Founded over 25 years ago in Sofia, Bulgaria, Chaos has grown to become one of the largest global 3D visualization companies in the world with over 700 employees and offices around the world. The company’s VFX software has contributed significantly to the creation of blockbuster films such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Batman, and Iron Man 3, as well as hit TV series such as Game of Thrones and Stranger Things.
Now, Chaos aims to use its accumulated resources and expertise to help the next generation of young creatives turn their ideas into reality and successful international businesses.
Introducing young creators and their ideas to the world
Chaos is partnering with THU, one of the world’s largest communities in the digital entertainment industry, to bring you the 4th Talent League. This free program helps young creators develop entrepreneurial skills, business knowledge, industry connections, and secure funding. Eligible participants between the ages of 18 and 35 can submit their ideas individually or as a team until August 15, 2024.
The program welcomes ideas related to digital entertainment, such as film, animation, games, virtual reality, interactive experiences, music, graphic design or any kind of software for the industry.
“We want to help talented young creatives in our community develop their entrepreneurial and presentation skills, making it easier for them to enter the market, present their ideas to studios, and bring those ideas to life,” says Cláudio Meireles, Head of Community, Influencer and Affiliate Marketing at Chaos.
The Talent League is actually just one of 10 active community programs that Chaos has in place to support, inspire and nurture creative communities around the world.
It will be interesting to see what projects emerge from Central and Eastern Europe, given that the region has a strong tradition of the digital entertainment industry. Besides Chaos, CEE is home to other well-known companies such as Nordeus, the Serbian game developer behind Top Eleven, and CD Projekt, the Polish game developer known for the Witcher series.
From creativity to business planning
Participants will be selected based on a comprehensive set of criteria, including originality, creativity and forward-thinking (20%), quality of idea, entertainment relevance, storytelling (20%), impact (20%), feasibility (20%), participants’ skills, qualifications and readiness for mentorship (20%). In the next phase, the project progress, pitch and impact on the team’s home base will also be evaluated.
This year, projects have longer timelines and teams will be able to refine their projects with the help of mentors through two phases: Proof of Concept and Business Plan. In the Proof of Concept phase, mentors will help refine the project’s creative concept and innovation. In the Business Plan phase, mentors will train teams so they can present their projects to investors.
With the goal of stimulating both global innovation and local community development in the entertainment industry, regional finals will take place in cities around the world. Judges will select five teams from each region, for a total of 50 teams, to participate in eight-week mentorship sessions to prepare their ideas for the regional finals. The one-day event is free to attend for local residents and will feature speakers including invited mentors and local artists.
At these events, the teams will present their ideas and one finalist team from each region will receive an additional four weeks of mentorship.
Confirmed mentors for the program include Academy Award-nominated producer and animation industry consultant Jinko Goto, VFX and animation veteran and digital artist Dylan Sisson, Akili Interactive co-founder and CCO Matt Omanick, former LucasArts/Lucasfilm executive art director and independent creative consultant Rafi Nizam, and writer, director and creative producer Saraswati Vani Bhalgham.
Past success stories
Previous winners include Togather, a platform that enables the creation and sharing of custom digital brushes through natural intelligence, and Djossi Heroes, a 15-minute short documentary that combines live action, VFX, 2D and 3D animation to celebrate the brave people of Côte d’Ivoire. Other participants cited benefits such as improved communication skills and embracing an entrepreneurial spirit that encouraged them to step out of their comfort zone and overcome their fears, leading them to start their own indie studios.
+++Submit your ideas here by August 15th