Challenge · London 2026Set by
Call the Shots
The StoryMachine Storyboard Challenge
Make the storyboard for a film you want to make, in StoryMachine. Hand in your project link and a previz video. The best one wins US$1,000 of StoryMachine credits.
- Prize
- US$1,000 of StoryMachine credits
- You hand in
- Your StoryMachine project link and a previz video
- Credits to make it
- 2,000 StoryMachine credits
- Entries close
- Midday (UK time) on Sunday 11 October
- Premiere
- The shortlist screens on Friday 16 October at the IMAX
An example film, made with AI for this page
You · The idea
A lighthouse keeper's last winter, and the dragon that comes back for the light.
An astronaut finds a garden growing under glass on Mars. Who planted it?
A diver follows a light into the deep, and meets a whale covered in stars.
Ideation agent · First possibility
Ideation agent
Start with one thought.
Begin with a sentence, an image or a rough instinct. StoryMachine keeps your idea in view while your virtual production team explores what it could become.
A lighthouse keeper's last winter, and the dragon that comes back for the light.
These three ideas are made up, to show the range. Bring your own.
Side
Back
Casting agent
Cast it once. Keep them consistent.
Build the face, voice and point of view of your film, then keep every character the same across new angles, scenes and directions.
The keeper, facing you. Yellow coat, silver beard, navy hat.
Yes, the dragon is in the cast too.
The challenge
Make the storyboard.
The challenge: make the storyboard for a film you want to make, in StoryMachine.
What you hand in
- A link to your StoryMachine project.
- A previz video: your storyboard played in order, as a rough cut.
Any length, any number of shots. Hand in both at bigscreenhack.com/submit.
Wide. Where are we? A lighthouse, weather coming in, and something in the sky.
Directing agent
Try it three ways before you commit.
Describe what you want in plain language and see it happen. Change the performance, the pace, the framing or the ending, and compare the cuts side by side.
Still and tender. The dragon sleeps round the lamp while he drinks his tea.
Same keeper, same dragon, same lighthouse. Three different films.
The prize
Win the credits to go and make it.
US$1,000of StoryMachine credits for the winning storyboard
Hand in your StoryMachine project link and a previz video, and your storyboard is in the running for the credits.
No purchase is needed to enter or to win. The Greenlight is open to films made on any platform, so using StoryMachine is your choice.
Production agent
Then see it on the IMAX.
16 Octpremiere night, during BFI London Film Festival week
Make the film in StoryMachine and enter it for The Greenlight. The shortlist premieres on the IMAX on Friday 16 October, and the winning concept is developed into a funded series on Fairground.
The people, the dragon and the example film on this page were made with AI for this page. They are not entries.
About StoryMachine
StoryMachine is creative intelligence for video: one place to research, cast, direct and audience-test several directions for a film, before production begins.
storymachine.ai →The brief
The challenge: make the storyboard for a film you want to make, in StoryMachine. Show us the film before you make it.
What you hand in: two things. A link to your StoryMachine project, and a previz video, which is your storyboard played in order as a rough cut.
There is no limit on how long it is or how many shots it has.
What we're looking for: a story we can follow from the storyboard alone, and a film we want to see made.
You can go further and make the whole film inside StoryMachine. If you do, enter it for The Greenlight as well: the main prize, sponsored by Fairground and StoryMachine.
How to enter
Make your Big Screen Hack profile, if you haven't already. It takes about two minutes. Make your profile →
Share your card to unlock your partner credits. Your StoryMachine code appears on your profile and on this page.
Make your storyboard in StoryMachine: start with the idea, then build it shot by shot.
Export it as a previz video, and copy the link to your StoryMachine project.
Hand in both at bigscreenhack.com/submit before midday (UK time) on Sunday 11 October. Early submissions are guaranteed to be judged.
If you want to, carry on and make the film itself in StoryMachine, and enter it for The Greenlight as well.
The rules
For this challenge
- To win this challenge, your storyboard must be made in StoryMachine.
- You hand in two things: a link to your StoryMachine project and a previz video. Both are needed.
- There is no limit on length or on the number of shots.
- No purchase is needed to enter or to win.
- A film you make in StoryMachine can be entered for The Greenlight as well, the main prize, sponsored by Fairground and StoryMachine.
- The Greenlight is open to films made on any platform. You don't have to use StoryMachine to enter it.
For every track and challenge
- Entry is free.
- Enter on your own or as a team. You don't need a ready-made crew: you can find collaborators among the people taking part.
- Entries close at midday (UK time) on Sunday 11 October. Early submissions are guaranteed to be judged.
- Unless the brief says otherwise, you can make something new during hack week or enter work you've already made, as long as you hold the rights to it.
- You keep what you make. Big Screen Hack gets the limited rights in the chapter terms to judge, screen, promote and archive your entry, and everyone in your team must have the authority to grant those rights.
- Before any public screening, you tell us who owns the script, which AI models you used, any material shot with real people, permission for anyone's likeness, the music rights and any territory restrictions.
- Sponsors' challenges are judged separately from the independent main jury.
- Partner credits are one code per person for each partner, redeemed on the partner's own platform.
- The shortlist premieres on Friday 16 October at the IMAX.
The full rules for the event, including rights and what you need to tell us about how your entry was made, are in the participant guide.
Prize and judging
- The winner gets US$1,000 of StoryMachine credits.
- Make your film in StoryMachine and you can enter it for The Greenlight too, where the winning concept is developed into a funded series on Fairground. The Greenlight's own prize terms apply.