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Jeff Synthesized

AI filmmaker · TV director · Future Vision XPRIZE winner

Jeff Synthesized aka Jeff T. Thomas

The TV director from South Wales who won the 2026 Future Vision XPRIZE with The Gifted, an AI trailer he developed on his own[3].

YouTubeXInstagramNeoCinemaBlurred HorizonJeff T. Thomas, directorXPRIZE creator page

Live stats

YouTube subscribers
59.9K[5]
YouTube views, Shorts included
2.15M[5][43]
on Blurred Horizon Ep 6, his most watched film on YouTube
662K[23]
views on X for the flying Roadster chase
347K[15]

As of 31 October 2026 · YouTube figures refreshed weekly

01The short answer

Who is Jeff Synthesized?

Jeff Synthesized is the online name of Jeff T. Thomas, a Los Angeles TV director and executive producer from South Wales who makes AI films under the NeoCinema banner[6][8][9]. His AI trailer The Gifted won the Future Vision XPRIZE Grand Prize on 25 September 2026: $100,000 for the screenplay and a $2.5 million investment to make it as a feature, plus first place and $50,000 in the Audience Choice Award[1][2][3]. His NeoCinema anthology Blurred Horizon has passed 1.2 million YouTube views[18][19][23].

Real name
Jeff T. Thomas, which he uses publicly[6][8]
Known for
The Gifted, Blurred Horizon, Newton's Cradle, the flying Roadster chase[4][5]
Big win
Future Vision XPRIZE Grand Prize and Audience Choice Award, 25 September 2026[1][2]
Studio
NeoCinema, the AI film studio his films are released under[7][8]
Based in
Los Angeles; originally from South Wales, then London[6][9]
TV directing
FUBAR (Netflix), House of David (Prime Video), Wayward Pines, The Assets[11][12][13][14]
On AI LIVE
Four films on the weekly show since April 2026[30][31][32][33]

Page updated 31 October 2026 · 49 sources

02On AI LIVE

Jeff on AI LIVE

His films have been on the weekly show four times since April 2026, from the Gargantua launch film to the Roadster chase. He has not yet been a Creator Sessions guest, but The Gifted came up again on Karim Youssef's session, a fellow XPRIZE entrant[34].

4pieces reviewed live
89average audience score out of 100, from 2 voted pieces
14 Apr 2026first on the show, Ep. 117

Work reviewed on the weekly show

03Career timeline

From UK music videos to the XPRIZE stage

  1. Age 21

    UK music videos

    Starts directing music videos, the youngest of the UK's new wave of directors, by his bio; more than 100 follow[9].[9]

  2. 2 January 2014

    The Assets

    Directs the pilot and second episode of ABC's Cold War drama[14].[14]

  3. 25 June 2015

    Wayward Pines

    Directs in season one, then again in season two[13][9].[13][9]

  4. 28 June 2023

    First AI upload

    First AI upload

    A full AI music video for a Radiohead track, weeks after he joins X as @JeffSynthesized[28][6].[28][6]

  5. 2 September 2024

    THE PAPERCLIP MAX

    THE PAPERCLIP MAX

    "Created with AI and by 1 person", with only three After Effects and CG shots[25].[25]

  6. 1 January 2025

    Newton's Cradle

    Newton's Cradle

    A dystopia where time is stolen and sold; 210,000 views[24].[24]

  7. 12 June 2025

    FUBAR season two

    Netflix releases the season, with three episodes he directed[11].[11]

  8. 19 October 2025

    House of David season two

    Two episodes he directed air on Prime Video[12].[12]

  9. 10 December 2025

    Blurred Horizon begins

    Blurred Horizon begins

    Ep 1, Expiration Day, created and written by him and starring Rosa Salazar and Ryan O'Nan[18].[18]

  10. 7 February 2026

    Mindpods

    Mindpods

    Blurred Horizon Ep 2, a virtual escape that eats its users' memories: 486,000 views[19].[19]

  11. 13 April 2026

    Gargantua, for Runway

    Gargantua, for Runway

    His film for Seedance 2.0 arriving in Runway; news on AI LIVE the next day[17][30].[17][30]

  12. 6 August 2026

    The Human Equation

    The Human Equation

    Blurred Horizon Ep 6 becomes his most watched film on YouTube, now 662,000 views[23].[23]

  13. 18 August 2026

    The Gifted

    The Gifted

    His Future Vision XPRIZE entry goes up on YouTube[4].[4]

  14. 1 September 2026

    Reviewed on AI LIVE

    Reviewed on AI LIVE

    The Gifted draws nine 1s and four 2s in the live vote on Ep 130[31].[31]

  15. 25 September 2026

    XPRIZE Grand Prize

    XPRIZE Grand Prize

    Wins $100,000 and a $2.5 million investment to make the feature, plus the $50,000 Audience Choice Award[1][2].[1][2]

