no small thing. Coca-Cola is one of the world’s most dominant brands and the holidays one of Madison Avenue’s sacred human spaces. The unleashing of a spot by the former into the space of the latter could prove a litmus test for consumers’ appetite for AI video — while also, perhaps, further normalizing its consumption. – Hollywood Reporter

“This was my first project with Secret Level and I wanted to put everything into it. Coca-Cola itself, is such a global brand that is loved by millions and I really wanted my characters to bring that sense of joy that Coke brings. I was extremely involved in making sure every artist on the team kept that vision intact, our core team put in a ton of work and I am really proud how it came out. I love that Coca-Cola is not afraid to use new technology to tell a story, that’s something that I have always embraced as an artist. I like to call myself ‘classically trained’ because I have done all this before AI, it’s just now with a new tool that empowers my imagination even further. Tony trusted my skillset and gave me the freedom to explore and push ideas further than most studios would. That kind of trust brings out your best work. We weren’t just typing sentences, this was a huge effort in my mind, figuring out workarounds for road bumps, drawing characters, figuring out moods and matching styles. We utilized a bunch of different programs and AI models to make this possible, then when we finished that, the VFX team went in and did color grading, clean up and more! It was a full production.” Sikora said.

New Short Film Revealed

This holiday season, step into the world of Little Paw. From director William Sikora III, comes the animated short film about a bear cub on an adventure.

“I’ve always loved animated animal stories and this one is will feel special. Ever since I was a kid, I was inspired by Disney movies, the music, the characters, the story, all of it really shaped my childhood as a little creative.” The director said. 

Little Paw will be the studio’s first 2D animated film created with the support of AI. While rooted in traditional drawings, character design, and world-building, the film will also harness AI as a powerful tool to enhance and streamline production.

“As a creative, I’ve always used whatever tools I could find to help tell the stories I want to tell. I’ve made plenty of animated films before in the past utilizing tools that weren’t even for animation, I spent hours and hours playing Mario Paint, hooking the Super Nintendo up to my mixer which could serve as a blue screen removal. From there I would shoot my own backplates and create ‘Roger Rabbit’ style movies as well as fully animated movies like The Patriarch. After that, I started using photo editors to make my gifs and worlds. The Legend of Shunra I am still extremely proud of, that was a massive undertaking and was around 25 minutes long.” Sikora continued.

Surface was the first animated short that debuted earlier this year.,

Surface explores life in the deep ocean through the story of Lumi, an anglerfish navigating a lonely world. The project combines traditional storytelling with AI-assisted visuals, using the technology as a tool to help design environments, creatures, and cinematic sequences.

Little Paw will feature a 2D animation style with organic painted worlds and characters you will fall in love with. The film is set to premiere early Winter 2026.

Finding The Light

When an anglerfish—one of the ocean’s most mysterious creatures—was discovered unexpectedly surfacing from the deep, it sparked the idea for Surface. Inspired by this rare phenomenon, filmmaker William Sikora III set out to craft an emotional, visually stunning animated short that blends technology, artistry, and storytelling. In this interview, he shares the creative journey behind Surface, the challenges of bringing Lumi’s world to life, and his thoughts on the evolving role of AI in filmmaking.

What inspired you to tell this story about an anglerfish? Is there a real-life connection or something symbolic about this creature?

When the world heard the news of this fish that lives on the bottom of the ocean in complete darkness 24/7 traveled to the surface for whatever reason it immediately sparked ideas in my head. Why did the anglerfish swim up? Sources stated different reasons but I wanted to go with something that was gonna be inspiring.

The visuals in Surface look stunning. What was your approach to designing the underwater world and the anglerfish itself?

I wanted to create a void of loneliness visually, the beginning is so empty and Lumi is alone, it feels desolate. When Lumi discovers the world above, it’s vivid and alive, there is so much to see. Also, with the character, he looks very dark and his colors become more saturated as he rises.

You used Midjourney, the full Adobe Suite, and Kling AI. How did these tools shape your creative process?

I am a lover of technology and advancing my craft, so I am always on the lookout for what’s new out there. Midjourney is an incredibly powerful image creation tool, it helped bring my imagination to life with the world. After creating images, they would then have to be animated and I used Kling for that. The process of combining all of these tools was a lot of work. The anti-AI folk out there think it’s a single click effort but this took over 50 hours of work, lots of layering and After Effects work to combine stuff, add overlay elements and so much more, it was a huge undertaking that I honestly didn’t anticipate but am really happy with the final product, I challenged myself. I definitely have a lot to say about the anti-AI movement. There is so much that goes into a short like this. Who is directing it? Who is coming up with the creative ideas? Who is writing it? Who is editing? AI is a tool not the sole creator of something. As you may know, I have done lots of animation in the past, all by hand. This film still utilized the same skills I used before. There are shots here that are pretty much all After Effects, a very tedious program that doesn’t even use AI. Overall, the combination really helped bring my imagination to life and that’s all that matters to me as an artist.

