​Gen Jam: Make Your Own AI Film: Micro Drama edition

​What if your first episode could launch the next vertical sensation?

​This time with our friends at KARTEL STUDIOS, we’re diving into the booming world of micro-dramas—short-form, vertical series built for the For You page. Inspired by the skyrocketing popularity of Chinese soap-style shorts on platforms like RealShorts, we’re bringing to the robots —with an absurd, experimental, creator-first twist.

​Your mission? Build the pilot of your own micro-drama using generative tools. Think: AI-fueled scandal. Robot detectives in love. 3-minute procedurals. Your series, your tone—anything from unhinged soap operas to high-stakes psychological thrillers (with talking furniture, if that’s your thing). All made in a night.

​What You’ll Do

​🧠 Concept & Chaos

​Start with a genre or totally irrational idea. Develop a vertical-format micro-series concept. Use tools like ChatGPT, Udio, ElevenLabs, and more to draft dialogue, generate scenes, and create characters.

​🎥 Produce the First Episode

​Use image and video tools like Luma, Runway, and Pika to bring your pilot episode to life. It can be stylized, animated, voice-over driven, lo-fi, or highly chaotic—just make it memorable.

​🏆 Premiere & Celebrate

​We’ll screen your episodes in vertical format and vote on awards like:

• ​Best Overall Film

• ​Most WTF

• ​Most Likely to be a Show

​Who Should Attend

​📱 Short-Form Creators & Serializers – If you think in swipes, cliffhangers, and 'next ep' buttons, you're home.
🎭 Writers & Performers – Great opportunity to develop a world and deliver something emotionally wild in 3 minutes or less.
🤖 AI Nerds & Tinkerers – Show off what these tools can really do when it comes to serialized storytelling.
🎬 Filmmakers & Editors – Love working fast? Love storytelling games? Let’s go.

​Details

​📍 Location: KARTEL Studios (Santa Monica)
📅 Date: Tuesday, July 16
⏰ Time: 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM

​Schedule:
6:00 PM – Arrivals, Mingling, and AI Tool Demos
7:00 PM – Challenge Kickoff & Team Formations
7:15 PM – Production Begins
9:30 PM – Episode Screenings & Judging
10:00 PM – Awards & Wrap

​What to Expect

​💻 Bring Your Own Laptop – AI won’t hallucinate your drama without you.
🎛️ We’ll Have Tools – Runway, ChatGPT, ElevenLabs, Luma, etc. Bring logins if you’ve got ’em—we’ll provide shared access where we can.
🍕 Dinner – Ticket entry covers pizza and drinks! Your lead actor might be fake, but your food is real.

​Whether you're channeling soap opera madness or reinventing the crime procedural for TikTok, this is your chance to break something wildly new.

​Machine Cinema: Make Your Own Micro-Drama.
🎥 One night. One episode. Infinite plot twists.