Moonvalley opens Marey, an 'ethical' AI video model with free camera controls

Prompting your way to a Hollywood film was never going to work.

That is the premise behind Moonvalley, an LA-based AI startup founded by former DeepMind researchers who previously worked on Google’s video efforts. On Tuesday, the company publicly launched Marey, a “3D-aware” video generation model designed to give filmmakers real scene control instead of random slot-machine results.

Marey first entered beta in March and is now available via a monthly credit subscription. Plans start at $14.99 for 100 credits, going up to $34.99 for 250 credits and $149.99 for 1,000 credits, with clip lengths capped at five seconds.

Drag-and-drop cameras and physics-based control

Standard text-to-video generators usually leave directors stranded when they need specific camera movement. Moonvalley CEO Naeem Talukdar showed TechCrunch how Marey handles hybrid filmmaking across pre- and post-production.

The model demonstrates a physical understanding of scenes comparable to Google Veo 3 or Sora. In one demo, a video of a sprinting bison was swapped out for a Cadillac speeding across the same terrain, with the grass and dirt kicking up realistically around the car. In another, a George Washington figure was overlaid onto an actor, accurately matching the actor’s facial expressions and forearm muscle movements.

Camera control is where Marey gets wild. Talukdar adjusted a shot of a train ride in the Rockies simply by dragging his mouse across the screen to apply a pan and slide zoom. The system can handle near-360-degree camera paths and mimic handheld or dolly shots on command. Future updates over the coming months will introduce dynamic lighting tools, deeper trajectory controls, and character libraries.

The copyright shield

For professional studios, avoiding copyright lawsuits is just as critical as the visuals. Moonvalley claims Marey was trained entirely on openly licensed data, offering a legally safer path for commercial productions.

Indie director Ángel Manuel Soto, who worked with Moonvalley’s studio Asteria on an HBO docuseries, said the tool helped him cut production budgets by 20% to 40%. Asteria was acquired by Moonvalley earlier this year, backed by additional funding from General Catalyst.

Why it matters

Everyone from Runway and Luma to Pika has pushed out impressive video models, but cinematic production has different demands than social media clips. Filmmakers need spatial consistency, repeatable camera moves, and legal peace of mind.

Marey’s mouse-driven 3D camera controls and strict adherence to openly licensed training data make it an exceptionally smart play for Hollywood integration. It positions AI as a controllable VFX and previs tool rather than an unpredictable toy. The limitation, however, remains the five-second cap and the potential ceiling of relying solely on openly licensed datasets. If Moonvalley can scale scene complexity without losing fidelity, it could redefine low-budget indie filmmaking.