Cinedapt® is a patented revolutionary new form of entertainment technology created by Michael Kureth.

In the world of filmmaking, advancements in technology continue to shape and redefine the industry. One such innovation that has caught our attention is Cinedapt®, a groundbreaking patented adaptive film service created by Michael Kureth. an VMA award-winning, technology and entertainment industry professional with a wealth of experience in software engineering, film production, and technical architecture.
Michael is trying to revolutionize the field by combining artificial intelligence and personalization techniques both to expand the filmmakers talents and to cater the unique preferences of individual viewers.
In this interview, we delve into the potential impact of Cinedapt® on the future of filmmaking and how it could reshape not only the viewer&#39;s experience but the entire film industry.
 
<hr>

Hi Michael, congratulations on your wins at the VMAs in January 2020 for &quot;Whiteboard Challenge®&quot; and at the 27th Annual Webby Awards for the script processing software portion of your patent on Cinedapt®. Before we dive into the interview, could you introduce yourself and your extensive career in the film and tech industry?
I am a filmmaker, entrepreneur, and technologist who has been at the forefront of the entertainment and technology industries for over two decades.
In 2007, I created and copyrighted the first streaming service for filmmakers. This was a major breakthrough for the independent film community, and it helped to make independent films more accessible to audiences around the world.
From 2004 to 2014, I produced seven independent feature-length films. These films gave me firsthand experience into film production and distribution.
From 2008 to 2015, I created hundreds of personalized and interactive campaigns for major film studios. These campaigns were designed to engage audiences and promote the films.
In 2017, I was fascinated by how the subconscious mind could create a nightmare more terrifying than a film with a multimillion dollar budget. This led me to invent and patent Cinedapt, a new technology that allows filmmakers to create more immersive films.
 
<hr>

What inspired you to create &quot;Whiteboard Challenge®,&quot; and what message do you hope to convey through the show?
Whiteboard Challenge® is based on an interview practice where employers use an employment test which screens out a class of individuals with disabilities (Autism, Anxiety, PTSD, etc.) by using a selection criteria that is not job-related for the position in question and is not consistent with business necessity. This practice is a violation of federal law Title 42, U.S.C., 12112 (b)(6).
The primary intention of the Whiteboard Challenge® series is to advocate for the diversity, equity, and inclusion of software engineers and software engineering related positions within the tech industry as well as to showcase methods to improve the overall interview process to be more inclusive by adhering to federal laws while providing an entertaining and educational platform encouraging others to have interest in joining the field of software engineering and information technology.
There also seems to be a misunderstanding outside of the tech industry why this interview practice is even offensive to people without a hidden disability. A Whiteboard Challenge® interview would be comparable to having a Principal Attorney with more than 20 years experience retake the Bar Exam in front of a mock jury for 8 hours over a 2 day period while having the test administered and graded by a Paralegal.
I own the trademark for Whiteboard Challenge® because I want for people who search on the topic to be educated that the practice itself is a federal violation.The message I hope to convey to people who watch the show is that there are ways the process can be improved but also to educate on how to protect against discrimination. 
 


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<blockquote>
Audiences have become emotionally numb with an insatiable desire to overcome that tolerance. The creation of Cinedapt was a result of the monotony in films where an audience leaves the theatre unimpressed or unaffected by the movie.
</blockquote>
 
<hr>

How does &quot;Whiteboard Challenge®&quot; differ from other tech-related films and shows, and what is the significance of having a cast consisting only of software engineers?
It would have been incredibly easy in comparison for me to cast and direct actors instead of people who had no experience on camera. However, I wanted to both challenge myself and give authenticity to the show by having the entire cast consist of only software engineers and engineering leaders.
The show differs from other tech-related films and shows by being the only one created by and casted with professionals in the tech industry. This gives the viewers an inside look into the industry with topic discussion as well as solutions to improve the overall process.
I have produced many feature length films and architected hundreds of multi-million dollar projects in tech. For interviews, I was asked to provide an example of myself on camera giving a tech presentation as well as perform in interview a Whiteboard Challenge on camera and in front of a room of people. Ultimately, Whiteboard Challenge became the single project which I could use to showcase as a proof of concept for Cinedapt, prove I could manage and present on camera, and help encourage a change in the industry.
 
