Please describe your proposed solution.

We propose to leverage the free release of a world-class, award-winning film to catalyze the creation of an open source, new model of Film3 launchpad that 1) creates Cardano onboarding opportunities that are compelling for mass audiences, and 2) showcases the appeal of Film3 for filmmakers and film enthusiasts.

<u>Our Feature Film:</u>

Carving the Divine is a film about many things: a guild of Japanese, Buddhist sculptors embodying a tradition that goes back 1,400 years; an art and master/apprentice relationship so demanding and technical it’s hard to believe it’s still practiced; and a culture grappling with how to impart to future generations the traditions that define its spiritual center and creative genius.

The film’s accolades speak to its quality: Official selection of 30 film festivals in 22 countries, including a premier at London’s Raindance, and awards at 13 festivals worldwide. And filmmaker Yujiro Seki’s unwavering commitment to telling this story has amounted to an impressive social following: over 100k followers across social media channels, with over 37k followers on Twitter alone.

Well over a decade into this project, Seki is ready to distribute Carving the Divine beyond the festival circuit, and our team of Cardano creators and technologists is ready to leverage the film release and Web3 tech for the advancement of Cardano and its Film3 ecosystem.

<u>Our Plan:</u>

Tens of thousands of Carving the Divine followers will soon have their first opportunity to watch the film for free, and for this long-awaited, free premier, we’re proposing a mass-onboarding opportunity for Cardano:

We’ll start by creating step-by-step videos geared towards the Carving the Divine community – showing them how to set up a Cardano wallet to stream Carving the Divine for free. And once they set up their wallet and retweet/share about the free premier opportunity, we’ll send them a fungible token that will allow them to stream the film on our launchpad website.

Apart from a feature allowing fungible token holders to stream Carving the Divine for a limited time, our launchpad will also market the NFT-based, Film3 component of our project. Because the primary goal of our launchpad model is to onboard new Cardano users, we’ll provide them with tutorials on the safest, most frictionless ways to acquire ADA with fiat to participate in the NFT-based, Film3 project.

And beyond that, the launchpad will showcase the various features of the Film3 project:

1. NFT art will reflect the four classes/levels of Buddhist deities represented in the statuary seen in Carving the Divine – Deva, Vidyaraja (wrathful deities), Bodhisattva, Buddha.
2. All NFTs will of course be tradable on Cardano NFT marketplaces, and unlock permanent access to online streaming of Carving the Divine.
3. NFTs of more enlightened deities may have a higher price-tag, and will certainly be rarer and confer additional privileges to their holders.
4. As a bona fide Film3 project, we’ll rely on community and NFT-holder input to determine the final make-up of perks, experiences, etc., enjoyed by NFT holders.
5. Additional perks/privileges for NFT holders will likely consist of a combination of the following:

• Bonus footage of the film taken from hours of additional scenes that didn’t make the final cut.
• Curated highlights from the roughly 100 interviews the Filmmaker has conducted with subject matter experts since the film’s completion.
• NFT community Q&A’s with some of the world’s leading experts in subjects varying from Buddhist statuary, Buddhism, and possibly even with practicing Busshi (Japanese sculptors).

How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

Our open-source, Film3 launchpad provides a model for creators and their development teams to leverage established audiences and their IP to drive user onboarding and adoption of Cardano - and at the same time increase audience engagement and the profitability of creating content.

First and foremost, we want this project to benefit any team of creators and developers who want to bring their video content to market on Cardano, so a key component of our project will be conveying to the Cardano community the fact that it's open source. While we hope to leverage our team's connections in the film space to use this launchpad repeatedly to bring film audiences to Cardano, we also want other teams to be able to do the same (either in collaboration with our team, or independent of it). And we don't want them to incur redundant development costs to bring new films and users to Cardano, so for us the open source dimension of this project to Cardano.