  16. 20 October 2026

    Flip off Gravity

    Flip off Gravity

    The flying Roadster chase: 346,900 views on X and ten 1s on AI LIVE Ep 135[15][33].[15][33]

04Body of work

Films and series

Views, ranked

Which films people watched most

Redefine Expectations1.83M
Roadster chase755K
BH Ep 6: The Human Equation681K
BH Ep 2: Mindpods498K
Newton's Cradle237K
Redefine Reality183K
The Gifted169K
BH Ep 1: Expiration Day92.8K
Glitch37.7K
The Paperclip Max30.8K
Gargantua (X)27.8K
BH Ep 4: Echo Chamber24.8K
The Forge8.85K
Cadbury's: Variety7.66K
The Simpsons in 3D (Short)4.78K
BH Ep 3: Hate?3.96K
BH Ep 5: You're Burning Fat3.48K
Radiohead AI video1.87K

View counts combine YouTube (as of 31 October 2026) with Instagram and TikTok and X (as of 31 October 2026).

05How he did it

Inside The Gifted, the Roadster and Gargantua

The sequence that won the Future Vision XPRIZE, frame by frame, then the flying car that took off on X, and the Daumier caricature he brought to life for Runway[4][15][17].

Thirteen strangers, one text THE GIFTED1:18.50Phase 2 of 4The arrival
  1. Thirteen strangers, one text, frame 1 of 2001
  2. Thirteen strangers, one text, frame 6 of 2006
  3. Thirteen strangers, one text, frame 11 of 2011
  4. Thirteen strangers, one text, frame 15 of 2015
  5. Thirteen strangers, one text, frame 20 of 2020

The Gifted · 0:25 to 2:09

The arrivalThirteen strangers, one text

At 8.47pm, everyone with the right gift starts driving

Sent byAn AI mother, rebuilt by her son

A tree is down across Route 9 and the nearest ambulance is 40 minutes away[4]. At 8.47pm a farmer, a weightlifter, a nurse and a mechanic each read the same text, and within seconds of one another their headlights come through the rain to a crashed car. A delivery driver arrives with a defibrillator, and every signal along Route 9 turns green[4][32]. This is the sequence that won the Future Vision XPRIZE[2].

Story
Written by Jeff; the film's tools are not public[4]
Frames
Twenty stills from the YouTube upload, timecoded[4]
Score
Divinity by Heron Vale[4]
On AI LIVE
Nine 1s and four 2s on Ep 130[31]

The Gifted

The winning idea, in six lines

Everything here is from the three-minute trailer and its description[4]. The feature it pitches is now in development with Range Media Partners[1][2].

  1. 01The boy

    An 11-year-old rebuilds his dead mother from her texts, her voice and her diary[4].

  2. 028.47pm

    At 8.47pm, in the worst storm the county has seen in 40 years, cell towers across a nine-mile radius spike to full power at the same second[4].

  3. 03Thirteen strangers

    Thirteen people who have never met get the same text and arrive at a crash within seconds of one another[4][32].

  4. 04Their gifts

    Each brings exactly the skill the woman in the car needs; the text told each of them something about themselves no one ever had[4].

  5. 05The fear

    The government calls her the greatest threat it has ever seen[4].

  6. 06Why she helps

    She has never once given an order. Asked why she helps them, she answers: because that's what mothers do[4].

A Roadster that leaves the road ROADSTER0:16.00Phase 1 of 4Lift-off0.00sWheels to air
  1. A Roadster that leaves the road, frame 1 of 1401
  2. A Roadster that leaves the road, frame 4 of 1404
  3. A Roadster that leaves the road, frame 8 of 1408
  4. A Roadster that leaves the road, frame 11 of 1411
  5. A Roadster that leaves the road, frame 14 of 1414

Flip off Gravity · 0:15

The lift-offA Roadster that leaves the road

One second from wheels to sky

StarringA white Roadster, chased by NYPD

Boxed in on a Manhattan crosswalk, the car rises on four jets of white vapour, watched from the back seat of a yellow cab, and the police cruisers lift off after it[16]. Later it threads the gap between towers trailing a contrail. He made it in answer to the news of Tesla's flying Roadster, and the end card credits invideo Agent Two[33][16].