<hr>

What topics and themes are discussed in the pilot episode of &quot;Whiteboard Challenge®,&quot; and how do they promote diversity and empathy in the tech industry?
The pilot episode of the show, Diversity and Inclusion, has 36 primary versions with trillions of variants which gives each viewer a personalized experience. This is derived from the diversity aspect of women in tech, people of color in tech, age diversity in tech, and more. The topics of discussion range from ways to improve the overall process to facts surrounding the current interview process being discriminatory.
Through Cinedapt, each of the primary versions of the pilot gives the viewer an empathetic experience by focusing on a specific contestant with targeted messaging towards the viewer. In each version, the viewer is shown how all contestants are equally qualified but through the journey of the interview process can be eliminated due to personal preference outweighing performance.
Similar to how contestants are judged and voted by the audience on “American Idol”, “Whiteboard Challenge” reflects the interview process by having the viewer or audience judge the outcome based on personal preference.
The goal of the pilot is to give empathy to the viewer and motivate change in the industry. There are 13 additional episodes scripted with a specific theme focusing on a historic figure in tech with the code challenge, contestants, and topics centered around that core theme and lesson for the viewer.
 

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<hr>

When did you first come up with the idea for Cinedapt® and what motivated you to pursue it?
I originally conceived Cinedapt from a nightmare and wanted to capture that fear in film. After the emotional pain of my mother’s death, I sought to recreate elements of that suffering in film as well. It was by understanding what and how causes fear and terror that I knew I could leverage my experience in technology to evolve film to be less stoic.
At the horror conventions I attended, filmmakers would commonly claim that everything has been done before and there were no original concepts or scenes that could scare people. Audiences have become emotionally numb with an insatiable desire to overcome that tolerance. The creation of Cinedapt was a result of the monotony in films where an audience leaves the theatre unimpressed or unaffected by the movie.
The ultimate goal of Cinedapt is to motivate the viewer to action and impact the viewer with an emotion.
 
<hr>

Congratulations on your recent Webby Award for Cinedapt®! Can you tell us more about this technology and how it can benefit the film industry in the age of artificial intelligence?
The original concept for Cinedapt was with the story, “Exolatry,” which was provided as an example for the Webby Awards. For the 2023 Webby Awards, I was honored for Cinedapt’s Screenplay Processing Software. This is part of the core technology and artificial intelligence patented and copyrighted in both processing a Cinedaptive screenplay and the creation of a Cinedaptive film.
There is a scene in “Exolatry” where the viewer hears the voice of a deceased loved one denigrate the viewer of the film by speaking directly to him or her. This is an example of Generative AI in film generating vocals with the intent to entice fear. There is also a scene in the film that synchronizes a heartbeat and scare sequence to the viewer’s resting and elevated heart rates. Also, the main storyline incorporates the viewer’s closest loved one as the common name for hundreds of women missing throughout the world.
In the example of using the technology to encourage a positive change with “Whiteboard Challenge,” “Exolatry” is an example of the technology being used to evoke fear and terror. In the age of artificial intelligence, Cinedapt will prevail with its patent and the originality it empowers to creators.
 

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How can filmmakers and producers benefit from using Cinedapt® to create their films in terms of originality of content and return on investment?
Cinedapt’s primary users will be professional writers, producers, and directors in the film industry. I created and hold a copyright from 2007 for the first streaming service. Cinedapt is not competing in that oversaturated market, so the end consumer of the product will be unaware of Cinedapt directly. The viewer of the Cinedaptive film will engage via a licensing model with existing streaming services.
To summarize, Cinedapt is a reinvention of the film industry’s production and distribution process. The current minimum viable product (MVP) and business model for Cinedapt touches all areas of production beginning with a new screenplay format. The entire filmmaking process now begins with a Cinedaptive screenplay as a guideline throughout the film’s production and distribution pipeline.
Once the Cinedaptive screenplay is written, filmmakers can export an Edit Decision List (EDL) template from the screenplay for common editing programs such as Apple Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. The filming shot lists, scheduling, budgeting, and other documents are prepared for the pre-production and principal photography phases of film production.
An advantage filmmakers now have with test screenings of a Cinedaptive film is evaluating how well a particular scene or content does for a certain demographic prior to the theatrical release. For example, a different Digital Cinema Package (DCP) can be provided to each theater based on the location. Once released, the viewers will be able to enjoy a more immersive and personalized experience. Analytics from viewers is then taken into consideration when revising future versions of the film.
 
