The people whose judgement sets the score.

Every score comes from working professionals voting blind on real cases.

28
Expert judges
Selected experts with deep credits in filmmaking, advertising, academia and the creator economy.
1,003
Tastemakers
Industry practitioners and active AI creators who vote across the case set.

Unique participants whose votes contributed to published rankings. Each person is counted once in their tier across all included boards and criteria. Updated .

Creative Expert Council

Selected experts with deep credits in filmmaking, advertising, academia and the creator economy.

  • Affan Imran
    Affan Imran

    CEO & Co-Founder, Fantastic Day; Head of Partnerships, Machine Cinema

  • Anthony Garcia
    Anthony Garcia

    Creative AI Advisor at The AI Collective

  • Daniel Pillis
    Daniel Pillis

    Assistant Professor of Virtual Production, Emerson College

  • Daniel Strange
    Daniel Strange

    Filmmaker, Co-founder of LOUD GIANT

  • David Shing
    David Shing

    Futurist, Speaker & Creative Director

  • Ermin Monzon
    Ermin Monzon

    Head of Content Media & Studio Manager, OpenArt

  • Fred Grinstein
    Fred Grinstein

    Filmmaker, Co-founder of Machine Cinema; Adjunct Professor, USC School of Cinematic Arts

  • Gabe Michael
    Gabe Michael

    AI Production Executive, AI Filmmaker & UCLA Lecturer

  • JackVsAI
    JackVsAI

    VFX Artist, AI Educator

  • Jagger Waters
    Jagger Waters

    Writer, Producer, AI Creator

  • Jeffry Gamble
    Jeffry Gamble

    Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu, Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong

  • Justin
    Justin

    Wonder Studios

  • Kevin Van Witt
    Kevin Van Witt

    Filmmaker, Co-founder of The Monster Library

  • Mark Monroe
    Mark Monroe

    Filmmaker, Co-founder of The Monster Library

  • Minh Do
    Minh Do

    Co-founder, Machine Cinema & Fantastic Day

  • Monica Monique
    Monica Monique

    Producer & Creative Innovation Leader, Founder of Chain Reaction

  • OpenArt Studios
    OpenArt Studios
  • Renard T. Jenkins
    Renard T. Jenkins

    President & CEO, I2A2 Technologies, Studios & Labs

  • Rourke Heath
    Rourke Heath

    Founder & CEO, GenHQ

  • Ryan Sheffer
    Ryan Sheffer

    Filmmaker, Founder of Mile 80

  • Samson Vowles
    Samson Vowles

    YouTuber, Creative Technologist & Educator

  • Sebastien Jefferies
    Sebastien Jefferies

    AI Educator, Founder of AI Creator Lab

  • Stuart Acher
    Stuart Acher

    Emmy-nominated Filmmaker & Director

  • Taoprompts
    Taoprompts

    YouTuber

  • Todd Terrazas
    Todd Terrazas

    Co-founder & CEO of FBRC.ai, Co-founder of AI on the Lot

  • Verena Puhm
    Verena Puhm

    Founder & CEO, Matriarch

  • William Lau
    William Lau

    Award-winning Animation Director

  • Willonius “King Willonius” Hatcher
    Willonius “King Willonius” Hatcher

    Comedian, Futurist & Creative Technologist

Tastemakers

Beyond the expert panel, a broad pool of working creatives, content creators, students and studio crews votes on the cases every score is built from.

Where they come from

  • Industry practitioners
  • Ad agency professionals
  • Traditional studios
  • Art, design & film schools
  • Creative competition winners
  • AI studios & communities
  • OpenArt creator community
  • OpenArt Studio

Join the tastemakers

Your judgment sets the standard

Tastemakers vote on the head-to-head matchups behind every score on Arena. Open to working creatives, content creators, and students. Apply with your portfolio and the disciplines you work in.

Apply as a tastemakerRead the methodology