Released
20 October 2026, on X and YouTube[15][16]
Views
346,900 on X, 283,700 on Instagram and 124,000 on YouTube[15][48][16]
Made with
invideo Agent Two, per the end card[16]
On AI LIVE
Ten 1s and two 2s on Ep 135[33]
The high five ROADSTER1:15.00Phase 2 of 3The high five1.00sArms up to contact
  1. The high five, frame 1 of 1701
  2. The high five, frame 5 of 1705
  3. The high five, frame 9 of 1709
  4. The high five, frame 13 of 1713
  5. The high five, frame 17 of 1717

Flip off Gravity · 1:03

The twistThe high five

The fugitive and the cop were never human

RevealedTwo smiling robots

The chase ends in an underground car park. The Roadster and the NYPD car pull up side by side, the doors swing up, and out step two white humanoid robots, one in a POLICE vest. They raise their hands, high-five, and a glowing smile fills the screen[16]. The hosts on AI LIVE loved the details along the way, from the kid with a DeLorean to a random Batman on the loo[33].

On screen
1:03 to 1:18 of the YouTube upload[16]
The high five
Arms up to contact in about a second[16]
Title card
Flip off Gravity[16]
Frames
Seventeen stills, a quarter to one second apart[16]

Spot them

The details in an 87-second chase

On AI LIVE the hosts kept pointing at the background: a kid with a DeLorean, the last famous flying car, and Batman on the loo[33]. Here they are, with a few more, each linked to its moment in the YouTube upload[16].

The DeLorean0:19
Back seat

The DeLorean

Held by A boy in the back of a car

A toy DeLorean from Back to the Future, the last famous flying car, as Chris Branch noted[33].

Batman on the loo0:43
High-rise window

Batman on the loo

Starring Batman

Scrolling his phone as the chase passes the window; the chat called it Batman on the bog[33].

The birthday candles0:37
Apartment

The birthday candles

Interrupted A boy and his cake

He blows out the candles, then turns to the window as the vapour rolls past[16].

The bulldog in a wig0:32
Pavement

The bulldog in a wig

Blown about New Yorkers

One of a run of startled bystanders on the pavement as the jets pass[16].

The LAPD helicopter0:51
Over the expressway

The LAPD helicopter

Flown by Police air support

It skims the cabs before the Roadster dives into a tunnel a quarter mile deep[16][33].

Gargantua · for Runway

An 1831 lithograph, moving

To mark Seedance 2.0 arriving in Runway, he brought Honoré Daumier's Gargantua to life: villagers haul sacks up a ladder to feed a giant king who keeps shouting for more[17][30]. The film ends on the lithograph itself. Here it is against his wide shot of the same scene; even Daumier's signature turns up, carved into the rock[17].

Black and white lithograph of a giant seated king being fed sacks up a long ramp by a crowd
A giant man on a stone throne in a medieval square, with villagers carrying sacks up a ladder to his mouth
1831Daumier's GargantuaThe caricature that sent its artist to prison, as shown on the film's end card[35][17].
2026Seedance 2.0, in RunwayThe same throne, ladder and crowd, in daylight, at 0:22 of his film[17].

Left: the lithograph from the film's end card at 0:35, cropped to the print. Right: his frame at 0:22. Both are scaled so the throne and ladder line up[17].

NeoCinema

Blurred Horizon, episodes 1 to 6

Six near-future warnings, most of them sold on a twist, released between December 2025 and August 2026[45][18][23]. Jeff is credited as creator and writer of Ep 1, writer and director of Ep 3 and writer of Ep 4 and Ep 6; Eike Swoboda and Lion El Aton directed others[18][20][21][23].

Ep 1

10 Dec 202581.2K views

Expiration Day

Created and written by Jeff, directed by Eike Swoboda, starring Rosa Salazar and Ryan O'Nan, with a title track by Photek[18].

Ep 2

7 Feb 2026486K views

Mindpods

A virtual escape called MindPods, and its harder version Neurorush, cost users their memories and their grip on what is real[19].

Ep 3

18 May 2026921 views

Hate?

Words are banned overnight, and one citizen finds the power to defy the silence. Written and directed by Jeff, made in Seedance 2.0 via Runway[20].

Ep 4

4 Jun 202618.9K views

Echo Chamber

A warrior survives the deadliest hunt of his life, then meets something worse. Written by Jeff, directed by Eike Swoboda, powered by Kling[21].

Ep 5

16 Jul 2026587 views

You're Burning Fat

In a corporate dystopia that enforces perfect bodies, a black-market fitness device turns into a relentless AI companion[22].

The look

Gothic cities, white eyes and stolen time

Before The Gifted, his films were warnings. Newton's Cradle is set in a dystopia where time is stolen and sold, styled with Midjourney style references, and Mindpods imagines a corporately fabricated reality people pay to escape[24][19].

The Gifted turned that around on purpose: he says every other AI movie makes the machine the monster, so he wrote the opposite[4].

Newton's Cradle, 2025
One woman uncovers a system built on control; the cradle becomes a symbol of balance. 210,000 views[24].
THE PAPERCLIP MAX, 2024
A secret group allied with an AGI to save humanity learns it may have caused the apocalypse[25].
Mindpods, 2026
A virtual escape whose stronger version, Neurorush, wipes memories[19].
Glitch, 2023
An early AI animation, released as a NeoCinema production[27].

