Runway Gen:48 · Guide

How to win Runway Gen:48.Forty-eight hours. Runway footage. Plan first.

No new edition is announced on Runway's page, so this guide reads the Aleph Edition rules and winners: the 75% Runway rule, the 1 to 4 minute limit and an hour-by-hour plan. ScreenWeaver covers the writing and the storyboard.
Start writing for freeSee the scene
  • 48 hours, 1 to 4 minutes
  • 75% must be Runway
  • Free to enter
Lost Garden · Episode 1

Independent guide. ScreenWeaver does not organise Runway Gen:48 and is not affiliated with Runway. Rules read on 1 October 2026. Official page

Available today in ScreenWeaver: free screenwriting, and a storyboard generated from your screenplay with Storyboard Beta, $9.99 a month.

Rolling out: video generation of each shot, powered by Seedance, with the Filmmaker plan.

The rules on one card

What Gen:48 asked for in 2025.

Gen:48 is Runway's own 48-hour AI film challenge. It ran five times, most recently as the Aleph Edition in August 2025. The page announces no sixth edition, so these are the latest published rules.
Latest edition
Aleph Edition, August 2025. No new edition announced
The clock
48 hours: 23 August, 9:00 AM EDT to 25 August, 9:00 AM EDT in 2025
Length
1 to 4 minutes
Imposed tool
Runway video tools for at least 75% of the total seconds
Brief
Extra instructions revealed when the 48 hours begin
Cost and eligibility
Free. 18 and over, a free Runway account, a Discord username, one entry each
Prizes
$5,000 and 1,000,000 Runway credits for the Grand Prix and the People's Choice. 500,000 credits for 2nd to 5th
Judging
Jury for the Grand Prix. Public vote for People's Choice and 2nd to 5th

Source: runway.com/gen48 and its Official Rules at runway.com/gen48/terms, read on 1 October 2026. The rules text is dated August 2025. Runway can change every figure for a new edition, so read the new terms the day registration opens.

How the Aleph Edition ran

Two weeks to register, two days to make.

The 2025 calendar is the best model of what a new edition would look like. Note how short the making window is compared with the registration window.

  1. 11 to 22 Aug 2025

    Registration

    From 9:00 AM EDT on 11 August to 12:00 PM EDT on 22 August. A form, a free Runway account and a Discord username.

  2. 23 Aug 2025, 9:00 AM EDT

    The clock starts

    Runway sends its extra instructions. From now on every second of the film must be made.

  3. 25 Aug 2025, 9:00 AM EDT

    The clock stops

    The film is uploaded to your Runway account, and the submission form carries a link and a short description of the AI techniques used.

  4. 29 Aug 2025

    Finalists and public vote

    Runway announces the finalists and opens the public vote at 9:00 AM EDT. The number of finalists is Runway's choice.

  5. 3 Sep 2025

    Voting ends

    The vote closes at 9:00 AM EDT. People's Choice and 2nd to 5th go to the most-voted films.

Who decides

A jury, a crowd and Runway.

The rules do not name the jury. They do say who decides what, and that changes how you make the film.

  • The Grand Prix jury

    A jury of Runway and/or challenge participants picks the Grand Prix at its sole discretion. The jury is not named. Make a film that a few attentive people will defend: craft and a clear idea over spectacle.

  • The public vote

    People's Choice and the second to fifth places go to the most-voted finalists. The vote lasts about five days, so a film that explains itself in a minute, and a title people can share, travel further.

  • Runway, final in all matters

    By entering you accept Runway's decisions as final. Winners are verified for age and residency, may have to sign an affidavit, and must answer the first notification within 48 hours or forfeit.

The Aleph Edition winners

What ten winning films show.

Runway's page lists ten winners for the Aleph Edition, with runtimes from 1:31 to 3:59. The Grand Prix went to Exactly How I Remember It by Holden Boyles (3:40). The People's Choice went to ∞ by Kartikye Kashyap (2:28).

