10 hours, 3 prompts and $1K on the line in Tulsa short film competition

Three prompts, 10 hours, one film and a chance to win $1,000. That’s the premise for Tulsa’s “Prompt to Premiere” short film competition that begins and ends Sept. 25. 

The event is a part of Tulsa Tech Week and organized by the Tulsa-based production company Thankless Production and creative agency NDA Haus. 

Each of the three prompts identifies a local small business or community program. Participants must take the idea and transform it into an engaging film.

“I created Prompt to Premiere because emerging storytellers deserve more than exposure to new tools. They need instruction, a real deadline, and somewhere for the work to land,” Vondell  Burns, founder of Thankless Production, said in a statement. 

The competition will allow creators to use AI anywhere in the filmmaking process, from writing, voice and sound to music editing and post-production. 

“I think we’re emphasizing that we don’t want people dissuaded by language that says that they can’t use AI,” Burns told The Eagle. “In this day and age, especially with the rush of being on time, we’re like, ‘OK, AI is what helps you complete these projects more efficiently.’” 

The program will begin with a 90-minute workshop on how to use artificial intelligence to help with the process. Since it’s a hybrid competition, it’s open to creators anywhere in the country. 

The $1,000 cash prize is funded by Black Tech Street, a Greenwood-based nonprofit group that trains people to use AI. As part of Tulsa Tech Week, the group is also hosting a Sept. 26 screening of “The AI Doc” at Circle Cinema. 

“Black Tech Street funding this prize is a statement that as technology becomes more capable of mimicking human intelligence, the leadership of human creativity should always be the highest priority and human creators will be even more critical than ever,” Tyrance Billingsley II, founder and executive director of Black Tech Street, said in a statement. 

The films will be a maximum of a minute, and posted on social media site SPILL. The 20 most popular films based on engagement from the SPILL app will be presented to a jury of six people, including creatives like Kerry Wiens, director of Circle Cinema Film Festival. 

The jury will then score a film based on whether it moved them emotionally, and if it encouraged them to act on what the film was asking. Craft and technique will also be factored into the score. 

The three prompts will be released at noon Sept. 25 and submissions close at 10 p.m.  Participants can submit more than one film. 

Burns has a goal of her own: Attracting more than 1,000 people to enter films in the competition. 

Ismael Lele is a Report for America corps member and writes about business in Tulsa for The Oklahoma Eagle. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting this link.

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