Presented by: Creators Society
Event Organizer: Lynn Terra
Watch Video to Learn More
Applications Due
Tue. Mar. 26th
Production Month
Mon. April 1st - Tues. April 30th
The Premier
Sat. May 11th
Watch our Sizzle to get a sense of past work
What is Creators Jam?
Creators Jam is the ultimate event for those with a passion for animation. Creators from all corners are placed in randomly selected groups of 12 and are given one month to produce a fully voiced, fully composed short animatic based around a secret theme. There will be no outside direction. It is up to the teams themselves to interpret the theme and to produce an animated short.
Teams must overcome the hurdles of a tight production schedule and not knowing who their fellow creatives will be before the start of production in a fast paced, high octane event that simulates what it is actually like to work in the animation industry, in a fun and friendly environment where the true goal is to learn and better our craft. Learning and growing is more important than the final outcome of the short. The only limit is your own creativity(and time).
Notice to all voice actors looking to participate in this event:
Creators Jam has received a special waiver of SAG-AFTRA Global Rule 1. Allowing all union-affiliated talent to work on Creators Jam projects without any risk to their union status.
How it works
A potential participant will select their top two desired crew roles from the list. (Note: while Creators Society Membership is not required to participate, members are given the priority when it comes to role selection in a team make up.)
Once signs ups come to a close, the participants will be randomly placed into teams based on their desired roles.
On the day before production starts, teams will be announced and contact info will be shared between teams so they can introduce each other and select a team name.
On the first day of production, the secret theme will be announced and the teams will work together to come up with a concept and begin work on story and designs.
Teams will submit their short, or what they managed to get done before the deadline.
After Production Month there will be a live-streamed Premier Party where the teams, the judges, and the audience get to view the top selected shorts.
The judges will watch each short and score them from 1-10 according to the following categories (We hold the right to adjust these categories at any point).
Originality & Creativity: This category assesses the uniqueness and inventiveness of the animated short's concept and execution. It focuses on whether the idea stands out as fresh and imaginative, and how creatively it is brought to life through storytelling, visuals, and character design.
Narrative Cohesion: This category evaluates how effectively the storyline flows and connects throughout the animated short. It considers the clarity of the plot, character development, and overall coherence of the narrative arc. A cohesive narrative keeps viewers engaged and allows them to follow the story effortlessly from beginning to end.
Production Value: This category focuses on the overall quality of the animated short in terms of visuals, animation techniques, voice acting, sound design, and music. It considers factors such as attention to detail, technical proficiency, and the overall polish of the production, aiming to reward shorts that demonstrate a high level of craftsmanship and professionalism.
Secret Theme Use: This category examines how well the animated short incorporates the Secret Theme provided to all participating teams on the first day of production. It evaluates the subtlety, relevance, and creativity of integrating the theme into the storyline, characters, or visual elements without feeling forced or contrived.
Judge’s Enjoyment: This category reflects the subjective enjoyment and entertainment value experienced by the judges while watching the animated short. It takes into account factors such as engagement, emotional resonance, humor, and overall viewer satisfaction, allowing judges to vote based on their personal preferences and enjoyment of the viewing experience.
The judge’s final scorers and the audience scores will be tallied up at the end of the premier party, and the Top 5 productions as well as the Category Favorites will be announced live at the event.
Positions on a team in the Creators Jam are not paid positions. You are volunteering your time to participate in this fun and educational event.
Rules
All projects must implement the secret theme. However, teams are allowed to interpret the theme however they wish.
All projects must have a minimum of 3 spoken characters voiced by separate actors from their team.
All projects must have a minimum duration of 30 seconds and a maximum duration of 3 minutes. This includes the end credits. Teams are welcome to include full credits sequence, but it is highly recommended they use a simple end card instead.
To keep things balanced and fair, projects may not have a financial budget of any kind. This includes, but is not limited to, the purchase of art tools, editing software, recording equipment, music, and sound effects. Teams may only use the tools and equipment they already have available to them.
Sound banks are allowed, but only if they are from a royalty-free source. Teams that make use of a sound bank must provide a link in the credits of their project.
Plagiarism of all kinds is absolutely forbidden and will result in the disqualification of the entire team. This includes stories, scripts, art, and music. Teams must make all drafts and materials available for review in the event of suspected plagiarism.
Every element of the project must be created during Production Month. Teams may not reuse character designs or stories from previous projects or ideas.
Teams may not begin work on their project before the official start of Production Month, and no work can be done after the upload deadline.
Creators Jam is a light hearted event, do not make projects that are intentionally political or controversial. While this is the last on the list it’s one of the most important.
Teams are not permitted to use AI to complete their work for their Creators Jam projects.
Code of Conduct
Inclusiveness Policy
The Creators Society Creators Jam focuses on bringing communities together through collaboration, innovation and experimentation. No sexism, racism, discrimination or any kind of exclusion will be tolerated and we reserve the right to refuse and/or remove content based on our principles. Our creators cross international boundaries, but are not immune to governmental and geopolitical challenges. Citizenship, nationality and national origin are not barriers to participation in the Creators Jam. We encourage inclusive and welcoming environments. We encourage a free and open activity where creativity should know no censorship and we hope all participants will exercise their creative freedoms. We take pride in our creators and their projects, but The Creators Society is not liable for anyone's specific views and opinions.
APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR
We wish for participants to exercise consideration and respect in their speech and actions, attempt collaboration before conflict, and refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior and speech. We also expect the same consideration and respect to be applied to content created during the event.
Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. Alert organizers immediately if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.
UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR
Unacceptable behaviors include: intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory or demeaning speech or actions by any participant on your team or on another team.
Harassment includes: harmful or prejudicial verbal or written comments related to gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, appearance, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, socioeconomic status, or religion; deliberate intimidation, stalking or following; harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome sexual attention.
Project Ownership & Permissions
Creators Society is not involved in the ownership of any of the projects. In the rules it states that all projects must be thought of and created during the production month, so no crew member can use an existing property they have created outside of the Creators Jam. By participating in the Creators Jam you agree to share equal ownership of the project with all members of your team. Nothing can be done with the characters or story outside of the Creators Jam without the written permission of all members of the team.
Each team also agrees by participating that all members of the team and the Creators Society have permission in perpetuity to share the final video, parts of the final video, or any element of production of the project on their website, social media, or any other non-directly-monetized way. The hope of this project is more about giving people a chance to make something they are proud of, and the ability for all team members to share the work they did on their portfolios, social media channels is paramount.
The Creators Society also retains the right to use the videos in their promotions of future events, marketing of the Creators Society, or in any other way they wish in their entirety or in part. Basically in participating in our event we have the right in perpetuity to share it.
What are you waiting for?
Applications Due: Tues. Mar. 26th