  1. 01

    Winners used the allowed range. Runtimes run from 1:31 to 3:59, and the jury's pick ran 3:40, close to the four minute cap. The People's Choice winner ran 2:28, well under it.

  2. 02

    Two prizes, two different films. The jury and the crowd did not choose the same film. Decide before you write which of the two you are making for.

  3. 03

    One person can do it. Seven of the ten winners are credited to one filmmaker or one studio. Three are teams of two or three: We Are Infinite, Ausencia and Elevate.

  4. 04

    The award list changes each edition. The page covers five editions since October 2023. The second used People's Choice Gold, Silver and Bronze. The third had Jury Selection, Best Craft, Best Script and an IMAX Selection. Read the list for the edition you enter.

  5. 05

    It is not the Runway AI Film Festival. Gen:48 is a 48-hour challenge with Runway-only footage. The festival is a separate event with longer films and its own call.

A scene built for the clock

Lost Garden: the Source Tree, in six shots.

From Lost Garden, episode 1, the Source Tree scene: one cavern, two characters and six shots, the kind of scene you can plan in an hour. The ScreenWeaver team made the series with Seedance. Gen:48 requires Runway footage, so take it as a model of the planning, not of the tool.

Logline. A small knight wakes up in a dead world and learns he is the last guardian of a seed that could bring the garden back.

Screenplay · episode 1 · the Source Tree

INT. HEART OF THE ROOTS - NIGHT

Living roots coil around LANTERN and pin him down. A voice stops them.

THE SOURCE TREE

Stop. He is my guest.

A giant woman of roots and white lilies opens her arms over the cavern.

Her eyes open. Blue, and vast.

THE SOURCE TREE

Welcome to you, Lantern Knight.

She lifts him in her palm, like a lamp.

THE SOURCE TREE

Do not be afraid. I will not harm you.

In the dark, a seed of light opens. Inside the flower, a sleeping child.

THE SOURCE TREE

You must find yours. Protect her.

CUT TO:

  1. A small lantern-helmed knight bound by thick roots in a ruined hall
    Storyboard frame of the trap shot, in grey
    01

    Medium · the trap

    Medium shot, Lantern bound by thick living roots in a ruined hall, glowing blue mushrooms on the floor, cold light

  2. A giant woman made of roots and white lilies spreads her many arms in a dark cavern
    Storyboard frame of the wide shot, in grey
    02

    Wide · the Source Tree

    Symmetrical wide shot, a giant woman made of roots, arms spread with many hands, white lilies, blue glyphs

  3. Extreme close-up of a giant pale face with piercing blue eyes
    Storyboard frame of the eyes close-up, in grey
    03

    Extreme close-up · the eyes

    Extreme close-up on the giant's face, piercing blue eyes opening, pale skin, soft light from below

  4. A tiny armored knight stands in the middle of a giant open hand
    Storyboard frame of the palm shot, in grey
    04

    High angle · the palm

    High angle, the tiny knight standing in the center of a giant open palm, stone floor far below

  5. A giant fingertip gently touches the chest of a small armored knight
    Storyboard frame of the touch close-up, in grey
    05

    Close-up · the touch

    Close-up, a giant fingertip gently touches the knight's armored chest, faceless helm, emotion through posture

  6. A sleeping pink-haired child curled inside a glowing blue flower
    Storyboard frame of the seed insert, in grey
    06

    Insert · the seed

    Top-down insert, a glowing pale blue flower opening, a sleeping child with pink hair curled inside

Lost Garden, episode 1 runs 17 minutes and reached the finals at the AI London Festival. A Gen:48 film caps at four minutes, so you would build the whole film around a single scene like this one. The player starts at the Source Tree, about 7 minutes 35 in.

The script

A 3 minute film that fits 48 hours.

Three minutes leaves a minute of margin under the cap and keeps generation realistic. That is about three pages and 30 to 45 shots, which you can only afford with a firm plan.

