This Footage Doesn’t Exist in the Real World

In February 2025, Jacopo Reale released a short experimental video titled This Footage Doesn’t Exist in the Real World, entirely created using generative artificial intelligence tools. The video ends with a simple, direct question:

“Will generative AI transform how we make movies?”

Objective

The goal was to explore the visual and emotional potential of generative models at that time, building a narrative fragment capable of evoking cinematic language without going through any traditional production phase.
No actors, no sets, no cameras, only AI-generated images designed to suggest atmospheres, stories, and relationships. A way of questioning the very value of cinematic imagery in an age when it can be generated instantly.

Creative Context

The project stems from a reflection on the impact of generative models on the creative process.
The ability to generate dozens of visual variations from a single idea in seconds opens up a completely new space, not only for production, but for imagination itself.
This is not just about technical tools. It signals the emergence of a new creative paradigm where editing overlaps with writing, and directing begins before any footage is shot.

AI does not replace professionals, but expands their potential: a director remains irreplaceable when it comes to working with actors and shaping meaning over time. Yet, alongside that, a new form of synthetic directing is emerging, one that doesn’t begin with what is filmed, but with what can be imagined.

Production

The video was created by combining Midjourney for image generation and Kling 1.6 for video animation. 

The editing follows a cinematic structure: framing, rhythm, and composition are treated as if they belonged to a real films, not as outputs from a technical demo.

Results

The video surpassed 26 million views on X (formerly Twitter), becoming one of the most shared pieces of content about generative AI in the audiovisual field.
It was reposted by directors, scholars, technologists, creatives, journalists, and producers, sparking a wide-ranging international discussion.
For many, it was the first concrete example of what AI can generate when used with a cinematic, rather than promotional, language.

Reflections

The success of This Footage Doesn’t Exist in the Real World does not lie solely in its technical execution, but in the type of question it raises:
How will the value of images change when they can be generated with just a few prompts?

In advertising, this shift could lead to content that is less constrained by brand presence and more open to experimentation and storytelling.
In cinema, it could unlock a new wave of ambitious and intimate projects, where budget constraints no longer limit the director’s vision.

In this context, the visual production phase of a story can begin as early as the screenplay writing itself. 

The creative process becomes circular, moving from the idea to the script, from the script to its visualization, and back to the idea, enriched, clarified or transformed. A continuous flow where images are no longer the final outcome but a tool for thinking, testing and rewriting.