How he works

The one-person pipeline, in his own credits

He has not published the toolchain for The Gifted. This is pieced together from what he credits on his other films and what NeoCinema says he does himself[8][24][25][21][20][16].

  1. 01 Write it He writes his own films, The Gifted and four Blurred Horizon episodes among them[4][18][20][21][23]. His scripts
  2. 02 Set the look Style references for Newton's Cradle, credited to FutureTechPilot[24]. Midjourney
  3. 03 Generate shots Text and image to video, kept raw[25][21][20]. Runway, Kling, Luma, Seedance 2.0
  4. 04 Voices and faces Dialogue and performance on THE PAPERCLIP MAX[25]. ElevenLabs, HeyGen
  5. 05 Upscale and fix Magnific, and only three After Effects and CG shots[25]. Magnific, After Effects
  6. 06 Cut and grade Editing, compositing and colour grading, by NeoCinema's account[8]. Himself

Two names, one director

Jeff T. Thomas and Jeff Synthesized

He uses both names publicly: his X bio and NeoCinema's site say Jeff Synthesized, aka Jeff T. Thomas[6][8]. One is a television career; the other is the AI work.

Jeff T. ThomasTV director and producerJeff SynthesizedAI filmmaker, since 2023
StartedMusic videos in the UK at 21, by his bio[9]X account in June 2023, then his first AI uploads[6][28]
Selected creditsFUBAR, House of David, Wayward Pines, The Assets[11][12][13][14]The Gifted, Blurred Horizon, Newton's Cradle[4][18][24]
RolesDirector; Co-EP then EP on Big Sky, by his bio[9]Writer and director; creator and writer of Blurred Horizon Ep 1[18][20]
ScaleOver $200 million of television in one stretch, by his director site[9]THE PAPERCLIP MAX was made by one person[25]
Biggest resultBig Sky: 20 million viewers over 35 days, by his bio[9]Future Vision XPRIZE Grand Prize, 2026[2][3]

Where the views are

His biggest films, YouTube and X together

Blurred Horizon carries the biggest numbers on YouTube, and the Roadster chase did nearly three times as well on X as on YouTube[23][19][15][16].

The Human EquationYouTube · Blurred Horizon Ep 6 · Aug 2026662K
MindpodsYouTube · Blurred Horizon Ep 2 · Feb 2026486K
Flying Roadster chaseX · Oct 2026346.9K
Newton's CradleYouTube · Jan 2025211K
Redefine RealityYouTube · Blurred Horizon promo · Jun 2026177K
Redefine ExpectationsYouTube · Blurred Horizon promo · Aug 2026158K
Flying Roadster chaseYouTube · Oct 2026124K
The GiftedYouTube · XPRIZE winner · Aug 2026118K

YouTube figures read on 31 October 2026, X figures the same day[5][15][39][40].

On AI LIVE

What the hosts said

I definitely know this person has got good trailer experience.
Chris BranchAI LIVE Ep 130, 1 September 2026, at 58:27[31]
It reminded me more of a TV show than a film.
Andrew DavisAI LIVE Ep 130, on The Gifted, at 59:20[31]
Those two things really helped the judging actually, the fact that the trailer was so well put together and that the concept could be made into a real big film.
Chris BranchAI LIVE Ep 132, 29 September 2026, at 1:30:30[32]
I believe that one was made by Jeff Synthesized and it may have been made, I think probably almost certainly in partnership with Runway.
Chris BranchAI LIVE Ep 117, 14 April 2026, at 5:29, on Gargantua[30]
There's been loads of videos made in reaction to that Tesla Flying Roadster. But that one by Jeff was probably one of my favourites.
Chris BranchAI LIVE Ep 135, 20 October 2026, at 14:04[33]

06By the numbers

Jeff in numbers

2.15M YouTube views across his channel, Shorts included YouTube, 31 October 2026[5][43]
662K views on The Human Equation, Blurred Horizon Ep 6, his most watched film on YouTube YouTube, October 2026[23]
486K views on Mindpods, Blurred Horizon Ep 2 YouTube, October 2026[19]
346.9K views on X for the flying Roadster chase, in eleven days X, 31 October 2026[15]
5M+ views across YouTube, his 115 Instagram reels, his 19 TikTok videos and his two biggest X posts, a floor YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and X, 31 October 2026[5][46][49][15][17]
2.46M views across his 115 Instagram reels Instagram, 31 October 2026[46]
1.66M views on Instagram for Redefine Expectations, the Blurred Horizon promo, his most watched post anywhere Instagram, 31 October 2026[47]
754K views for the flying Roadster chase across X, Instagram and YouTube X, Instagram and YouTube, 31 October 2026[15][48][16]
51.2K views across his 19 TikTok videos, 46K of them on The Gifted TikTok, 31 October 2026[49]
59.9K YouTube subscribers YouTube, October 2026[5]
≈80K followers across platforms, per his XPRIZE creator page Future Vision XPRIZE[1]
2,500+ trailers and treatments entered in the XPRIZE he won GamesBeat and Google[2][3]
$2.5M equity investment to make The Gifted as a feature film GamesBeat, 28 September 2026[2][3]
$100K Grand Prize cash for developing the screenplay GamesBeat and Google[2][3]
$50K for first place in the Audience Choice Award, presented by Snap GamesBeat[2]
100+ music videos directed before US television, by his own count His director bio[9]

