Kick-off Orientation: AI Short Film Challenge

Co-presenters: BAVC Media, KQED, Gray Area, and The AI Collective

Sponsors: and

🔊 Calling all Bay Area filmmakers—students, indies, veterans, and multimedia creatives alike!

Join us on Saturday, November 8 at KQED for the Kick-off Orientation of the AI Short Film Challenge. This 3-hour orientation and workshop sets the stage for a two-week filmmaking sprint that invites you to experiment with AI in your production process.

During the kickoff, you’ll:

• Receive the guidelines, requirements, and theme of the AI short-film challenge.
• Learn about the stages of the film production process and how AI tools can enhance and support your creative workflow, from storyboarding to captioning, sound design, post-production, and more.
• Explore the ethics and best practices of using AI in creative media.
• Meet potential teammates or collaborators during the social mixer.
• Experiment with AI tools during the workshop and learn from fellow filmmakers.
  

All filmmakers interested in submitting to the AI Short Film Challenge are required to participate in this kick-off orientation on Nov. 8 and attend the Final Showcase event on Nov. 22. After the orientation, participants will have until Wednesday, November 19 to submit a 5-minute original video based on the guidelines. The submissions of up to 10 participants will be selected to be part of the Final Showcase at Gray Area on Saturday, November 22, where selected filmmakers will share how they used AI in their work and receive feedback from a panel of experts and a live audience, with fun prizes awarded to the top three films.

Whether you’re flying solo or forming a small team, you’ll be part of a community exploring how human creativity and machine intelligence can work together—without compromising artistry or integrity.

Who’s this program for? This program is for emerging and indie filmmakers who have some experience shooting and editing short films with a smartphone or camera or who are teaming up with collaborators who have experience making short videos. Participants should feel comfortable assembling a short film or be eager to learn through hands-on experimentation.

If you want a primer or a refresher on the basics of filmmaking, BAVC Media is hosting a video production class on October 25 and 26. !

Schedule

• 1:00–2:00 PM — Introductions, Film Challenge Overview, AI Best Practices with BAVC Media
• 2:00–3:00 PM — The Creative AI Sandbox with the AI Collective, Freepik + Eleven Labs. 3:00–4:00 PM — Social Mixer + Open Lab
• 3:00–4:00 PM — Social Mixer + Open Lab

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Bay Area Video Coalition