Our proposal directly addresses the challenge of onboarding new users to the Cardano network by providing a unique, cultural experience. By employing Cardano's blockchain technology for access to varying levels of content, we encourage more people to use Cardano. Furthermore, our project underlines the potential for Cardano and blockchain in the film industry, leading to additional innovative use cases.

Secondarily, this project has huge potential to improve and increase adoption of Cardano technology. Carving the Divine presents a perfect study of the effectiveness of this launchpad model. It has a sizable following of upwards of 100k followers on its various social accounts. And if several thousand of these followers get a wallet and begin using the Cardano network, that could be a very significant achievement. New Cardano users resulting from this project will be adopting this technology for utility they find valuable - beyond a purely speculative value - so these users will be more likely to join the core, regular-user base of Cardano which is thought to be comprised of about 50k individuals.

At the same time, an example of successful Film3 distribution on Cardano will be VERY compelling for other talented filmmakers. Currently, independent film distribution has gone almost completely in the direction of Advertising Video On Demand (AVOD), which basically means that independent film makers have to give their films away to their audiences, and make a tiny amount of income per view. This model can still be very profitable for studio productions and the most viral independent films. However indie films with audiences of 50k - 500k probably won't generate enough revenue to justify their production from a business perspective with an AVOD model alone. But if indie filmmakers can leverage a Film3 free premier (prior to AVOD release) that opens the door for a core community of followers to enrich their experience at some cost, this could make many more film projects viable. And at the same time, it can lead to a steady stream of new Cardano users who showed up because of real utility.

How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

Our primary measures of success will be:

1. Number of NFT-based Film projects to use our free-to-view launchpad model and opensource code - both with our team's collaboration, and independent of it.
2. Number of users to create Cardano wallets in order to watch Carving Divine in its Free-to-view premier
3. Percentage of users who watched the free-to-view premier of Carving divine are first-time Cardano users.
4. Number of Streaming platforms that integrate a launchpad service based on our open-source model.
5. Number of integrations or partnerships with other Cardano platforms (NFT marketplaces, etc.)
6. Number of NFTs sold by Carving the Divine team
7. Revenue from initial sales of NFTs
8. First-year royalty revenue from secondary NFT sales (TBA after the conclusion of the project)

Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

The project's outputs, findings, and learnings will be documented and shared openly with the Cardano community.

Our open-source approach will provide valuable insights to future filmmakers or creators considering whether to do a Film3 distribution project on Cardano.

Updates on project progress, achievements, and user engagement will be regularly shared via social media channels, public (Twitter) polling, monthly milestone and progress reports to Project Catalyst, the project website, a GitHub repository linked to on the website, and project close-out report enumerating stating all available data pertaining to "measures of success" 1-7 above.

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

Our team combines an extensive understanding of the Cardano blockchain and NFT ecosystem with decades of experience in film and content creation. We have demonstrated capabilities in creating successful social media campaigns, managing large audiences, and creating engaging content.

Our project manager, Anthony Capitan, is a Project Catalyst veteran PM with two projects successfully completed in Funds eight and nine. Over the course of those projects, he never missed a monthly report, and both projects were completed on-time and on-budget.

Our transparency will be showcased in the regular updates on project milestones, usage of funds, and progress reports that we will share with the community. In addition, we have a strong track record in managing resources and achieving deliverables, which provides assurance that we can effectively manage the funds and deliver on our commitments.

What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

The primary goals of this project are as follows:

1. To provide a Proof-of-Concept for a novel, opensource, Film3 launchpad model - leveraging a combination of premier, free-to-view content and value-add, NFT-gated experiences
2. To promote its successes, and its future use in other film projects
3. To ensure the launchpad is reused by at least three projects in the 24 months following the project's inception
4. To onboard at least 5k new Cardano as a result of the Carving the Divine free-to-view premier
5. To net at least $15k for the film team from the (value-add) NFT project

To validate these goals, we will measure all the above metrics that insofar as they are quantifiable -

For goal #3, we'll report any updates in our monthly progress reports to Project Catalyst until the conclusion of the project, and following the conclusion of the project, we'll report any additional updates on this metric on our social channels, no less than once 24 months after the inception of the project.

