You may work on Otter Jam projects before the Jam dates, or submit an existing project so long as it works with the theme "whats at the bottom of the trench?" You must specify the context of the project for judges so your work can be judged fairly against others. Is this a project you've been working on for a year, or a month? So long as you describe the context of your project honestly, both weekend-long projects and longer term projects are allowed to be submitted to Otter Jam. Thanks for your question, hope that answered it.