Burying Gobekli Tepe: A Speculative Found-Footage Film by Hugo JacksonBurying Gobekli Tepe: A Speculative Found-Footage Film by Hugo Jackson

Burying Gobekli Tepe: A Speculative Found-Footage Film

Hugo Jackson

Hugo Jackson

Burying Gobekli Tepe

Burying Gobekli Tepe is a speculative found-footage-style short set at the tipping point of the Younger Dryas cataclysm, a dramatized moment when a highly advanced prehistoric civilization realizes their world is ending.
It plays into the current wave of AI-generated “history vlogger” content with a mix of satire, authenticity, and absurdity, turning a prehistoric comet disaster into the world’s first content strategy.
Created for YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok in vertical formats, this piece is designed for maximum watch-through with fast pacing, memeable tone, and cinematic post-apocalyptic scenery.
This fictional vlog imagines what it might have looked like if someone from that lost society had recorded the final days: rumors of an incoming comet, the deliberate burial of Gobekli Tepe for future generations, and the chaos as the sky begins to fall.
Inspired by alternative archaeological theories and ancient origin myths, the piece hints at the idea that survivors of this collapse were later remembered as “culture-bringers”, the ones who crossed oceans and continents to teach agriculture, astronomy, and architecture to emerging hunter-gatherer tribes.

CREATIVE INTENT

The goal was to jump head-first into the “AI influencer” video trend and push it into the ancient past:
Lean into the Bible Vlogger + HistoryTok wave
Mimic Gen Z vlog speech with deadpan, ironic delivery
Create a fictional POV character experiencing the fall of an advanced lost civilization
Satirize mythological origins of gods like Osiris and Quetzalcoatl as if they were just guys trying to go viral after impact
Each line of dialogue was written to stand alone as a short-form scene, so the piece could be split across multiple platforms as memes, reels, or short clips.

PROCESS & TOOLS USED

Video Generation
Google Veo 3 (Fast Mode 100%)
Used to generate all primary video shots
Each scene prompt was carefully crafted with natural iPhone-style language and structure
Every sentence of dialogue was a separate Veo 3 prompt
Continuity avoided—each shot self-contained by design to match Gen Z short-form logic

EDITING & POST-PRODUCTION

Premiere Pro:
Sequenced and trimmed for pacing
Reframed for multiple aspect ratios (YouTube vertical, Instagram Reel, TikTok snippet)
Added subtitle burns and minor visual tweaks
No music or voiceover was used in this project—intentionally kept raw to feel like a chaotic IRL vlog recovered from a phone.

DELIVERABLES

1x YouTube Short (60 sec vertical)
1x Instagram Reel version
1x TikTok version (trimmed, punchy for trend surfing)
Exported stills for thumbnails and carousel use

ESTIMATED PRODUCTION COST

💰 $1,000 USD Includes scripting, prompt development, Veo 3 video generation, editing, and platform-optimized exports. This is a speculative creative project, not affiliated with any official historical institution. All characters and visuals are fictional and used for satirical purposes.

Disclaimer

This project is a creative exploration made entirely with AI tools. It is not affiliated with any religious, archaeological, or educational body. All names, myths, and references are fictionalized and reimagined for humor and storytelling.
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Posted Jan 1, 2026

Burying Gobekli Tepe is a speculative found-footage-style short set at the tipping point of the Younger Dryas cataclysm.

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Timeline

May 8, 2025 - Jun 8, 2025