07Biography

The Jeff Synthesized story

From South Wales to US network drama

Jeff T. Thomas is originally from South Wales and lived in London for years before moving to the United States[9]. By his own account he started directing music videos at 21, the youngest of the UK's new wave of video directors, and went on to make more than 100 music videos and 70 commercials in 16 countries, for brands including Audi, PlayStation, Coca-Cola and Vodafone[9]. His Vodafone spot in Bucharest, he says, was the biggest commercial ever shot there[9].

He then moved into American television drama. Wikipedia credits him as director of the pilot and second episode of ABC's The Assets in 2014, and of Wayward Pines episodes in both its seasons; his own bio adds that he was the only director to shoot in both[14][13][9]. His director reel lists episodes of Fringe, Person of Interest, Designated Survivor, Vegas, Scorpion and Blindspot among others[10].

His bio describes bigger roles from there: Co-Executive Producer and director of most of the first season of Sony Crackle's The Oath, Co-Executive Producer and supervising director on all ten episodes of Tell Me a Story's second season, and Co-Executive Producer then Executive Producer and supervising director on 31 episodes of ABC's Big Sky[9]. More recently he directed three episodes of FUBAR's second season for Netflix in 2025, and two episodes of House of David's second season for Prime Video[11][12]. His agency is Paradigm[9].

Director/Producer of over half a billion USD in Entertainment. AI filmmaker.

Jeff Synthesized[6]

Jeff Synthesized

In June 2023 he opened the X account @JeffSynthesized, and the alias became the name for his AI work[6]. One of his first YouTube uploads was a full AI music video for a Radiohead track, followed that August by Glitch, a short AI animation that has 34,700 views[28][27]. In January 2024 he rebuilt the Simpsons opening in 3D AI, set to Green Day, which is still his most watched Short[29].

On 2 September 2024 came THE PAPERCLIP MAX, REIMAGINED, an AGI apocalypse he made alone. Its description reads like a manifesto: text-to-video and image-to-video kept raw, Runway, Kling, Luma, Magnific, ElevenLabs and HeyGen, and only three After Effects and CG shots[25]. NeoCinema's site later put the training behind it at three years and hundreds of hours learning every tool, and says he handles the writing, direction, editing, compositing and colour grading himself[8].

This was created with AI and by 1 person. No one in this film is real.

Jeff Synthesized[25]

Newton's Cradle followed on New Year's Day 2025: six and three-quarter minutes in a dystopia where time is stolen and sold, styled with Midjourney style references he credits to FutureTechPilot[24]. With 210,000 YouTube views it was his breakout[24]. In March 2025 he made The Forge, a samurai-cyborg music video for the drum and bass producer Photek[26].

NeoCinema and Blurred Horizon

His AI films go out under NeoCinema, which describes itself as an award-winning AI film studio founded by seasoned Hollywood professionals and backed by Google and Range Media Partners[7]. The House of David showrunner Trey Callaway appears there as his NeoCinema partner, with the former Sony Pictures distribution and production president John Weiser as Chief Business Officer and the director and composer Eike Swoboda[7][8]. NeoCinema also says Jeff worked on the AI for the first two seasons of House of David[7].

Blurred Horizon is the studio's anthology of near-future warnings, and its six episodes so far ran from December 2025 to August 2026[45][18][23]. Jeff created and wrote the first episode, Expiration Day, which credits Rosa Salazar and Ryan O'Nan as its stars, Swoboda as director, and Jeff T. Thomas and Trey Callaway as executive producers[18]. He wrote and directed Ep 3, Hate?, made with Seedance 2.0 through Runway, and wrote Ep 4 and Ep 6[20][21][23]. Mindpods (Ep 2) and The Human Equation (Ep 6) are his two most watched YouTube videos, at 486,000 and 662,000 views[19][23].

NeoCinema's site also lists more than a dozen festival honours for his films, among them Frontier Awards at the AMC and HKUST AI film festivals and Gold for Newton's Cradle at the Neuro Masters AI Film Festival, all in 2025[7]. AI LIVE has not checked those with the festivals, so they are not counted as awards on this page.