  1. 0:00 to 0:20

    The hook

    A strong image with a question. Voters decide fast.

  2. 0:20 to 0:55

    The situation

    Who, where, and the one element from Runway's brief.

  3. 0:55 to 2:05

    The escalation

    Two or three beats that raise the stakes, in one or two places.

  4. 2:05 to 2:40

    The payoff

    What the film was about, revealed in a single move.

  5. 2:40 to 3:00

    The last image

    A frame worth freezing. It becomes the thumbnail in the vote.

The brief arrives at hour zero, so do not write the story in advance. Prepare the container: the three-minute structure, the shot-list template and the audio plan.

Hour by hour

Three weeks of practice, then 48 hours.

A challenge with a hidden brief rewards people who have rehearsed. Practise the process, never the film. The rules require the video to be made in full inside the window.
  1. 01

    Before · week 1

    Learn the tool

    Spend a week in Runway's video tools. At least 75% of your seconds must come from them, so learn what they do well: shot length, camera moves, faces, hands.

  2. 02

    Before · week 2

    Build a template

    Prepare a three-minute beat sheet, a shot-list layout, a file-naming scheme and a sound plan. Do not generate story footage: it would be made outside the window.

  3. 03

    Before · week 3

    Run a 12 hour rehearsal

    Invent a brief, write, storyboard and generate a one-minute film. Note where the hours leak: re-rolls, exports, sound.

  4. 04

    Hours 0 to 4

    Read the brief, write

    Read Runway's extra instructions twice. Write a three-page screenplay in ScreenWeaver, free, with every required element in it.

  5. 05

    Hours 4 to 8

    Storyboard and references

    Generate the shot breakdown and storyboard from the screenplay. Fix one reference per character and per set before any footage.

  6. 06

    Hours 8 to 38

    Generate in Runway

    Shot by shot from the storyboard, keeping at least 75% of the film in Runway generative video. Log every prompt: the submission asks you to describe your AI techniques.

  7. 07

    Hours 38 to 48

    Cut, sound and submit

    Edit to under four minutes, add sound, upload to your Runway account and fill in the form. It cannot be edited once submitted, so leave an hour of slack.

Disqualification traps

Seven ways to lose in the 48 hours.

The Official Rules are strict and Runway decides alone. Read them before you register, not at hour 40.

  • Footage made before the clock

    The film must be original and made in its entirety during the participation period. It must also never have been submitted to another event, festival or competition.

  • Under 75% Runway

    Runway generative video tools must make at least 75% of the total seconds. Footage from another model, Seedance included, does not count toward it.

  • The wrong length

    One to four minutes. Count the seconds of the final export, not your timeline's optimistic estimate.

  • Banned content

    No material that promotes violence, alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms or weapons, and nothing that is not appropriate for the general public.

  • No written description

    The form asks for a link to the film and a short description of the AI techniques used. Neither the film nor the form can be edited after you submit.

  • Missing the winner's email

    A winner who does not answer the first notification within 48 hours, or after two attempts, forfeits the prize. Documents may have to be notarised and returned within 14 days.

  • A licence you did not read

    You keep ownership but give Runway a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable licence to use the film and waive your moral rights. Do not enter a film you plan to sell exclusively.

Why ScreenWeaver

Runway makes the footage. ScreenWeaver makes the plan.

Gen:48 names its tool, and an honest guide says so. ScreenWeaver footage does not count toward the 75% Runway share. What it does cover is everything around the footage: the screenplay, the storyboard and the schedule.

  • A screenplay in the first hour

    Writing is free in ScreenWeaver, in industry format, in your browser. With the brief on your screen, three pages take an hour, not an evening.

  • A storyboard before the first generation

    Storyboard Beta turns the screenplay into shot frames you can adjust. In a 48 hour race, a wasted generation is the most expensive mistake, and a storyboard prevents most of them.

