Behind “ANCESTRA”: combining Veo with live-action filmmaking
Google DeepMind
Eliza McNitt's short film "ANCESTRA" premiered at the Tribeca Festival using Google DeepMind's Veo video generation model combined with live-action footage, marking the first collaboration between Google DeepMind and director Darren Aronofsky's production venture. Over 200 filmmaking professionals worked alongside AI researchers to blend generated sequences—including a realistic newborn baby and interior body scenes—with traditional cinematography, using Gemini to refine prompts and Veo's new capabilities for motion matching and object insertion. The partnership established new tools for directors to control generative video output through precise motion templates and art direction, reducing production time for complex shots from hours to minutes while maintaining creative control over final sequences.
Why it matters
We partnered with Darren Aronofsky, Eliza McNitt and a team of more than 200 people to make a film using Veo and live-action filmmaking.