<hr>

How does Cinedapt® change the way films are delivered and perceived by viewers, and how can this technology enter viewers&#39; homes?
A proof of concept for Cinedapt was exemplified with the theatrical premiere, screenings, and Cinedaptive release of “Whiteboard Challenge.”
Prior to the theatrical premiere of “Whiteboard Challenge,” the audience could vote for their favorite contestant. The theatrical screenings at the TCL Chinese Theatre and the Burbank International Film Festival each had different versions tailored to the audience attending. For the early beta to showcase how content can be personalized for each viewer, SXSW shortlisted “Whiteboard Challenge.” A Cinedaptive version of the show will be available to the public later this year.
A very simple example of this could be for a scene in a film involving two mothers kissing. In this example, the filmmakers could perform test screenings then release different theatrical versions of the film based on location and demographics. The Cinedaptive version of this film could then be tailored to specific viewers for the best experience.
 
<hr>

Can you explain how Cinedapt® works in terms of anti-piracy measures?
Cinedapt’s patented technology provides federal law enforcement a service to identify and prosecute criminals who pirate films in a comparable way to how DNA is used in forensics as evidence in solving crime. Each film created by Cinedapt® includes an indestructible tracking code embedded in the film.
This patented process is different from other services in that other anti-piracy companies and methods have been successfully bypassed. Cinedapt is also a verified vendor with the United States Federal Government.
Additionally, with a Cinedaptive film, why would someone want to pirate or steal another person’s wedding video? At the very core of Cinedapt is the solution to film piracy.
As a promotion of this service, audiences can visit PiracyPlus.com to find out where any film can be watched and if it is protected with Cinedapt.
 
<hr>

For those interested in learning more about Cinedapt®, where can they follow you and your work?
<a href="https://cinedapt.com">https://cinedapt.com</a> | <a href="https://mkureth.com">https://mkureth.com</a> 
 
<hr>

Thank you for sharing your insights with us. Is there anyone you would like to give a shoutout or dedicate these last words to?
I would like to dedicate the last words to the reader of this interview. I welcome feedback and collaboration from others and look forward to hearing from professionals in the industry. Please reach out if you would like to learn more or have any questions.
 

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 "Whiteboard Challenge" awarded in the Vegas Movie Awards
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Read the full article online here: 
<a href="https://www.vegasmovieawards.com/post/whiteboardchallenge" target="_blank">https://www.vegasmovieawards.com/post/whiteboardchallenge</a>
Interview by Vegas Movie Awards

Article - Cinedapt, Inc.

Michael Kureth Interviewed in Vegas Movie Awards

<h2>Michael Kureth and Cinedapt were featured in Tech Times</h2>

<blockquote>
It offers a personalized version of a film that is made just for each viewer or audience. Machine learning combines dynamic content and applicable scene variations to give viewers the most memorable and powerful cinematic entertainment experience possible after one of the movies he produced and solely financed leaked as a torrent one week before its intended international release, Michael Kureth was motivated to create his proprietary anti-piracy technology. For filmmakers, securing distribution with significant shops at the time, such as Blockbuster, was a moment of excitement; nevertheless, losses due to piracy have shown to pillage any hope of financial return. After becoming curious about how the image may be more frightful than a multi-million-dollar horror picture, Michael finally came up with the adaptive part of the invention.<cite>David Thompson, Tech Times</cite>
</blockquote>
 
 

Online version available here: 
<a href="https://www.techtimes.com/articles/281520/20221005/michael-kureth-revolutionizing-the-film-world-with-cinedapt-the-patented-solution-to-piracy.htm" target="_blank">https://www.techtimes.com/articles/281520/20221005/michael-kureth-revolutionizing-the-film-world-with-cinedapt-the-patented-solution-to-piracy.htm</a>

