The Bluejay Society for Film & Arts
How It Works
Breaking Down the Process
The competition begins with a required Orientation Session, designed to prepare students and mentors for the creative learning experience ahead. During orientation, teams receive their creative brief, which includes a randomly assigned genre selected from a curated pool of ten. Each year, the creative constraints evolve to encourage fresh storytelling approaches. For this season, teams will also be assigned a required character and a curated location that must be meaningfully incorporated into their film. These elements serve as learning tools, guiding students as they explore narrative structure, visual storytelling, and problem-solving within defined parameters.
Following orientation, teams enter a seven-day guided production period. During this time, students work through the full filmmaking process—developing a story, planning their shoot, capturing footage, and completing post-production. Each team is supported by a designated mentor who serves as the team lead throughout the experience. Mentors are responsible for overseeing workflow, providing instructional guidance, and helping students translate ideas into executable plans while maintaining a safe and productive learning environment.
To support student participants, all administrative and legal responsibilities are handled by the mentor. This includes managing required paperwork, submissions, and compliance with competition guidelines. By placing these responsibilities in the hands of an experienced adult, the competition ensures that students can focus fully on creative growth, collaboration, and skill development without the burden of legal or administrative obligations.
At the conclusion of the production period, mentors submit the team’s completed film by the stated deadline. All films are then presented in an official screening showcase, allowing students to experience their work in a shared, celebratory setting. Films are evaluated with an emphasis on storytelling, creativity, technical growth, and thoughtful integration of the assigned elements, reinforcing the competition’s educational mission.
Throughout the week, the focus remains on learning through practice—encouraging students to take creative risks, work as a team, and gain hands-on experience under the guidance of a mentor. From orientation to final screening, the competition is structured as an immersive educational journey, transforming a single week into a complete filmmaking experience.
Competition Guidelines & Participation Standards
1. Official Production Window
The competition takes place over a seven-day period, beginning Monday at 7:00 PM and concluding the following Sunday at 7:00 PM. This timeframe serves as the official creative window. Completed films must be submitted by 7:30 PM on Sunday to be considered official entries and eligible for awards.
2. Original Work Created During the Competition
All creative work must occur entirely within the official production window. This includes, but is not limited to, story development, scriptwriting, filming, editing, sound design, visual effects, and final export. Work completed before or after the designated timeframe is not permitted.
3. Ownership & Original Content
Every element of the finished film must be created or curated during the official competition period. This includes animation, titles, credits, and special effects. Teams must own the rights to all footage used. The use of copyrighted material not owned or licensed by the team is not allowed.
4. Mentor Participation & Documentation
Each team is required to have a designated mentor who serves as the team lead. The mentor must attend the Orientation Session and have a signed Mentor Agreement completed and available at that time. Mentors are responsible for all administrative oversight and official documentation throughout the competition.
5. Volunteer Participation
All cast and crew members must participate on a volunteer basis. No paid performances or contracted services are permitted as part of the competition.
6. Safety, Ethics, and Participant Welfare
For safety and ethical considerations, the inclusion of animals and children in films is strongly discouraged. Any film that depicts or results in harm, death, or mutilation of animals or children may be disqualified. The competition prioritizes responsible storytelling and participant safety at all times.
7. Film Length Requirements
The completed film must have a total runtime of no less than 4 minutes and no more than 10 minutes. Films that exceed or fall short of this requirement may be disqualified. Official runtime begins immediately after the required slate and includes all content through the end of the film.
8. Music Rights & Licensing
Teams must have the legal rights to all music used in their film. Licensed music platforms such as Epidemic Sound and Soundstripe are permitted, provided that proper licensing documentation is included in the final submission paperwork. Mentors are responsible for ensuring all music usage complies with licensing requirements.
9. Technical Submission Specifications
Final films must be submitted as a .mov file, encoded using the H.264 codec, with a maximum file size of 4GB. Films that do not meet these technical requirements may be subject to disqualification.
10. Eligibility & Responsible Content
To be eligible, all films must be the original work of the participating team and must comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Films must be suitable for public screening and may not contain obscene, indecent, pornographic, defamatory, or otherwise unlawful content. All visual, audio, and narrative elements must be owned or properly licensed by the team. The Bluejay Society for Film & Arts reserves the right to determine eligibility, decline to screen a film, provide content advisories, or make reasonable edits to remove offensive or defamatory material. All eligibility decisions are final.
11. Public Sharing & Premiere Standards
Teams may not publicly distribute, upload, or screen their completed film prior to its official competition showcase. This includes sharing the full film on websites, social media, or with audiences outside the immediate team. Teams are encouraged to create and share a promotional trailer instead. Trailers must be no longer than 48 seconds and must comply with all competition guidelines.
12. Official Film Entry Status
A film is considered an Official Film Entry only if it fully complies with all competition rules, eligibility requirements, and submission standards. Only Official Film Entries are eligible for screening and awards.
13. Compliance & Disqualification
The Bluejay Society for Film & Arts reserves the right, at its discretion, to disqualify any entry that is deemed inappropriate or non-compliant with competition guidelines. All disqualification decisions are final.
14. Use of Artificial Intelligence
The use of generative artificial intelligence tools is not permitted in any part of the filmmaking process. All scripts, footage, performances, and edits must be original work created by the team during the competition period. Non-generative editing tools and features, including functions such as vocal isolation available in programs like Adobe Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve, are permitted.