GREENFIELD — A free two-week-long film scavenger hunt-style competition organized by GCTV invites people of all ages and experience levels to try their hand at filmmaking.

GCTV Technician Assistant Ian Hamilton said he brought the idea for the first-ever competition — called “Lights! Camera! Greenfield!” — to GCTV to focus on creativity.

“I want people to make movies,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t know until I was older that filming was something I wanted to do. We want people to know that it’s something everyone can do.”

Having participated in film competitions like Northampton’s 7 Day Film Sprint, Hamilton said he found it helped push his filmmaking abilities.

“Sometimes when you think about making a short film you can get overwhelmed by the work, but with a deadline, it pushes you to be creative,” he said.

Teams can be made up of individuals or groups from throughout Western Massachusetts, but Hamilton recommends a group of two to four people for first-time filmmakers.

The kick-off meeting at GCTV will be on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., and the competition ends on Oct. 31, at 11:59 p.m., when the films must be submitted in their final form.

Each team will start by selecting randomized prompts that must be incorporated into their five-minute-or-less movies.

Once all of the movies are submitted, judging will commence and awards will be announced at the public screening at Greenfield’s Garden Cinemas on Nov. 6. GCTV staff will serve as judges and will use a rubric of prompts.

The prompts are based on Greenfield landmarks, street art and historical markers/sites as encouragement to get out and explore Greenfield.

“It’s like a scavenger hunt because there is a little mystery involved. There are other prompts we are including, but we have to keep them a secret until the competition starts,” Hamilton said. “For the location, we will require it be prominently featured in a shot, but people can focus their film around it if they want.”

Beyond the selected prompts, each team will have free range to make a movie in any genre — including non-fiction — or style. But, movies must be family-friendly because the event is open to all ages, Hamilton said.

The video can be filmed on a camera or on a phone.

Whether participants are professionals or it’s their first time picking up a camera, they will be able to produce a movie from start to finish. GCTV staff will train and provide guidance for anyone seeking production support, as well as provide equipment on a first come, first served basis. While the competition is for all ages, a parent must be present for a minor to borrow equipment.

GCTV is open from Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with editing bays including four PCs and one Mac. Final Cut 10 and Adobe Creative Cloud software is available for use.

Teams can register at the kick-off meeting on Thursday, when more instructions and submission details will be available.

To register online, visit gctv.org/lcg​​​​​​​​​​​​​​. For more information, contact Hamilton by email at ian@gctv.org or by phone at 413-774-4288.

Reach Melina Bourdeau at 413-772-0261, ext. 263 or mbourdeau@recorder.com.