AI for Film Making Hackathon

January 21st, 2023

MIT Innovation Headquarters

Hosted by MIT Film Makers Association link


About
The past 10 years have witnessed a fast-growing field of AI technology in computer vision and graphics. All these technologies facilitate image/video processing/generation, which benefits video production. The mission of the MIT Film Makers Association is to leverage the power of these technologies and empower everybody to create stories/scenes to sympathize with others. We are organizing the "AI for Filmmaking Hackathon" on January 21st, 2023 at MIT Innovation Headquarters with the theme of "recreating one’s life". We invite people with both artistic and coding skills to team up and utilize AI for filmmaking. No previous experience is required! Come and learn cool techniques to create art! We will provide unlimited beverages and food during the event.


Requirement


  • Format: The film has to be original, 1-2 min long, and finished on time.

  • Content: The film has to match the topic of the hackathon “Tell me your dream”. This topic is designed to accommodate a wide range of stories for people to express themselves. For example, “dream” can take any meaning in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, like “a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep”, “something that fully satisfies a wish”, etc. The keyword “me” can hold various meanings as well, eg. sharing between friends, inquired by people of power with the intention to help the less fortunate, or as a question during an interview…. anything you see fit.

  • Utilization of AI technology: The film has to utilize at least one of the following AI techniques:


  • Speakers and Judges

    Greg Dandiels

    Screenwriter, television producer, and director

    Ben Relles

    Content Strategy, Office of Reid Hoffman

    Pat Pataranutaporn

    Technologist and researcher at MIT

    James Tompkin

    Visual computing researcher, Assistant Professor at Brown Univeristy


    Schedule

    Time (ET)
    11/15/2022 Registration
    MIT Building 6 - 120
    We will send out a sign-up sheet for people to sign up around mid-November. We welcome both undergrads and graduate students from MIT, Harvard, Emerson College, Berklee, etc. to participate. Other AI or art lovers are also welcome if they can come on-site.
    Registered participants are then invited to a Slack group and freely form teams of 5 people. For people that are left out, we will match them with participants with complementary skills.
    01/16/2023 6pm Workshop 1: AI tools for video production
    MIT Building 6 - 120
    We will introduce AI tools for video production in the first half of the workshop. We will host a coding session for participants to try these models/APIs themselves. Our staff will troubleshoot GPU access, model installation, and model deployment.
    01/18/2023 6pm Workshop 2: Traditional tools for video production
    MIT Building 6 - 120
    We will give a quick tutorial on the Adobe series and DaVinci Resolve in the first half of the workshop. We will host a practice session in the second half of the workshop. Our staff will troubleshoot the installation of software and answer questions related to the functions.
    01/21/2023 Hackathon
    MIT Innovation Headquarters, 292 Main St, Cambridge, MA 02142
    3rd floor Student Innovators Lounge all day
    4th floor Student Venture Studio Open Space for Opening Speech, Screening, and Awarding Ceremony
    01/21/2023 9 am Opening Speech [Participants only]
    Pioneers in the AI for art creation Pat Pataranutaporn will give an opening speech.
    01/21/2023 9:30 am-6:00 pm Film making [Participants only]
    Teams finish shooting/creating a 1-2min long film. Our staff will provide technical support on GPU access/model implementation/software usage.
    01/21/2023 5 pm Panels: The future of AI for film making [Participants and audience are welcomed]
    We will host a panel discussion on the future of AI for film making. Our speakers include producer and director Greg Daniels, formerly head of Comdey at Youtube Originals Ben Relles, Brown university CS professor Dr. James Tompkin.
    01/21/2023 6 pm Screening + Dinner [Participants and audience are welcomed]
    We will serve dinner and watch the finished films together. Professional judges will pick the winners based on the quality of the story, technical innovation, and artistic skills. The audience can vote for the most liked team.
    01/21/2023 7 pm Awarding Ceremony [Participants and audience are welcomed]
    We will host the awarding ceremony.


    Contact
    Reach out to mit-filmmaker-association@mit.edu for any questions.
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