Media Coverage - Tech Times

Michael Kureth and Cinedapt featured in Tech Times

<h2>Film Festival Network interview with Michael Kureth</h2>
Friday, November 12, 2021

<h3>An Interview With Michael Kureth: A Visionary Creator</h3>

 
 

Hello Michael Kureth! Welcome! Could you tell us a bit about yourself? Give us a brief introduction!
Michael is an award-winning technology and entertainment industry professional with decades of experience in software engineering, film production, and team management.
He is well experienced in developing and managing 250+ large scale projects with interactive digital experiences for high caliber technology companies including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Adobe along with top film studios not limited to Warner Bros. Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios, Lionsgate, and Netflix.
With a multitude of diverse skills and credits, he was inspired in 2015 to create and patent Zennect, a platform to allow others like him to showcase their many talents in one place while leveling up their skills and credits with experience points. In 2003, he became a voting member of the Grammy Awards for his ownership of an independent record label releasing the first enhanced compact disc promoting musicians, music videos, and poetry. From 2003 to 2015, he produced 7 independent feature-length films expanding his financing and scheduling skills. In 2007, he built Cinepix to empower independent filmmakers and major studios to be compensated for their films in what he copyrighted as the world’s first online movie theatre.
In 2018, Michael Kureth created Cinedapt®, a patented, revolutionary new form of entertainment technology providing a personalized experience for viewers, advanced creative freedom for filmmakers, and anti-piracy tracking for investors. Cinedapt, Inc. is a Verified Vendor with the US Federal Contractor Registration, the world’s largest third-party federal government registration firm.
<a href="https://cinedapt.com" target="_blank">Click Here To Learn More About Cinedapt</a>
 
 

Where are you located?
 
Los Angeles, CA
<img src="/assets/press/images/content/article-film-festival-network-los-angeles.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />

 
 

What is a quote that summarizes everything you’re about as a filmmaker?
“If you name me, you negate me. By giving me a name, a label, you negate all the other things I could possibly be.” — Søren Kierkegaard
<img src="/assets/press/images/content/article-film-festival-network-kierkegaard.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />


 
 

What inspired you to start creating films?
At a young age, I was fascinated with how the film was the greatest form of art where a creator could express him or herself better than with just poetry, artwork, or music. Just as silent films evolved into movies, I always believed there was the next evolution to entertainment.
<img src="/assets/press/images/content/article-film-festival-network-whiteboard-challenge-bts-05.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />

 
 

Who most inspires/influences you currently and why?
Leonardo da Vinci. Once a person understands the benefit of being a polymath, the thought and creation process becomes incomparable to others.
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As a creator, what do you find to be the thing that most drives you?
My current creative drive is with my company, Cinedapt, Inc.
To me, the current filmmaking process feels very limited and outdated by a century. Ironically, the current “innovation” drive in the film industry, streaming services, is based on the copyright I own and a patent I filed in 2007. However, investors are more interested in how many times a startup calls itself a “disruptor” in contrast to the establishment of proven work and experience.
<img src="/assets/press/images/content/article-film-festival-network-cinedapt.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />


I know that the future of film is Cinedapt®. This drives me to know that films can learn a viewer’s fears and adapt content to be more frightening while adjusting to the person. Horror now has become as weak as the Birds is today; just as comedy now is not as strong as Dumb and Dumber was when released. The next evolution of film and its possibilities are what drive me.
 
 

What is your absolute dream in life?
Creative freedom and world domination.
 
 

What’s your most recent project?
Whiteboard Challenge®
<img src="/assets/portfolio/images/content/whiteboard-challenge-movie-poster.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />


 
 

What is your role(s) in the film?
Creator/ Host
<img src="/assets/press/images/content/article-film-festival-network-whiteboard-challenge-bts-01.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />


 
 

Who is the director &amp; who is the writer?
Michael Kureth
 
 

What is the film’s genre?
Drama, Reality, Comedy
<img src="/assets/press/images/content/article-film-festival-network-whiteboard-challenge-still.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />

 
 

