720×1280 · 40s · h264 + AAC · 7.2 MB
+720×1280 · 32s · h264 + AAC · 13 MB
Everyone stays on screen the whole time, like a real call. The audio runs in sequence so only one speaks at a time, and the live tile carries a lit border. Each dog was generated alone, then composited — asking one model for four characters in a single shot produced the same dog four times.
+Everyone stays on screen the whole time, like a real call. Each dog has two takes — a speaking one and an idle one — and only shows the speaking take during their own slot. The rest of the time they are listening, blinking, tilting their head, scratching an ear or yawning. The live tile carries a lit border.
720×1280 · 8s · 3.3 MB
+speaking · 8s · $0.40
The dog, the speech and the mouth movement all come out of a single text prompt — no reference photo and no separate lip-sync pass. This is the unit the grid is built from.
-| Model | google/veo-3.1-lite |
|---|---|
| Route | OpenRouter video API |
| Mode | Text-to-video, native audio |
| Generation time | 62 seconds |
| List price | $0.05 / second at 720p |
idle B-roll · 8s · reusable forever
The idle take is seeded from the last frame of the speaking take, which locks the same dog, room, lighting and framing — not merely a similar-looking room. Idle clips are generated once per character and reused in every future episode, so they are capex rather than per-episode cost.
Breed, coat colour and markings are described in words. Naming the breed explicitly carries the likeness further than image resolution does.
A real discussion — a thread, a podcast clip, an argument. The claim being made is preserved; only the stakes change.
The owner supplies the attitude. Loud and self-important, or flat and unimpressed. This is what makes it sound like their pet.
Each character is generated alone, then the four are composited into one grid with captions and branding.
Each character is generated alone, twice — speaking and idle — then the four are composited into one grid with captions and branding.
Honest first pass, not a finished result. Moose’s line picked up a fragment of Butcher’s and needs regenerating in a clean context. The laptops still visible in each room are leftovers from an earlier approach and come out of the prompt next. Butcher’s coat also drifted tan-heavy on the single-shot version where the character is meant to be predominantly white.
+| Model | veo-3.1-lite, 720p, native audio |
|---|---|
| Speaking clip | $0.40 per 8s |
| Idle B-roll | $0.40 per 8s — once per character, then reused |
| A four-dog short | $1.60 recurring, after a one-off $1.60 idle library |
| Generation time | 41–62 seconds per clip |