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The Culver Cup:
GenAI Film Competition
The Culver Cup is choosing 50 top AI creators to push the boundaries of storytelling using cutting-edge generative AI tools. Read on if you have what it takes!
Chosen creators will build on a creative treatment from director David Slade (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and more) and on 3D assets from Global Objects to create a short film within 3 weeks. Creators will be given access and complimentary credits to leading GenAI tools like Luma AI's Dream Machine and Playbook3D as well as educational resources to support their technical exploration.
The submitted short films will be narrowed down to an Elite Eight. These top eight short films will be honored and shown to a live audience in a head-to-head playoff bracket format on October 14, 2024 (during LA Tech Week) at the historic Culver Theater. Winners for each bracket and the final champion will be determined by a panel of esteemed industry judges.
Culver Cup Timeline
Elite Eight Selected
The top 8 short films will be chosen to be showcased and compete head-to-head live at the Culver Cup.
October 7
Typically, startups in the program have raised a seed round of funding ($1M - $10M) and have under 20 employees. If the content of the program still looks relevant and you have raised more (or less) capital or have a larger team, you are welcome to apply and we will let you know if you've been accepted
There is no cost, but a time commitment is required to participate in the fellowship kickoff. To get the most out of the experience, you will want to be able to commit to attending the majority of the sessions. Sessions are generally hosted at 9AM PST.
Only one person per startup can enroll and access is not transferable. We ask that only your CTO (or technical lead in the case that there is no CTO) apply on behalf of your company.
Yes, the fireside chats will be recorded for you to watch on your own time. However, we recommend joining in real-time so you can ask the panelists questions. The networking session and group technical office hours will not be recorded.
Yes, the program is entirely virtual and most sessions take place over Zoom.
The industry-agnostic program on this application page is built for and open to CTOs and startups based in North America (United States, Mexico, and Canada) and events are scheduled to North America-friendly timezones. If you receive an invitation to apply and are not based in North America, you are still welcome to join and view session recordings if the timezone doesn't work for your schedule.
You will have lifelong access to the Slack workspace of ~4,000 and growing CTOs globally. You will also have access to continued programming (fireside chats, networking opportunities, technical workshops, and more) that run once a month.
Frequently asked questions
AWS Startups & FBRC.ai Present
Additional details
The Culver Cup will culminate in a glamorous red-carpet showcase with bracketed head-to-head competition among the Elite Eight short films with a champion chosen.
The live event will be on October 14th at the historic Culver Theater during LA Tech Week. The evening will feature screenings of the top 8 projects, live judging, and a panel exploring emerging tooling at the intersection of AI and storytelling.
Creators should apply today to participate!
Fans can sign up to be a guest at the Culver Cup today:
https://partiful.com/e/TlZzMUHsPU3acOcWPK9l?
Note: Signing up as a guest for the Culver Cup on October 14th does not include consideration as a creator for the Culver Cup.
Applications Open
Creators submit links to their creative work to be evaluated and chosen as one of the 50 Creators. Closes on 9/14/24 at 11:59p ET.
September 7
Top 50 Creators Chosen
The Top 50 Creators are selected, notified, and receive a creative brief and asset package to use in the creation of their short film.
September 16
Submissions Due
The 50 Creators submit their final short films to be evaluated and chosen for the Elite Eight of the Culver Cup. Closes on 10/5/24 at 11:59p ET.
October 5
The inaugural Culver Cup
GenAI Film Competition
The Culver Cup LIVE!
Red carpet event for creators and fans showcasing the competing Elite Eight short films with a champion chosen.
October 14
AWS – FBRC.AI Culver Cup
Terms and Conditions
Description of Competition:
From September 7, 2024, to October 14, 2024, participate in the AWS-FBRC.AI Culver Cup for a chance to win up to $25,000 in AWS Promotional Credits. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Terms and conditions apply.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
By participating in the Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) and FBRC.ai Culver Cup (“Competition”), you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
From September 7, 2024, until 11:59 pm EST on September 14, 2024 (“Selection Period”), to qualify for the Competition, you and the other participants on your team must apply for selection to participate in the Competition by completing the Creator Submissions Process (“Selection Process”). Each team will consist of no more than four (4) participants. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and live in the United States or Canada. AWS, FBRC.ai, employees of AWS or FBRC.ai, and their immediate family members and members of their households are not eligible to participate. Limit one entry per person.