What is your film’s logline?
Whiteboard Challenge® is an internationally award-winning tech satire featuring the software engineering interview process in the form of a competitive game talk show. The pilot episode delves into discrimination based on age, social introversion, and other factors along with educating non-technical viewers on how useful applications and games are built. The goal of the show is to enlighten and encourage change in society by humanizing the people behind today’s modern technical wonders while giving a voice to those who have been silenced.
<a href="https://youtu.be/-Uk034i_7zc" target="_blank">Click Here Watch the official Whiteboard Challenge® – Sizzle Reel</a>
 
 

What inspired you in how you went about this project?
The idea originally began in 2015 as an interview parody game show about how absurd the interview process is for positions in software engineering. The interview process closely resembles a game show, where chance and personal bias factor more in the hiring decision over actual skill and ability to perform the job.
Before I wrote the script, I created and patented new technology, Cinedapt®, which embraces machine learning to establish an emotional connection with an audience while adapting content on a psychological level to provide a greater user experience. I saw Whiteboard Challenge® as a safe proof of concept for investors and the public since the core technology was created to learn and adapt to a user’s fears to make horror films actually frightening. Having the pilot project for an entertainment technology patent focus on software engineers was intentional to target investors.
<img src="/assets/press/images/content/article-film-festival-network-whiteboard-challenge-bts-02.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />


Knowing that I could influence a change in the industry with the patent and show, I saw an opportunity to offer solutions for better ways to assess ability and improve the overall interview experience. The current process is very subjective based on personal preference. This theory was proven at Google during a study in 2007 when their hiring committee rejected all candidate interview packets which were later revealed to be from their own earlier interviews at the same company.
I ultimately decided that the initial concept of introverted engineers competing on a whiteboard would be too boring for non-technical viewers. In an effort to humanize tech talent as relatable people, I confronted controversial topics existing in society. These three topics were age discrimination, homelessness, and women in tech. The overall theme of the pilot became to give a voice to them and those who have been silenced.
 
 

What was the most difficult part of the process of working on this film? How did you overcome it?
The most difficult part in making this film was the actual principal photography phase of production. To gain respect within the tech community, the show needed to have someone with an engineering background host the show along with each contestant and judge be actual software engineers. This has never been attempted or accomplished until now.
The easiest and most common way to overcome this would have been to cast actors; however, I took the approach of both leading the show as the host as well as directing actual software engineers on camera.
 
 

What was the most fun portion of this entire production?
Principal photography in film production is always the most stressful and least fun part of the process in comparison to the post-production and marketing phases. The most fun portion of this project was experimenting with my new patented technology, Cinedapt®.
In following an underlying theme of the show, the effort went into portraying how each contestant’s performance was equally qualified and could win in different circumstances based on subjective preference. For the theatrical premiere, I conducted a voting campaign both to market the film and to showcase the prejudice of the hiring process.
There are 36 primary versions of the pilot with trillions of permutations each with a unique lesson for the viewer. Using my patented Cinedaptive® film technology, the show adapts to the person watching to establish an emotional connection and influence the viewer’s understanding of the situation in a personalized way.
The Cinedaptive® version of Whiteboard Challenge® personalizes the show content to empathize viewers with the software engineering interview process and how it is discriminatory based on the viewer’s race, gender, age, and cognitive differences. This is complemented with a tech talk on how the process can be improved along with role model testimonies from African Americans, Mexican, and women who hold leadership positions in tech.
The show concludes with how each candidate is equally qualified for the role. For example, some viewers may learn how veteran engineers have declined positions due to being unfamiliar with a term only taught in boot camp; while others may learn how engineers with hidden disabilities are discriminated against and not offered reasonable accommodations. In both examples, each candidate is proven to be best suited for the role. Additional Cinedaptive® features of Whiteboard Challenge® included length adjustment (short, standard, or extended), rating (work safe or restricted), and genre (comedy, drama, talk show, or game show).
 
 

What is the single greatest lesson you learned along the creation of this particular project?
The greatest lesson I learned in the creation of Whiteboard Challenge® is that both age and disability discrimination are a leading and preventable cause of homelessness and suicide despite how companies use their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative as a tax-deductible marketing campaign with no intention of advocating for equality.
I have an award-winning story, Diversity and Desolation, which delves into this topic further. For now, to protect software engineers from future discrimination, I own the trademark for Whiteboard Challenge®.
To any software engineer reading this, a Whiteboard Challenge® interview practice is a violation of federal laws.
 
