Storytelling with GenAI

It’s all about story

László Gaál is one of the most prolific and gifted AI artists out there, creating amazing work with Veo2, but this piece stands out as a fantastic example of not just taking text-to-video GenAI to new heights but using it to create an ode to classic commercial storytelling. The charm of his characters feel real and human, the locations feel real and familiar, and the story connecting a fictitious Italian family with flexible necks to Alpacas and the ability of Porsches to turn heads is both humorous and brilliant. That creative is what stands out and reminds us that story is everything.

The devil is in the details

The BTS integrating László himself on camera intercut with AI scenes is really fun and initially convincing until you start studying the shots individually and realizing that the cameras, lighting, dollies and cranes represent an AI “idea” of what that gear looks like, rather than how it really looks. And the ‘80s pickup is different from scene to scene, etc. But that’s a matter of what the model was trained on and the fact that AI has a long way to go in terms of continuity and consistency. But the locations, people, and “performances” are spot-on, the Porsche dealerships and car models are perfect and evolve correctly over time. The editorial style fits the story and yes, quick cuts are the norm for commercial work so that helps when the AI starts hallucinating.

The language of Gen AI

With current GenAI models, prompting is an art form and the “language” a director uses to get the desired results—just like in real life, except you’re coaxing an unpredictable AI instead of a temperamental actor. Today, the number of outputs needed to get a good shot is way too high, but that is rapidly improving over time. In both cases, editing, grading, music and mix is where it all comes together. 

What’s next?

2025 will be a breakout year for GenAI and I think we’ll see it seamlessly integrated into traditional production pipelines—just like this piece. But we’ll need 4K output, better physics, consistency and camera controls before it becomes mainstream.

While AI will never replace live production with real people, locations, cameras, lighting and everything else that makes cinema what it is, there are plenty of opportunities to create exciting work that doesn’t require those elements. What AI does have is the unique ability to visualize what doesn’t exist and that makes it a very powerful creative tool for high-concept work.

It’s been fun exploring various GenAI models and watching them evolve. I can’t wait to get my hands on Veo2!

Thanks for the great work László!