Prime Video orders three series from GenAI Creators’ Fund

Prime Video has ordered three animated series originating from the GenAI Creators’ Fund created by Amazon MGM and AWS.

The fund aims to give creators access to professional-grade AI tools, including Project Nara, Amazon MGM Studios’ purpose-built AI production platform for cinematic storytelling, built on AWS, which is only used by the studio and recipients of the fund. 

It also provides grants for proof-of-concepts and shorts from creators with audiences on digital platforms, and gives startups that are building production solutions access to the expertise of the studios and AWS, who can validate the technology against real cinematic workflows.

The first tranche of projects greenlit from the fund includes Buzzfeed Studios’ Cupcake & Friends, where a relatable cupcake and her friends face the hilarious and thrilling challenges of a sleepover, with unexpected twists at every corner. 

In addition, Albie Hecht at pocket.watch, former President of Entertainment at Nickelodeon and developer of SpongeBob SquarePants, will create Love, Diana Music Hunters (pictured at top). It is based on pocket.watch creator partner Diana, the most followed girl in the world on YouTube, and sees a young band of K-pop space-traveling musicians race to Planet Goo, where they must perform a concert to restore the music and save the aliens. 

Finally, Jorge R. Gutierrez, writer/director of the animated feature The Book of Life for 20th Century Studios and creator of El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera for Nickelodeon and Maya and the Three for Netflix, will work on Punky Duck. This sees a lovable punk duck and his best friend, Smiley Cat, tear through a wildly exaggerated Los Angeles, hilariously stumbling into alien invasions, giant monsters, robot criminal conspiracies, telenovela-style family drama, and supernatural mayhem—all while trying (and usually failing) to do the right thing. 

Albert Cheng, head of AI studios, Amazon MGM Studios, said: “Creative breakthroughs happen when visionary storytellers are given access to transformative tools. The GenAI Creators’ Fund and Project Nara position human creativity at the center of our efforts to integrate generative AI into our production processes at Amazon MGM Studios. We’re proud of the work that these filmmakers have accomplished and look forward to sharing these creators’ visions with the world.” 

Samira Bakhtiar, GM of media & entertainment, games, and sports, AWS, said: “Amazon has quietly and methodically assembled the only end-to-end AI content creation ecosystem in the industry, spanning from infrastructure to creative tools to distribution and funding of creative content. Project Nara illustrates how AWS can help filmmakers of all kinds bring AI to the full creative pipeline, from concept to screen, using a wide range of familiar models and tools on a cloud trusted by the entertainment industry.

“With investments like the GenAI Creators’ Fund, our collaboration with Innovative Dreams around hybrid filmmaking, and partnerships with leading generative AI providers like Luma and fal, AWS is building an ecosystem for human creativity powered by AI.” 

Images: Amazon MGM Studios