 

We’re so glad to have you involved in The Film Festival Network. Do you have anything else you’d like to say before we wrap up?
I am currently accepting films for review of the Cinedaptival International Film Festival to showcase films by filmmakers who exhibit the quality of talent and craft required to create a Cinedaptive® film. The purpose of this festival is to select filmmakers who will be invited to utilize Cinedapt’s patented technology for upcoming films. To submit for consideration in the festival, visit Cinedaptival.com.
<img src="/assets/press/images/content/article-film-festival-network-cinedaptival.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />


 
 

Thank you so much for being a part of The Film Festival Network Community, Michael! We can’t wait to see what you do next.
 
 

Online version available here: 
<a href="https://filmfestnetwork.com/michael-kureth-filmmaker-interview/" target="_blank">https://filmfestnetwork.com/michael-kureth-filmmaker-interview/</a>

Media Coverage - Film Festival Network

Film Festival Network interview with Michael Kureth

“Whiteboard Challenge®” is a tech satire featuring the software engineering interview process in the form of a game talk show. Created by Michael Kureth, the series is the first and only tech show made by and with software engineers — not actors or non-tech people.
In addition to the registered trademark, Whiteboard Challenge® is protected by seven (7) federal registered copyrights with the U.S. Library of Congress and three (3) Writer’s Guild of America registrations. The pilot episode has been awarded winner for Best Television Series in sixteen (16) film festivals as well as a finalist, semi-finalist, and selected in thirty-three (33) additional festivals.
Currently in search of distribution, the tech comedy fills the viewership void left behind by similarly popular shows, “Silicon Valley” and “Big Bang Theory,” who both ended their series in 2019. With millions of viewers from those shows and more than twenty-five million software engineers, a new STEM comedy is in high demand.
What sets “Whiteboard Challenge®” apart is the underlying message and intent. The primary focus of the show is to showcase solutions to improve the interview process, educate non-technical viewers, and aim to end discrimination in tech.
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<h2>Origin</h2>

The idea originally began as an interview parody game show in 2015 about how absurd the interview process is for positions in software engineering. The process closely resembles a game show, where chance and personal bias factor more in the hiring decision over actual skill and ability to perform the job.
“We feel that the interview process is outdated and needs improvement,” explains John Deacon, an experienced hiring manager. “The show offers solutions for better ways to assess ability and improve the overall interview experience. The current process is very subjective based on personal preference.”
This theory was proven at Google during a study in 2007 when their hiring committee rejected all candidate interview packets which were later revealed to be from their own earlier interviews at the same company (1).
“The process is not only outdated, it is inflated by the tendency for humans to give more importance to what they do overtime. When interviewing, they make the process more difficult than what they had to go through to get the job themselves,” added Ed Collins, a senior game engineer with over 20 years experience.
I ultimately decided that the initial concept of introverted engineers competing on a whiteboard would be too boring for non-technical viewers.
In an effort to humanize tech talent as relatable people, I confronted controversial topics existing in society. These three topics were age discrimination, homelessness, and women in tech. The overall theme of the pilot became to give a voice to them and those who have been silenced.
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 <img src="/assets/press/images/content/article-michael-kureth-whiteboard-challenge-age-discrimination.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Boxer in George Orwell’s 1945 ”Animal Farm” realizing he has been sold to be slaughtered for glue
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<h2>Age Discrimination</h2>

