Duo Desktop

The challenge
GitLab Duo Desktop was still an idea. To earn investment, it needed more than a spec. Leadership and teams had to feel where developer work was heading, and why GitLab should lead it.

My role
I owned the full production: story, editing, motion graphics, and music direction. No handoffs, one point of view from first beat to final frame.

The approach
I built the story around the next generation of developers, people who expect AI to be a collaborator, not a feature. Rather than demo finished functionality, the film hints at what’s coming: an AI partner that understands context, moves work forward alongside the developer, and keeps them in flow on the desktop. Motion graphics carried the product ideas without locking in UI decisions too early. Music set the pace and the emotional arc, building from quiet focus to a sense of momentum and possibility.

The outcome

• Secured concept buy-in from GitLab leadership

• Became a go-to asset for internal meetings and conferences

• Gave product and engineering teams a shared reference point for the Duo Desktop vision

Why it mattered
Concept work stalls when people can’t picture it. This film gave GitLab a shared picture of the future to rally around, and gave the product team room to build toward it.