Film created in 19 days combines human performances with AI-generated worlds

Supernal, which builds AI operating systems for midsize businesses, today announced that its AI-assisted science-fiction project, The Thorne Protocol, took third place in the Future Vision XPRIZE, a global competition exploring how technology can help create a future worth building. The Thorne Protocol also took third place in the separate SPECS Audience Choice Award, determined entirely by public voting among the competition’s 65 official selections.

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The Supernal team accepts the $100,000 Future Vision XPRIZE runner-up award for The Thorne Protocol at Moonshots LIVE in Los Angeles. Supernal CEO Scott Downes and Chief Revenue Officer J. Ryan Williams, executive producers of the film, were joined on stage by XPRIZE founder Peter Diamandis and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

The Thorne Protocol was selected from more than 2,500 submissions from around the world before advancing to the final five. The finalists presented their projects at Moonshots LIVE in Los Angeles to a judging panel that included astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, novelist Neal Stephenson, Google Vice President of Technology & Society Mira Lane, Salesforce Chief Brand and Creative Officer John Zissimos and Roddenberry Entertainment CEO Rod Roddenberry.

"AI didn't make this film. People did. We just were able to make it faster, with AI as a tool," said Scott Downes, CEO of Supernal and an executive producer of the film. "The actors acted, the director directed, and the creative decisions remained human. What AI changed was what a small team could accomplish and how quickly it could accomplish it."

As one of four runners-up in the contest, Supernal received a $100,000 prize, an additional $10,000 for the Audience Choice award, as well as opportunities for promotion and visibility with Hollywood producers and Google teams.

Supernal created The Thorne Protocol using a hybrid production model that paired traditional filmmaking with generative AI. Real actors were filmed against a gray screen at an Atlanta studio during a single shoot day, while AI was used to create the environments surrounding their performances. No character performance in the trailer is synthetic.

The entire production was completed in 19 days, including one day of filming and five days of post-production. An AI agent worked alongside the team from ideation through delivery, assisting with mood boards, shot lists, production coordination and the post-production pipeline. The team explored roughly 500,000 generated frames to arrive at the 3,552 used in the finished trailer.

Downes and J. Ryan Williams, Chief Revenue Officer at Supernal, served as executive producers of the film.

The Future Vision XPRIZE challenged filmmakers to imagine hopeful, technology-enabled futures and demonstrate how emerging technologies could change the way stories are created. The grand prize went to The Gifted by Jeff Synthesized, which received a $2.5 million equity investment toward production of a feature film and $100,000 for screenplay development.

For Supernal, the project also provided a real-world test of the same approach it brings to complex business workflows.

Filmmaking requires numerous specialists, technologies, processes and handoffs to work together from concept through delivery. Supernal applies a similar model to financial and professional services and other industries, using AI agents to coordinate workflows and repetitive processes while people remain responsible for expertise, judgment and decision-making.

About The Thorne Protocol

Set in 2036, The Thorne Protocol follows a 17-year-old who attempts to unlock a mysterious black cube left behind as a billionaire’s dying gift by rebuilding it using the pattern of a dragonfly’s wing.

The film stars Owen Correll as Adam, with Josh Henry as Elias Thorne. It was produced by Supernal, directed by Sean Brown, with Scott Downes and J. Ryan Williams as executive producers, and Jonathan Hayes leading AI direction.

Watch the trailer. View the full project presentation. Read the XPRIZE finalists announcement.

About Supernal

Supernal builds AI operating systems for midmarket companies, providing enterprise-grade capabilities without enterprise cost. Rather than fitting businesses to a predetermined template, Supernal builds around each company's intellectual property, processes and people on data infrastructure the company owns. Its clients span financial and professional services companies.

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"AI didn't make this film. People did. We just were able to make it faster, with AI as a tool," said Scott Downes, CEO of Supernal and an executive producer of the film.