Inspiration for the core concept and intent of the show was conceived by reflecting on when I was unemployed in 2018. After hundreds of interviews during that time, I began to recognize concerning practices in the hiring process which influenced all aspects of the show when I realized I was not alone.
Imagine an apprentice nurse with only internship experience interviewing a doctor with a quarter century of proven success. Why is it acceptable for the equivalent to occur for engineering interviews where someone with mostly intern experience can make the hiring decision?
“The problem can be explained by the Dunning–Kruger effect,” said Catherine Pierce, a hiring manager. “This in summary is when a person with limited ability is not able to measure the knowledge of someone beyond their own. As a result, these people mark themselves as higher and in their mind everyone must be lower. Although, the reality more than likely is the opposite.”
I had begun to coach an older engineer who was laid off by encouraging him to emphasize in interviews that he continues to learn and practice new technologies despite his age.
Keith, a contestant on the show, laughed when I told him a startup company run by 20 year olds discriminated my age with the excuse of culture fit. He thought I was joking until a similar scenario happened to him at an interview.
He described to me an instance where he was on a phone interview with a recruiter and everything was going great. This took a turn when his children in the other room could be heard. The recruiter commented, “Oh, you have kids? How old are you?” Quickly after Keith revealed his age, the recruiter disconnected from the call. Keith thought the line had been dropped, but after many attempts, it was clear that the recruiter had lost interest in presenting him to his clients.
“It is common practice for companies to employ third party recruiters to avoid legal concerns,” said Shayla Browning, a tech recruiter. “This loophole grants the company immunity to discrimination complaints.”
The industry’s treatment of experienced engineers is slightly reminiscent of a scene in George Orwell’s 1945 allegorical novella “Animal Farm.” After being evaluated as too old and of no further use, a horse named Boxer was sold and slaughtered to produce glue.
After further research, I started to get the feeling that the term “culture fit” was just a euphemism for a company to potentially discriminate against a qualified candidate on the basis of arbitrary factors such as age, race, gender, disability, and sexual orientation.
A common misunderstanding is that it is easier for seasoned engineers to find work. Unfortunately, companies prefer to promote from within for managerial positions and view overqualified candidates as a flight risk.
Another theory for age discrimination is that by hiring less experienced engineers, they will be willing to work excessive overtime without additional pay. Most tech companies assume older engineers have family and will not be available for overnight deadlines.
We hope that the solutions presented on the show will resonate with viewers to understand that more experienced engineers offer great value to companies.
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 Many software engineers are among the 140,000 homeless in California
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<h2>Homelessness Crisis</h2>

As I approached my fifth month of unemployment, I began meeting with a homeless engineer to get a sense of how I would be living in a short while. He was someone who I had worked with in the past and was willing to share how he managed to survive without a home. After being unemployed for two years, a key contributing factor to his eviction was that the average cost of living in Los Angeles ranges $3,500 to $5,000 per month in a city with more than 60,000 homeless.
In 2019, I had the honor of getting to know some of these homeless engineers as people in a more empathetic setting over dinner. While interviewing homeless contestants for the show, I noticed the commonality with most being middle aged, highly intelligent, and having traces of social disabilities.
Endless psychological studies have proven that most software engineers do not perform well in a standard interview setting. The simple act of staring into a candidate’s eyes or standing behind causes most people to lose focus and be unable to concentrate.
The interview experience is increasingly more difficult for an introverted software engineer with post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety, or autism.
Grant Tyler, a seasoned software engineer added, “Interview candidates are expected to memorize algorithms solved in a Ph.D. thesis (2). More emphasis is given to the person who memorizes to pass an interview over someone who attempts actually solve the question in the limited time provided. In the cases of solving on the spot, most engineers go blank.”
Two related topics cut during rehearsal were scapegoating and blacklisting. When interviewing homeless engineers, each of them described situations where they had been scapegoated and blacklisted in different ways.
“An example of scapegoating occurs when an engineer who does not fit well with the group is targeted and accused of the consequences for a bad decision made by a high level executive. These individuals are mostly those with social disabilities. Sadly, they also become blacklisted by the company which makes references difficult,” explained James Mendoza, an experienced software engineer.
In my experience, most engineers who do not fit in with social norms perform exceptionally well on the job. By addressing these topics on the show, we hope that the industry can look past prejudice and focus on the value their talent can offer.
<table>
 <img src="/assets/press/images/content/article-michael-kureth-whiteboard-challenge-women-in-tech.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Women currently represent 14% of tech professionals, yet historically they pioneered the industry
</table>