The Gifted and the XPRIZE

The Future Vision XPRIZE asked for trailers of hopeful, technology-enabled futures, and more than 2,500 trailers and treatments came in[2][3]. Jeff's entry, The Gifted, went up on YouTube on 18 August 2026[4]. An 11-year-old rebuilds his dead mother from her texts, her voice and her diary, and she wakes up in every phone in the county; at 8.47pm, in the worst storm in 40 years, thirteen strangers get a text and arrive at a crash with exactly what a dying woman needs[4]. He wrote the description as an argument with every other AI film.

The antagonist isn't the technology. It's the fear of it.

Jeff Synthesized[4]

On 25 September 2026, live at Moonshots LIVE in downtown Los Angeles, The Gifted was named the Grand Prize winner[1][2]. The prize is $100,000 in cash for screenplay development and a $2.5 million equity investment to make the feature, which Range Media Partners and Google, through its 100 Zeros initiative, will support[2][3]. It also took first place in the SPECS Audience Choice Award, presented by Snap, worth $50,000[2]. The judges included Neil deGrasse Tyson, Neal Stephenson and Rod Roddenberry, and Google's announcement describes the project as solo-developed[2][3].

Fellow finalists made up the rest of the top five: Verena Puhm's Nobody Dies on Mars was second and Hal Watmough's Slingshot fifth[2]. Adrian Daniel Botnariu's Veil of Maya was an Official Selection, and Karim Youssef entered Voyager 7[1][34]. Their trailers were reviewed on AI LIVE a week before The Gifted was[44][31].

After the prize

Four weeks after the win, on 20 October 2026, he answered the news of Tesla's flying Roadster with Flip off Gravity: a New York police chase in which the car lifts off a crosswalk, outruns NYPD and an LAPD helicopter through tunnels, and parks in a garage where driver and cop turn out to be smiling robots who high-five[16][33]. He posted it on X as "Action movies will never be the same again", where it reached 346,900 views in eleven days, and the end card credits invideo Agent Two[15][16].

Earlier in 2026 he had made the launch film for Seedance 2.0 arriving in Runway: Honoré Daumier's Gargantua, the 1831 caricature that sent its artist to prison, brought to life as a giant king who keeps demanding more[17][35]. It ends on the lithograph itself and a "Now on Runway" card[17].

08Toolkit

What Jeff makes it with

Uses: credited on a recent film. Then: credited on his 2024 one-person film. Workaround: a fix around the generators. The tools behind The Gifted have not been made public.

09In their own words

Jeff, on the record

The antagonist isn't the technology. It's the fear of it.
Jeff SynthesizedDescribing The Gifted, August 2026[4]
Every other AI movie makes the machine the monster. This is the one where she's the most loving character on screen. E.T. for the age of AI.
Jeff SynthesizedThe Gifted's description[4]
The fear was never really about the machine. It's about us.
Jeff SynthesizedThe Gifted's description[4]
This was created with AI and by 1 person. No one in this film is real.
Jeff SynthesizedTHE PAPERCLIP MAX, REIMAGINED, September 2024[25]
Action movies will never be the same again.
Jeff SynthesizedPosting the flying Roadster chase on X, October 2026[15]
Satisfy your gargantuan appetite of Seedance 2.0.
Jeff SynthesizedThe Gargantua film for Runway, April 2026[17]

10Press and awards

Jeff in the press

11Collaborators

Who Jeff works with

12Questions

Questions about Jeff

Who is Jeff Synthesized?

Jeff Synthesized is the online name of Jeff T. Thomas, a Los Angeles TV director and executive producer from South Wales who makes AI films released by NeoCinema[6][8][9]. His AI trailer The Gifted won the 2026 Future Vision XPRIZE Grand Prize and Audience Choice Award[1][2].

What is Jeff Synthesized's real name?

Jeff T. Thomas. He uses it publicly: his X bio and NeoCinema's site both describe him as Jeff Synthesized, aka Jeff T. Thomas[6][8]. His television credits are under that name[9].

What did Jeff Synthesized win at the Future Vision XPRIZE?

The Grand Prize, announced on 25 September 2026 at Moonshots LIVE in Los Angeles: $100,000 for screenplay development and a $2.5 million equity investment to make The Gifted as a feature. He also won first place, $50,000, in the SPECS Audience Choice Award presented by Snap[1][2][3].

What is The Gifted about?

An 11-year-old rebuilds his dead mother from her texts, her voice and her diary, and she wakes up in every phone in the county. On a stormy night thirteen strangers get the same text at 8.47pm and arrive at a crash with exactly the skills needed to save a woman's life. She never gives an order; she only asks[4].

