Director Connie He used Google DeepMind’s generative AI and video-to-video models to produce the animated short film 'Dear Upstairs Neighbors,' presented at the Tribeca Festival. The project highlights an integrated workflow that allows creative teams to maintain artistic control while utilizing generative AI for specific, painterly aesthetic goals.
The project serves as a technical blueprint for integrating generative AI into professional animation pipelines without displacing traditional departmental roles. For the streaming industry, this represents a shift from speculative 'one-click' AI video toward highly controlled, stylized tools used by elite talent to reduce the cost of visually complex artistry. It proves that major tech labs like DeepMind are pivoting toward supporting premium production workflows rather than just consumer-facing generation. Watch for whether studio-adjacent labs successfully commercialize these 'video-to-video' refinement tools for wider television and feature use cases.
The project represents a significant collaboration between traditional animation talent and Google DeepMind's research capabilities. Connie He, who worked as a story artist on Pixar's Inside Out 2, transitioned to Google DeepMind where she directed the short using custom generative AI models. The film rejected text-to-video generation entirely, instead using an image-to-video pipeline with hand-drawn art and purpose-trained machine learning models. He painted abstract acrylics that were scanned and used to train custom LoRAs, which were then applied in a hybrid 2D/3D animation process alongside Maya.
The short's premiere at Tribeca has generated industry discussion about what AI-assisted filmmaking means for Hollywood's future. The film became a talking point at the festival, with coverage examining its implications for the entertainment industry. The project involved a 45-person crew including former Pixar collaborators and Oscar-winning creatives, suggesting that established industry talent is willing to engage with these tools when artistic control is preserved.
Google DeepMind has indicated that the technical capabilities developed for this project will become more widely available. The company announced that new tools are coming to Google AI Studio and Vertex AI, suggesting the research behind the film's custom video-to-video workflows and localized refinement tools may eventually reach broader creative audiences. The technical approach included fine-tuning custom Veo and Imagen models on artist artwork, developing video-to-video workflows for precise motion control, and using Veo's upscaling to bring final shots to 4K resolution.
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