  • Consistency planned, not hoped for

    Characters, locations and references are set once in the project. You carry the same references into every Runway shot, which is what keeps a face stable.

  • A longer film later

    After Gen:48, the same screenplay and storyboard can grow into a longer film in ScreenWeaver, with footage powered by Seedance once the Filmmaker plan's video generation reaches you.

Real productions

International festival-recognized films have been written and produced with ScreenWeaver.

ScreenWeaver is already being used as a creative workspace for real AI film productions, from cinematic shorts to animated series pilots selected, nominated, and awarded by international festivals.

  • Video thumbnail for VOIDBORN

    VOIDBORN

    AI animated / cinematic short

    Festival recognition

    • 1st Place Silver

      Mondial Chroma Awards

    • 2nd Place Dreamina

      Mondial Chroma Awards

    • Award Winner

      Seoul International AI Film Festival

  • Video thumbnail for Les Fils du Vinnana

    Les Fils du Vinnana

    AI short film

    Festival recognition

    • Honorable Mention

      Top Quark Film Festival

    • People's Choice Nominee

      Illuminate Oneness of Humanity

    • Nominee

      ALTFF Supershort

  • Video thumbnail for Lost Garden

    Lost Garden

    AI animated series pilot

    Festival recognition

    • Finalist

      AI London Festival

See what creators are building

The pipeline

Write. Board. Produce.

  1. ScreenWeaver screenplay editor: acts, sequences and beats above the formatted script of The Yellow Umbrella

    01The screenplay, enriched

    An industry-standard screenplay editor, and more: a visual outline and beat editor, your writing inspirations (notes, photos, audio) kept next to the page, and an AI researcher to support your writing, not replace it.

  2. ScreenWeaver storyboard: shot S3 of The Yellow Umbrella with characters, shot settings and the script beside it

    02The storyboard, made easy

    Shot breakdown generated from your screenplay, manual control over every shot (frame, angle, movement, duration), and generative AI previsualization in one click.

  3. ScreenWeaver production canvas: shots S3 and S4 as connected nodes carrying their storyboard panels and prompts

    03AI production, with finesse

    Footage generation pipelines connected to your screenplay and storyboard. Optimized out of the box, fully editable workflow.

More contests

Guides for other AI film contests

Go further

Guides for fast film-making

FAQ

Runway Gen:48, your questions

How do you win Runway Gen:48?
A jury picks the Grand Prix and the public votes for People's Choice and 2nd to 5th. The rules publish no scoring grid. In practice you need a film of one to four minutes, at least 75% from Runway tools, with a clear idea, made inside 48 hours.
Is there a 2026 edition?
Runway's Gen:48 page shows the Aleph Edition of August 2025 as the latest and announces no new one. The rules on this page are from that edition.
Must I use Runway?
Yes. At least 75% of the total seconds must come from Runway generative video tools. Optional Epidemic Sound tools are allowed for music.
Can I use ScreenWeaver for Gen:48?
For the writing and the storyboard, yes. For the footage, no: Seedance footage from ScreenWeaver does not count toward the Runway share. Generate your shots in Runway.
How long can the film be?
From one to four minutes. The ten winners of the Aleph Edition ran from 1:31 to 3:59.
Does it cost anything?
No purchase or entry fee. You need a free Runway account and a Discord username. You must be at least 18, or the local age of majority if higher.
What do the winners receive?
Grand Prix and People's Choice: $5,000, 1,000,000 Runway credits and one year of Epidemic Sound's Commercial Plan. Places two to five: 500,000 credits each.
Is this the same as the Runway AI Film Festival?
No. Gen:48 is a 48-hour challenge with its own rules. The Runway AI Film Festival is a separate competition with longer films: see our guide to the Runway AI Film Festival.

The clock is short. The plan is not.

Write your screenplay for free today. Storyboard it, then make the shots in Runway.
Start writing for freeBack to the scene