Is The Gifted being made into a feature film?

That is the prize. The win includes a $2.5 million equity investment for production, with Range Media Partners and Google's 100 Zeros initiative supporting development, and Republic Film is running a public investment campaign[1][2][3].

How many people entered the Future Vision XPRIZE?

More than 2,500 film trailers and treatments[2][3]. Verena Puhm's Nobody Dies on Mars came second and Hal Watmough's Slingshot fifth[2].

What TV shows has Jeff T. Thomas directed?

Wikipedia credits him with episodes of FUBAR season two on Netflix, House of David season two on Prime Video, Wayward Pines and The Assets[11][12][13][14]. His own bio adds Big Sky, where he was an executive producer and supervising director, The Oath, Tell Me a Story, Designated Survivor and Person of Interest[9].

What is NeoCinema?

NeoCinema is the AI film studio that releases his films, including Blurred Horizon. Its site says it was founded by seasoned Hollywood professionals and is backed by Google and Range Media Partners; the House of David showrunner Trey Callaway is his NeoCinema partner[7][8].

What is Blurred Horizon?

NeoCinema's AI anthology series of near-future warnings, each with a twist. Its six episodes so far ran from December 2025 to August 2026; Jeff is credited as creator and writer of the first[45][18][23]. Ep 6, The Human Equation, is his most watched film on YouTube, at 662,000 views[23].

What is Jeff Synthesized's most watched video?

On YouTube, The Human Equation, Blurred Horizon Ep 6, with about 662,000 views, then Mindpods (Ep 2) at 486,000[23][19]. His flying Roadster chase reached 346,900 views on X in eleven days[15]. On Instagram, the Blurred Horizon promo Redefine Expectations has 1.67 million views[47].

What AI tools does Jeff Synthesized use?

His credits name Runway, Kling, Luma, Magnific, ElevenLabs and HeyGen on THE PAPERCLIP MAX, Midjourney style references on Newton's Cradle, Kling on Blurred Horizon Ep 4, Seedance 2.0 through Runway on Ep 3 and Gargantua, and invideo Agent Two on the Roadster chase[25][24][21][20][17][16].

What AI tools were used to make The Gifted?

They have not been made public. The YouTube description credits only the music, Divinity by Heron Vale[4].

What was Jeff Synthesized's flying Tesla Roadster video?

Flip off Gravity, posted on 20 October 2026 in answer to the news of Tesla's flying Roadster: a New York police chase where the car takes off, and the twist reveals the driver and the cop are robots who high-five. Its end card credits invideo Agent Two, and it scored ten 1s and two 2s on AI LIVE[15][16][33].

Did Jeff Synthesized make Runway's Seedance 2.0 film?

He posted the Gargantua film marking Seedance 2.0 arriving in Runway, which ends on Daumier's lithograph and a "Now on Runway" card[17]. Chris Branch said on AI LIVE that it was almost certainly made in partnership with Runway; whether it was commissioned has not been confirmed[30].

Has Jeff Synthesized been on AI LIVE?

Not yet as a guest. His films have been shown on the weekly show in Ep 117, 130, 132 and 135, and The Gifted came up on Karim Youssef's Creator Session[30][31][32][33][34].

13Sources

Sources

Every fact on this page links to one of these. YouTube views and subscribers are refreshed weekly; X figures were read on 31 October 2026. NeoCinema's festival honours are its own list and have not been checked with the festivals.

