TLDR : The Croquette Crew won at AI Film Awards Cannes for a unique AI-created rap video, showcasing collective artistic expression without traditional constraints.
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The Croquette Crew collective was recently awarded in Cannes at the second edition of the AI Film Awards for a rap music video entirely created using AI tools. Behind this unusual project, featuring anthropomorphic animals dancing and rapping in a stylized urban setting, lies a unique approach: that of a collective of artists from the GenIArt community, without hierarchy, without budget, and above all, without an initial brief.
GenIArt, a Space for Free Creation
It all started on the GenIArt Discord, dedicated to exploring generative AI, launched in April 2023 by Nicolas, a photography, digital art, and emerging technologies enthusiast from Montpellier, which now has over 3,100 members. Initially focusing on Midjourney, the platform quickly evolved into a learning community, sharing technological watch, technical documentation, and creative experimentation.
In this exchange space, an absurd prompt, "punk dog fish-eye in a tagged alley," became the trigger for a challenge last April. Mathis Yanis, with his unifying energy, turned the fun into a collective artistic experience, bringing together about twenty creators in just 48 hours. No selection, just a message posted on a chat room: "We want to make a 100% AI video. Who's in?"
A Clip Shaped by a Unique Synergy
Without a rigid brief, without constraints, the #croquette-crew chat room of GenIArt buzzed for two weeks, generating hundreds of prompts, hallucinatory visuals, and completely unexpected rushes. Between punk dogs, tracksuit frogs, and rapper dolphins, the creative chaos took shape thanks to Emma Bauden, who gave rhythm and coherence to the whole.
AI as a Lever, Not a Substitute
At no point does The Croquette Crew present the clip as a demonstration of a self-sufficient technology. The project demonstrates that AI, far from replacing artists, can become a tool for individual and collective expression. AI here is a lever for collaboration, not an end in itself:
"What did we want to prove? That we can be sincere with artificial tools. And that the real magic isn't AI. It's what we do with it.
AI here is a pretext to come together. To create what we would never have dared to do alone. THE CROQUETTE CREW isn't just a video. It's proof. That we can create quickly, strongly, together! That we can do without a budget, but not without desire! That we can laugh, struggle, hallucinate, and in the end, give birth to a joyful, dancing, furiously alive UFO!
AI here is a pretext to come together. To create what we would never have dared to do alone. THE CROQUETTE CREW isn't just a video. It's proof. That we can create quickly, strongly, together! That we can do without a budget, but not without desire! That we can laugh, struggle, hallucinate, and in the end, give birth to a joyful, dancing, furiously alive UFO!