All eligible entries received during the Selection Process will be evaluated, and fifty (50) applicants will be selected to participate in the Competition (“Competition Participants”). Entries will be judged on the following equally weighted criteria, and according to the sole and absolute discretion of AWS and FBRC.ai:
- Creative production and workflow proficiency (25%)
- Narrative/storytelling skills in previous work (25%)
- Previous experience in using AI tools (25%)
- Technical complexity of workflow exploration (25%)
Competition Participants will be notified of their selection by September 16, 2024.
Competition Participants will create a short film between two (2) and five (5) minutes in length (a “Submission”) between September 16, 2024, and 11:59 pm EST on October 5, 2024 (“Competition Period”). Competition Participants will receive a “Brief,” including a creative treatment and several creative assets (including, but not limited to, 3D assets), for the explicit purposes of building on them for purposes of creating a short film during the Competition Period. Competition Participants receive a limited license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, and translate the Brief or any contents thereof during the Competition Period only, and only for the purpose of creating a Submission. Any rights in the Brief or its components granted herein shall terminate at the end of the Competition Period. Except as stated otherwise, Competition Participants do not gain any ownership rights in the Brief or components thereof. All Submissions involving the use of AWS Services must comply with the AWS Acceptable Use Policy and the AWS Responsible AI Policy. Submissions are prohibited to the extent they (a) violate applicable law or the rights of others; (b) depict a person’s voice or likeness without their consent or other appropriate rights, including unauthorized impersonation and non-consensual sexual imagery; (c) violate the privacy rights of others; (d) are abusive, exploitative, or promote violence, terrorism, or other serious harm; or (e) harass, harm, abuse, or encourage the harm or abuse of minors, individuals or specific groups.
All Submissions must be completed by October 5, 2024. All eligible Submissions received during the Competition Period will be judged and rated on the following criteria and according to the sole and absolute discretion of AWS and FBRC.ai and advance to the live competition in the round of eight contestants:
- Evaluate the technical proficiency in using GenAI tools (which must include the use of software or generative AI tools provided by Luma AI, Playbook 3D or any other software or tool as determined by AWS and FBRC.ai) and output fidelity (50%)
- Narrative creativity and original interpretation of the creative brief (25%)
- Process, workflow innovation, and their utilization of tools (25%)
Submissions that do not meet the requirements set forth in these Terms and Conditions may be disqualified in AWS’s and FBRC.ai’s sole discretion. The scores from the Judges will determine the top eight (8) Submissions, which will be selected to participate in a final, live Top Eight Showcase Event (“Event”) at the Culver Theater in Los Angeles, California, on October 14, 2024, for the chance to compete for four prizes (each, a “Prize”). Selected Competition Participants will be notified by October 7, 2024, of their selection for the Event. At the Event on October 14, 2024, the top eight submissions will be judged and rated by a panel of no more than six (6) qualified Judges. Submissions will be judged on the following criteria by each round, and according to the sole and absolute discretion of the Judges:
- Round 1: Narrows Elite Eight to 4 quarterfinalists based on the technical proficiency in using GenAI tools and output fidelity (scored out of 30). Each of the contestants will be randomized into a bracket-style setup with 4 head-to-heads of 2 contestants each. The winner of each head-to-head, with the highest score for technical proficiency, will advance to the next round. In addition, their score from this round will account for 50% of their score in the next round.
- Round 2: Narrows 4 quarterfinalists to 2 semifinalists based 50% on their score in Round 1, and 50% on the additional evaluative criteria of their narrative creativity and original interpretation of the creative brief (scored out of 30). Contestants will be evaluated in 2 head-to-heads (based on the initial bracket setup), with one winner advancing from each matchup. Their cumulative score from this round (out of 60) will advance to the next round.
- Round 3: Narrows 2 semifinalists to one champion based 60% on their score coming into this Round, 30% on their process, workflow innovation, and their utilization of tools, as evaluated by judges, and 10% as voted on by the live audience. Contestants will be evaluated head-to-head; after the judges add their final category of evaluation, the audience will engage in a live voting process to determine the final score (out of 100). The contestant with the higher score will be determined as the champion.
By participating in the Event, you agree to the AWS Event Terms and Conditions and the AWS Code of Conduct. A Champion, Semifinalist, and two Quarterfinalists Winners of the Event will be selected, and eligible for one of the following Prizes:
- One (1) Champion Prize: $25,000 in AWS Promotional Credits and one (1) year of Luma AI Dream Machine Premier subscription (Approximate retail value: $4,799.90).
- One (1) Semifinalist Prize: $10,000 in AWS Promotional Credits and one (1) year of Luma AI Dream Machine Premier subscription (Approximate retail value: $4,799.90).
