ElevenLabs Opens the Chroma Awards Season 2 with a Prize Pool of More Than $450,000 and Free Entry

A drummer, according to one creator who watched the contest launch, started sketching a storyboard on a napkin within ten minutes of the announcement. That is the pitch of the Chroma Awards Season 2 in one image: low barrier, high appetite, and a prize pool large enough to make people dig out the projects they abandoned months ago.

ElevenLabs opened the second season on 20 October 2026. Entry is free, and there is no cap on how many pieces you can submit. Shorts, adverts, music videos, browser games and behind-the-scenes films are all eligible, so long as at least one AI tool is involved and disclosed. The official Chroma Awards site hosts the rules and every prize page, and a Chinese-language breakdown on X by the creator xun david is the source for the figures below. Check them against the official pages before you commit.

What you submit

You enter one category per piece of work. The main competitions are Film & TV, Advert, Music Video, Game and Behind-The-Scenes, with a separate student strand for entrants aged 18 to 24.

Length rules vary by category. Adverts run from 15 seconds to three minutes, in any aspect ratio, and can promote an invented brand. Music videos run from one to ten minutes, and lyrics need English subtitles or a translation. Animation entries need at least two minutes. The ReelShort-sponsored micro-drama category wants vertical 9:16 episodes, at least three of them, each between one and three minutes.

Work must have been made after 1 February 2026 and must not have been entered in earlier seasons. Dialogue needs English audio or English subtitles, except in the music video strand. You submit a public link that can be embedded, with a download link and a thumbnail. Private, locked or unlisted links are not accepted.

Judging scores four areas at 25 per cent each: fit to the theme, creativity and use of AI, production quality, and sound and emotional impact. A first pass sets a pass mark and ranks entries by category, with the top 66 per cent moving on. Each category is then cut to 50 films, then 22 finalists, and public voting comes in at the final stage.

Prize structure

The listed prizes add up to roughly $459,000. The largest share, $263,750, sits in sponsor tool prizes. Student prizes total $60,500, Film & TV $38,000, Adverts $35,000, Music Video $24,000, Games $20,500 and Behind-The-Scenes $17,000. Some top placings also include a trip to the awards ceremony, expected around April 2027, with economy flights and two hotel nights capped at $3,000.

Tool prizes are the part worth planning around. You do not apply for them separately. Tag a sponsor's tool, use it prominently, and attach proof such as screenshots or an estimated share of the work, and the piece is automatically considered for that tool's prize. Listed examples include CapCut and ElevenLabs at $22,000 each, and Kling, Dreamina and Alibaba Cloud at $11,000 each. In the advert strand, six categories carry $3,500 apiece, split $2,000, $1,000 and $500.

ElevenLabs also says it has $1 million in tool trials and discounts on offer. At the time of the source write-up, several claim pages, including Kling, Dreamina, Alibaba Cloud and CapCut, still read "To Be Announced".

Terms worth reading

Entry costs nothing, which is the headline. The details sit elsewhere.

Winners outside the United States may need to file a W-8BEN tax form. Wire, platform and currency conversion fees are paid by the winner, and prizes may be subject to withholding under tax law. You cannot use third-party brands, logos, characters or film and TV IP, even where fair use might apply. Real people's likeness and voice need written permission, and deepfakes are barred. Music must be original, licensed, public domain or fully AI-generated. Vote buying and multi-account campaigning lead to disqualification.

Eligibility excludes under-18s, people on US sanctions lists, residents of comprehensively sanctioned regions, and government employees and their families. You enter as an individual or team, not on behalf of a company.

One caution on the odds. Last season drew over 6,500 entries and around 300 awards or nominations, roughly 4.6 per cent. Cash placings are a smaller slice still.

Deadline and entry

The summary reports a discrepancy: the launch blog post gives 1 January, while the official rules give 7 January 2027 at 23:45 Pacific time. Treat the rules as binding, and submit at least a few days early, ideally a week. Entries go through submit.chromaawards.com, where a free account is required.

Source: Chroma Awards Season 2 overview