<h2>Women in Tech</h2>

One of our greatest regrets for the pilot is that it is missing a female judge to represent a woman’s leadership perspective on the tech industry.
The challenge faced in casting was to find someone with hiring management experience in engineering who was comfortable being on camera to discuss highly controversial topics.
“Historically, women were the pioneers for the tech industry,” added Lesley Allen, a software engineer from the premiere. “We feel that a great opportunity was missed in the show to discuss how societal influences over time have affected women in pursuing STEM fields.”
Due to time constraints, I needed to move forward with the project despite many advertisements aimed to encourage female engineers. This focus shifted more towards diversity leadership.
Viewers watching the show will notice how not only each contestant represents diversity and inclusion in tech, but the same is also true for each judge.
“Just as female engineers are paid less than their male counterparts, people of color in tech experience pay discrimination for the same work. Furthermore, suggestions and achievements by minorities and women are commonly overseen because they are held to higher scrutiny than their majority counterparts. Minorities overall are underrepresented in leadership roles in tech,” explained Daniel Munoz, a judge on the show.
We hope to influence change by showcasing diversity leadership in the form of the judge’s panel.
Overall, women in tech has been the most supportive group of the completed project. Hopefully, in future episodes, the show can encourage more women to be involved and open the discussion on their perspectives.
<table>
 <img src="/assets/press/images/content/article-michael-kureth-whiteboard-challenge-behind-the-scenes.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
</table>

<h2>Conclusion</h2>

In following an underlying theme of the show, effort went into portraying how each contestant’s performance was equally qualified and could win in different circumstances based on subjective preference.
For the premiere in September, I conducted a voting campaign both to market the film and to showcase the prejudice of the hiring process. At the free public premiere, People Assisting The Homeless were on site to accept donations towards the homelessness crisis.
There are 36 versions of the pilot each with a unique lesson for the viewer. Using Cinedaptive® film technology, the show adapts to the person watching to establish an emotional connection and influence the viewer’s understanding of the situation in a personalized way.
With this approach, we aim to connect our message with more people and encourage a change in the tech industry.
In 2019, it was reported that 1 in 5 STEM roles were unfilled costing tech companies billions annually. There is an obvious problem in how hiring is conducted if many software engineers among the 140,000 people living on the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco are fully capable of performing these unfilled positions.
The tech interview process is outdated and flawed. With “Whiteboard Challenge®,” we hope that the topics and overall theme of the show will influence change in the industry to address and resolve this multi-billion dollar problem and end discrimination in tech.
<h2>Citations</h2>
<ol>
 <li>Lettvin, Moishe — https://youtu.be/r8RxkpUvxK0?t=540</li>
 <li>Breadth-first search is an algorithm for traversing tree data structures invented in 1945 by Konrad Zuse in his Ph.D. thesis</li>
</ol>

Written by Michael Kureth, Creator of Whiteboard Challenge®

Whiteboard Challenge® - An Award Winning Tech Show

<h2>Cinedapt was featured in Forbes.com for “Whiteboard Challenge®” with an exclusive interview with Michael Kureth</h2>

<blockquote>
The pilot episode for the Whiteboard Challenge® premieres September 21, 2019, in Los Angeles at the Cinemark theatre, followed by a tech event after-party. Cinedapt, a new film distribution business model set to end film piracy and expand originality in film-making, will exclusively offer 36 versions of the pilot in 2020. Cinedapt’s adaptive film streaming service will provide a tailored experience for the viewer with different winning scenarios.<cite>Sheila Callaham, Forbes</cite>
</blockquote>
 

Read the full article online here: 
<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sheilacallaham/2019/08/28/are-recruiters-and-hiring-managers-discounting-talent-this-fact-based-reality-show-says-yes/" target="_blank">https://www.forbes.com/sites/sheilacallaham/2019/08/28/are-recruiters-and-hiring-managers-discounting-talent-this-fact-based-reality-show-says-yes/</a>

Cinedapt Media Coverage

MEDIA COVERAGE | May 25 2023

Michael Kureth Interviewed in Vegas Movie Awards

MEDIA COVERAGE | Oct 04 2022

Michael Kureth and Cinedapt featured in Tech Times

MEDIA COVERAGE | Nov 11 2021

Film Festival Network interview with Michael Kureth

MEDIA COVERAGE | Dec 28 2019

Whiteboard Challenge® - An Award Winning Tech Show

MEDIA COVERAGE | Aug 27 2019

Michael Kureth Featured Article in Forbes.com Covering "Whiteboard Challenge®"

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