- Two (2) Quarterfinalists Prize: $5,000 in AWS Promotional Credits and one (1) year of Luma AI Dream Machine Premier subscription (Approximate retail value: $4,799.90).
AWS Promotional Credits are subject to the terms and conditions set forth at https://aws.amazon.com/awscredits/. AWS Promotional Credits have no monetary value. AWS reserves the right to substitute a prize (or portion thereof) for an item of comparable or greater value, at AWS’s sole discretion.
If a Competition Participant is selected as a potential winner of the Competition (“Winner”), AWS will deliver the AWS Promotional Credits directly to the AWS Account ID the Winner provides, and Luma AI will provide the subscription directly, via email, to the email address the Winner provides. Failure to provide the requested information or to respond to communications about the Competition within a reasonable period of time, as determined by AWS in its sole discretion, may result in forfeiture of the Prize. THE AWARD OF A PRIZE TO A POTENTIAL WINNER IS SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION OF THE IDENTITY, QUALIFICATIONS, AND ROLE OF THE POTENTIAL WINNER IN THE CREATION OF THE SUBMISSION.
By accepting the Prize, Winners confirm that their receipt is neither prohibited nor inconsistent with any applicable laws, regulations, or binding orders, including applicable ethics or procurement rules, your receipt will not create a conflict of interest for AWS, and there are no ongoing competitive procurements for which your receipt of this benefit could conflict AWS from participating in the Competition.
Winners (and in the case of a team, all participating members) are responsible for any fees associated with receiving or using a prize, including but not limited to, wiring fees or currency exchange fees. Winners (and in the case of a team, all participating members) are responsible for reporting and paying all applicable taxes in their jurisdiction of residence (federal, state/provincial/territorial and local). Winners may be required to provide certain information to facilitate receipt of the award, including completing and submitting any tax or other forms necessary for compliance with applicable withholding and reporting requirements. United States residents may be required to provide a completed form W-9 and residents of other countries may be required to provide a complete W-8BEN form. Winners are also responsible for complying with foreign exchange and banking regulations in their respective jurisdictions and reporting the receipt of the prize to relevant government departments/agencies if necessary. AWS reserves the right to withhold a portion of the prize amount to comply with the tax laws of the United States or other AWS jurisdiction, or those of the winner’s jurisdiction.
Acceptance of a Prize by the Winner constitutes permission for AWS to use Winners’ names or likenesses, and city, state or province, and country, if submitted to AWS, for any disclosures required by law, including a winners list, and for advertising and promotional purposes relating to the Competition in any and all media now or hereafter devised, worldwide in perpetuity (or to the maximum extent permissible under applicable law), without additional compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law.
By submitting a Submission, Competition Participants grant to AWS and its affiliates, agents, employees, and assignees an irrevocable, nonexclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free right and license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, and translate your Submission solely for the purposes of administering the Competition and advertising and promotional purposes. Competition Participants retain all rights to which they are entitled in the Submission, and neither AWS nor FRBC.ai gains any ownership rights in any Submission. By submitting a Submission to the Competition, Competition Participants represent and warrant that their submission does not: (i) perform or promote activities that are illegal; (ii) violate or infringe the intellectual property, proprietary, or other rights of others; (iii) perform or promote activities that are offensive or disparaging in any manner; or (iv) cause harm to others or to AWS’s operations or reputation.
The following personal information will be collected by AWS and FBRC.ai for the Competition solely for the purposes of administering the Competition and verifying eligibility: name, email address, city and state/province. Failure to provide all necessary personal information may result in Participants’ participation in the Competition being deemed ineligible. AWS handles your information in accordance with the AWS Privacy Notice.
We may provide Customer Participant contact information to event sponsors if you opt in during registration or otherwise to receive communications from our event sponsors.
This Competition is sponsored by AWS. AWS reserves the right to cancel or modify the Competition at any time and for any reason. Neither AWS and its affiliates and licensors, nor FBRC.ai and its affiliates and licensors, will be liable to you under any cause of action or theory of liability relating to the Competition, even if a party has been advised of the possibility of such damages, for (a) indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or exemplary damages, or (b) lost profits, revenues, customers, opportunities, or goodwill. In any case, neither AWS and its affiliates’ and licensors’, nor FBRC.ai and its affiliates’ and licensors’, aggregate liability under these Terms and Conditions will exceed USD $100. The limitations in this paragraph shall apply only to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.