In a recent announcement, YouTube said it now allows users to create AI-generated video backgrounds for their shorts using Dream Screen. Dream Screen was only able to create image backgrounds up until now. The new capability is enabled by Google DeepMind’s AI video-generation model, Veo, which can create 1080p video clips in various cinematic styles.
To access the new feature, you’ll need to go into the Shorts camera, tap the “green screen” icon, and then select “Dream Screen.” From there, you can type in a prompt like “candy landscape” or “magical forest with a stream,” pick an animation style, and then tap “Create.”
The Dream Screen tool will then generate a series of video backgrounds that you can choose from. Once you select an AI-generated video, you can record your Short with it playing in the background.
This new capability gives YouTube Shorts creators a feature that TikTok, the leading short-form video platform, currently doesn’t offer. While TikTok lets creators generate AI-powered background images, it doesn’t let them create AI video backgrounds.
YouTube says the Dream Screen feature with AI video backgrounds can be used for things like transporting yourself to the setting of your favorite book or creating an animated opening for your Short. In the future, the company plans to give creators the ability to generate standalone 6-second video clips through Dream Screen as well.
The new AI video background feature is now available in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