For goal #4, we'll attempt to ascertain the number of new Cardano users who onboarded to see Carving the Divine, based on 1) number of tokens sent to qualifying recipients, and percentage of token holders who are new users (based on public polling)

For goal #5, we'll report on whether we met our income goals for the film team in our project closing report.

Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

Milestone 1 (months 1-3): Development of the Platform: We aim to create a robust and user-friendly viewing platform that would facilitate the seamless interaction of users with NFTs. The tasks and activities under this milestone would include:

Task 1.1: Technical Planning and Designing. This is the foundational stage where the system architecture will be designed based on user requirements and market trends.

Task 1.2: Development of the Gate-kept Viewing Platform. Our technical team will utilize modern and robust technologies based on CardanoPress to build a gate-kept viewing platform with top-notch features.

Task 1.3: Integration with Cardano Wallet Log-ins. The platform will be integrated with the Cardano log in APIs based on CIP-?? to facilitate seamless transactions.

Task 1.4: Testing. The platform will undergo rigorous testing to ensure it's bug-free and provides a smooth user experience.

The expected deliverable for this milestone is a fully functional gate-kept viewing platform integrated with Cardano wallet.

2. Milestone 2 (months 4-5): Creation of NFTs: The next milestone will be the creation and integration of artistic NFTs into our platform. The tasks under this milestone include:

Task 2.1: Collaboration with Artists. We will collaborate with renowned artists and facilitate them to create unique and innovative NFTs.

Task 2.2: Testing NFT Issuance. The issuance of NFTs will be tested to ensure it meets all legal and technical requirements.

Task 2.3: Integration of NFTs with the Platform. Once the NFTs are created, they will be integrated into our platform to be viewed and traded.

The expected deliverable for this milestone is the successful creation and integration of unique artistic NFTs with the platform.

3. Milestone 3 (months 6-8): Marketing and Launch: The final stage will focus on marketing the platform and launching it. The tasks under this milestone include:

Task 3.1: Development and Execution of a Marketing Plan. A comprehensive marketing strategy will be developed and executed to reach out to potential users and stakeholders.

Task 3.2: Launch of the Platform and the NFTs. The platform, along with the NFTs, will be launched for users.

Task 3.3: Monitor the Response. After the launch, the user engagement data will be monitored to ensure the success of the project and to devise future strategies.

The expected deliverable for this milestone is the successful launch of the platform and the NFTs, the execution of the marketing plan, and initial user engagement data.

Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

Milestone 1 (months 1-2): Development of the Platform: We aim to create a robust and user-friendly viewing platform that would facilitate the seamless interaction of users with NFTs. The tasks and activities under this milestone would include:

Task 1.1: Technical Planning and Designing will be documented in our public GitHub repository. Progress will also be reported monthly to Project Catalyst.

Task 1.2: Development of the Gate-kept Viewing Platform will be documented in our public GitHub repository.

Task 1.3: Integration with Cardano Wallet Log-inswill be documented in our public GitHub repository. Progress will also be reported monthly to Project Catalyst.

Task 1.4: Testing updates to code will be documented in our public GitHub repository, and reported in our monthly progress reports.

The expected deliverable for this milestone is a fully functional gate-kept viewing platform integrated with Cardano wallet.

2. Milestone 2 (months 3-4): Creation of NFTs: The next milestone will be the creation and integration of artistic NFTs into our platform. The tasks under this milestone include:

Task 2.1: Collaboration with Artists. We will collaborate with renowned artists and facilitate them to create unique and innovative NFTs. Progress will also be reported monthly to Project Catalyst, and announcements of additions to our team will be announced on our Twitter account and website.

