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Google DeepMind Unveils AI-Enhanced Animation at Sundance

1/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

Google DeepMind premiered animated short Dear Upstairs Neighbors at Sundance Film Festival, showcasing collaboration between animators and AI researchers.
Connie He, the director, leads a project using Google's Veo and Imagen models to augment human artistry.
The team created custom workflows enabling animators to rough-sketch concepts that AI then transforms into stylized footage.
Filmmakers Taryn O’Neill and Momo Wang showed how generative AI can expedite creation while preserving human artistry.

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Story summary

Google DeepMind premiered animated short Dear Upstairs Neighbors at Sundance Film Festival, showcasing collaboration between animators and AI researchers.
Connie He, the director, leads a project using Google's Veo and Imagen models to augment human artistry.
The team created custom workflows enabling animators to rough-sketch concepts that AI then transforms into stylized footage.
Filmmakers Taryn O’Neill and Momo Wang showed how generative AI can expedite creation while preserving human artistry.