What were the biggest technical challenges in animating the film?

I think it’s obvious, the AI tools are in their infancy. We are a ‘caveman era’ in AI filmmaking. There were many limitations I came across but I understood that and had to workaround a lot of things to try and make it work. I know the results aren’t perfect but that wasn’t the point. I can’t wait to look back at this film in 5 years and see the growth as an artist. I had countless outputs that were 100% unusable, Lumi would go crazy on screen and look warped out; it is a skill in itself to be able to wrangle the AI and have it work in your favor. I’ve seen a lot of what they call “AI slop” and I wanted to make something that didn’t feel like that. I wanted audiences to focus on the story and the emotion of the character. Story will always be first. Stories have been told in so many different forms, AI is just another and it will only get better in time.

Emotion seems to be a core element of the film. What message or feeling do you want the audience to take away?

I want them to feel what Lumi felt, we all live in the same world and growing up we try to find where we fit in, what makes us happy. We all have goals, we all want to have friends and feel welcomed; this story reflects that desire in Lumi. The movie poster says ‘find your light’ and that message is for everyone, this isn’t a kiddy film, I believe any age can relate. That’s something I’ve always set out to capture in my work.

What was the most rewarding part of making this short?

Sticking with it! You wouldn’t believe how many bad outputs I had to go through, even in it’s near final form, I learned some new workarounds to make the character more consistent, I ended up redoing 70% of the characters shots in the final day of production. Previously, those shots took me 20+ hours to do and a lot of money. Working out ways to bring my ideas to life is so rewarding. I have an even bigger film I have been working on that is over 10 minutes long, it’s epic. Everything I learned here with “Surface” is going to help me now jumping back into production of this new film and I can’t wait to share!

The Disease of AI

AI is often seen as a “disease” in the creative world, raising fears that it could one day replace human-driven art. But at Sikora Entertainment, we see AI as a tool to enhance our creativity rather than a threat. We use it for fast visualizations, background textures, and even rough concept designs, which helps us build ideas and experiment with different possibilities quickly. Human art will always be.

Instead of taking over, AI frees us from repetitive, technical tasks, allowing the focus to be on the human-centered storytelling and emotional impact that bring our work to life. This approach creates a balance where AI takes on supportive tasks, while our team injects the vision and originality that make each project unique. It’s about using AI to expand what’s possible in filmmaking, not to replace our roles.

By treating AI as a collaborator, not a competitor, we’re able to push creative boundaries and explore fresh possibilities in storytelling. Rather than fearing the future, we’re using AI to inspire it.

“It’s all in how we use it: AI can fuel our art just as much as it challenges it.  I hope you enjoy this little work of art I call DISEAISE.”

On The Set Raiding Tombs

Go behind the scenes on the set of TOMB RAIDER: BORN OF GOLD and see how it was made.  Director and star William Sikora III takes it to the next level in this dirty, sweaty, exhausting adventure. You can watch the full film here.

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Behind The Scenes with Brandy

William Sikora III and Brandy Norwood

Go behind the scenes on the set of Brandy “Christmas Party for Two” with directors William Sikora III and Frank Gatson Jr. to see how the music video was made. “We really loved the classic, black and white aesthitic and Brandy mentioned it as well early in pre-production; we were all aligned on the vision.” Sikora said.

The music video features model Sean 

William Sikora III and Brandy Norwood Music video
William Sikora III and Brandy Norwood

Lighting Up Times Square

Times Square lights up with the release of Brandy’s “This Christmas” album. Sikora who worked on the photography for the entire album era said in a post on X: “I used to go to the McDonalds on 42nd St to get my $1 Chicken fajitas and a Butterfinger McFlurry, it was a cheap meal. Now, years later, my work is on massive screens in Times Square. Sheesh, I’ve come a long way, yet nothing has changed cuz I miss those dollar fajitas and Butterfinger McFlurries so much!”

Amazon Music and Pandora both featured towering images of Brandy promoting the release of her album.

Capturing ‘Christmas with Brandy’

Go behind the scenes with Sikora on his latest shoot with Grammy Award winning singer, Brandy for her new album, “Christmas with Brandy”.

Working alongside Frank Gatson Jr. bringing the creative vision to life, Sikora set out to create a timeless image for the album art. “We really wanted something that was going to feel forever, we avoided that cliche jingle jolly vibe because we knew her album was going to be a different approach to Christmas music.” Sikora said. 

The album released on November 10 and features six original songs and six classics reimagined like no one else could do. 

Go Behind The Scenes on FIERCE

Go behind the scenes on the music video FIERCE by Ultra Nate, Angelica Ross and Mila Jam. Directors Frank Gatson Jr. and William Sikora III set out to create an epic, eye popping visual for the song, taking viewers into Fierce HQ to find the fiercest people in the world.