Task 2.2: Testing NFT Issuance will be documented in our public GitHub repository, and reported in our monthly progress reports.

Task 2.3: Integration of NFTs with the Platform. Once the NFTs are created, they will be integrated into our platform to be viewed and traded. This task will be documented in our public GitHub repository, and reported in our monthly progress reports.

The expected deliverable for this milestone is the successful creation and integration of unique artistic NFTs with the platform.

3. Milestone 3 (months 5-6): Marketing and Launch: The final stage will focus on marketing the platform and launching it. The tasks under this milestone include:

Task 3.1: Development and Execution of a Marketing Plan. A comprehensive marketing strategy will be developed and executed to reach out to potential users and stakeholders. Marketing will occur via our project social accounts (Twitter, and eventually Discord). And marketing milestone achievements will be reported as part of our monthly Catalyst reports.

Task 3.2: Launch of the Platform and the NFTs. The platform, along with the NFTs, will be launched for users. arketing will occur via our project social accounts (Twitter, and eventually Discord). And marketing milestone achievements will be reported as part of our monthly Catalyst reports.

Task 3.3: Monitor the Response. After the launch, the user engagement data will be monitored to ensure the success of the project and to devise future strategies. arketing will occur via our project social accounts (Twitter, and eventually Discord). And marketing milestone achievements will be reported as part of our monthly Catalyst reports.

The expected deliverable for this milestone is the successful launch of the platform and the NFTs, the execution of the marketing plan, and initial user engagement data.

Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Platform Development: This will cover the cost of technical planning, platform development, integration with the Cardano wallet, and testing. Given the high-level technical skills required for these tasks, we allocate 60% of the budget i.e., 67,500 ADA.

• NFT Creation: This includes the costs associated with the collaboration with artists and NFT issuance. We allocate 10% of the budget for this task, i.e., 11,250 ADA.

• Marketing and Project Launch: This covers the cost of marketing plan development, execution, platform launch, and monitoring response. We allocate 20% of the budget for this task, i.e., 22,500 ADA.

• Project Management: This will cover the cost of project management activities throughout the project, estimated at 5% of the budget, i.e., 5,625 ADA.

• Legal Services: Given the evolving regulatory landscape around NFTs, legal services are critical. We allocate 5% of the budget, i.e., 5.625 ADA for this.

Please note, this is an initial rough budget breakdown and actual costs may vary based on market rates and the specific requirements of the project. A more detailed and accurate budget will be provided once we have more clarity on specific project needs and market trends.

Total ADA ask = 112,500 ADA (~36,000 USD at time of submission)

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Anthony Capitan - Project Manager: Co-founder and COO of ArgusNFT (https://argusnft.com/). Award-Winning writer, and Story and Subtitle Editor of Carving the Divine. PM of successfully completed Catalyst proposals in Funds 8 and 9 LinkedIn

Chadi Nassar - Art and NFT project Director: Leading, Cardano NFT artist and content creator. Co-founder of Plutus.Art NFT marketplace. LinkedIn

Yujiro Seki - Filmmaker, Master of Busshi "Lore" and Social Media Strategy: Director, Cinematographer & Editor of Carving the Divine. Film EPK . LinkedIn

How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

We believe that the cost of the project represents value for money for the Cardano ecosystem because:

• We have based our budget on realistic estimates of the time and resources required to complete this project with high quality standards.
• We have benchmarked our costs against the average wage in our countries of residence and the typical freelance rates in our industry (ML/web development/blockchain).
• We have considered alternative sources of funding or revenue for this project, such as grants, sponsorships, or fees, but we have concluded that Catalyst funding is the most suitable and sustainable option for us at this stage.
• We have demonstrated that our project will bring significant benefits and value to the Cardano ecosystem, such as increasing NFT sales, user retention, and adoption, enhancing NFT diversity and utility, and creating a powerful, open-source tool for creatives and their development teams to launch projects on Cardano.