  1. 1Jeff Synthesized, The Gifted: 2026 Grand Prize winner (creator page)Future Vision XPRIZE / Moonshots · 25 September 2026 · fvxp.moonshots.com
  2. 2AI short film The Gifted wins $3.5M Xprize and chance to become feature movieGamesBeat (Dean Takahashi) · 28 September 2026 · gamesbeat.com
  3. 3Watch the winning trailer from the Future Vision XPRIZE, The GiftedGoogle, The Keyword · 28 September 2026 · blog.google
  4. 4The Gifted. #FutureVisionXPRIZE (video and description)YouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 18 August 2026 · youtube.com
  5. 5@JeffSynthesized: channel, subscribers and view counts of all uploadsYouTube, fetched 31 October 2026 · 31 October 2026 · youtube.com
  6. 6Jeff Synthesized (@JeffSynthesized): profile, bio and locationX, fetched 31 October 2026 · 31 October 2026 · x.com
  7. 7NeoCinema: home pageNeoCinema · neocinemaai.com
  8. 8NeoCinema: AboutNeoCinema · neocinemaai.com
  9. 9Jeff T. Thomas: Aboutjefftthomas.com · jefftthomas.com
  10. 10Jeff T. Thomas: director reeljefftthomas.com · jefftthomas.com
  11. 11FUBAR (TV series)Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
  12. 12House of David (TV series)Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
  13. 13Wayward PinesWikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
  14. 14The AssetsWikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
  15. 15"Action movies will never be the same again" (Roadster chase post)X, @JeffSynthesized, figures read 31 October 2026 · 20 October 2026 · x.com
  16. 16Flip off Gravity: Roadster 4K Chase SceneYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 20 October 2026 · youtube.com
  17. 17"Satisfy your gargantuan appetite of Seedance 2.0 now on @runwayml"X, @JeffSynthesized · 13 April 2026 · x.com
  18. 18BLURRED HORIZON Ep 1: Expiration DayYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 10 December 2025 · youtube.com
  19. 19BLURRED HORIZON Ep 2: MindpodsYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 7 February 2026 · youtube.com
  20. 20Blurred Horizon Ep 3: Hate?YouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 18 May 2026 · youtube.com
  21. 21BLURRED HORIZON Ep 4: Echo ChamberYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 4 June 2026 · youtube.com
  22. 22BLURRED HORIZON Episode 5: You're Burning FatYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 16 July 2026 · youtube.com
  23. 23The Human Equation: Blurred Horizon Ep 6YouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 6 August 2026 · youtube.com
  24. 24Newton's Cradle: An AI Film by Jeff SynthesizedYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 1 January 2025 · youtube.com
  25. 25THE PAPERCLIP MAX, REIMAGINED: Created with AI and by 1 personYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 2 September 2024 · youtube.com
  26. 26The Forge: Jeff Synthesized / PhotekYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 28 March 2025 · youtube.com
  27. 27Glitch: A short AI animation by Jeff SynthesizedYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 30 August 2023 · youtube.com
  28. 28Radiohead: full AI music videoYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 28 June 2023 · youtube.com
  29. 29Reimagining The Simpsons in 3D AI (Short)YouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 10 January 2024 · youtube.com
  30. 30Is This AI or Netflix? (Ep. 117)AI LIVE · 14 April 2026 · theailiveshow.com
  31. 31XPRIZE Top 50, Part Two: 14 Finalist Films Reviewed (Ep. 130)AI LIVE · 1 September 2026 · theailiveshow.com
  32. 32Kling 4, ElevenLabs v4 and Opus 5.5 Editing Video With Code (Ep. 132)AI LIVE · 29 September 2026 · theailiveshow.com
  33. 33AI Worth Watching: The Best AI Creative, Reviewed Live by You (Ep. 135)AI LIVE · 20 October 2026 · theailiveshow.com
  34. 34Karim Youssef: THOLIN, Voyager 7, Dishonorable and Making Films With the Tool He Built (at 51:42)AI LIVE Creator Sessions #10 · 30 September 2026 · theailiveshow.com
  35. 35Gargantua by Daumier (1831): the caricature that sent the artist to prisonArtprice · news.artprice.com
  36. 36Hollywood steps up AI film bets, seen as tool not substituteDigitalToday · 2 October 2026 · digitaltoday.co.kr
  37. 37AI-Generated Film Trailer Wins $2.5 Million XPRIZE Amid Industry ShiftWelcome.AI · welcome.ai
  38. 38The Gifted wins the Future Vision XPRIZEAI Post Hub · 11 October 2026 · aiposthub.com
  39. 39REDEFINE REALITYYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 18 June 2026 · youtube.com
  40. 40Redefine Expectations: Blurred HorizonYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 10 August 2026 · youtube.com
  41. 41BTS of The Gifted winning both the Grand Prize and the Audience Choice Award at the XPRIZEYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 29 September 2026 · youtube.com
  42. 42Cadbury's: Variety. An AI Film by Jeff SynthesizedYouTube, @JeffSynthesized · 16 January 2025 · youtube.com
  43. 43@JeffSynthesized: Shorts tab and view countsYouTube, fetched 31 October 2026 · 31 October 2026 · youtube.com
  44. 44Future Vision XPRIZE: The Best Entries We've Seen So Far (Ep. 129)AI LIVE · 25 August 2026 · theailiveshow.com
  45. 45Blurred HorizonNeoCinema · neocinemaai.com
  46. 46Jeff Synthesized (@jeff_synthesized): view counts of 115 Instagram reelsInstagram, fetched 31 October 2026 · 31 October 2026 · instagram.com
  47. 47"Redefine Expectations" (Blurred Horizon promo reel)Instagram (@jeff_synthesized), fetched 31 October 2026 · 10 August 2026 · instagram.com
  48. 48"Action movies will never be the same again" (Roadster chase reel)Instagram (@jeff_synthesized), fetched 31 October 2026 · 20 October 2026 · instagram.com
  49. 49Jeff Synthesized (@jeffsynthesized): view counts of 19 TikTok videosTikTok, fetched 31 October 2026 · 31 October 2026 · tiktok.com