2020, that sure was...a year! While it’s not exactly over yet, we’re close enough to the finish line that we’ve decided to start the party early. And to mark the occasion, we thumbed through all the creators we worked with and the projects they completed to select the stand-out moments that made an unprecedented year even more memorable and captured them in this, our virtual Tongal Time Capsule.
Here’s what we’ll remember most about 2020 (pandemic who? I don’t know her). If you'd like to get in on the fun, you can also share your memories to Instagram using #TongalTimeCapsule.
Back to the Future: Reimagined
Biggest Fan Moment
Tongal is THE platform for fan creators. Where else could animation teams from all over the world have the opportunity to come together and reimagine their favorite film in their own art styles, as part of the official 35th-anniversary celebration? And get compensated for the pleasure?!
We live for these moments, and “Back to the Future: Reimagined,” made for Universal Pictures, was our biggest Fan Moment of 2020 because of it.
Featuring animations by Firman machda, Javier Benia, Elliot Ruddy, Crankub Animation Studio,
Bethany Borg, Neto Rodrigues, Calaveres Animacio, Eric Power, and Alex Hagan.
Eric David
Most Likely to Do It All
Eric David is an editor, filmmaker, motion designer, writer... we could go on and on. That's because Eric does it all!
In fact, he received the MOST green lights across the MOST creative disciplines on Tongal this year by submitting a winning SFX audio sample for Winn-Dixie, QC-ing videos for PayPal, editing and motion-designing for Sesame Street, AND coming up with a few concepts for good measure. Because he's an overachiever like that. We can only hope we find new projects in 2021 that put this multi-hyphenate to work using his acting or voiceover skills, too!
Designers
Trending in 2020
Graphic design and illustration projects exploded on the Tongal platform this year, allowing us to meet and bring opportunities to a ton of dynamic new creators. From logo and product design to fan art and social banners, designers applied their imaginations to a wide array of creative quandaries and came out swinging. Needless to say, we were blown away (over and over again) by your talents.
Todd McFarlane: Like Hell I Won’t
Longest Long Form
From 6-second videos to feature-length programming, our filmmakers have the storytelling chops to get the job done, no matter the runtime. But only one piece of content can take the cake for Longest Long Form in 2020. Clocking in at 43-minutes, Todd McFarlane: Like Hell I Won’t captured a lifetime of stories and lessons from one of the biggest comic book legends of all time and successfully captivated audiences everywhere.
Developed in partnership with SYFY and Tongal creator David Oster, this doc debuted on the SYFY channel over the summer. Don't worry if you missed it - the film's now available on YouTube anytime.
Created by David Oster for SYFY
Winn Win Twinns
Most Glorious Bromance
You didn't think we'd forget about the Winn Win Twinns, did you? Just as this dynamic duo delights in huge savings at Winn-Dixie, we've delighted in their glorious bromance all year long.
What you might not know is that these fun characters originally sprung from the mind of Tongaler David Kilgo, with an idea that would go on to inspire a major new campaign, helmed by Tongal filmmaker Superluminal Film, for one of America's largest grocers.
Created by Superluminal Film for Winn-Dixie
SYFY
Superconnected Sponsor
With 200,000+ creators on Tongal, our partners are sure to connect with the right talent for every job. While SYFY hasn't worked with all of you YET, in 2020 they stood out as the sponsor who greenlit and collaborated with the most individual creators across our global platform (more than 150 of you!). Together, we tackled channel idents, feature films, DIY social content, fan art, YouTube recaps, and the list goes on!
Monsters Fall in Love by Giuliano Grimaldi
Hila Asaraf
Marcos Sanchez
Elliot Ruddy
Ian Allen Lim
Javier Benia
Passport to Tongal
Tongal creators can be found in every corner of the world (ok, maybe not Antarctica - we're working on it!), and we are endlessly inspired by the diversity of perspectives they bring to the table. In 2020, we added 5 new seats to our table, one for each of the creators who were the first to represent their country or territory in getting the green light on Tongal: Israel, Chile, Ireland, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.
lululemon
#sweatlife Goals
We're not going to lie: We spent way too many hours in front of our screens this year. But at least lululemon made sure a healthy portion of that screen time was spent moving, thanks to their ambassador's endlessly motivational fitness routines and other content that inspired us to sweat.
Whether you turned to their videos while stuck at home - or enjoyed them in The Beforetimes (TM), the work we created with lululemon in 2020 was our #sweatlife North Star.
Created by Logan Hendricks for lululemon
"Viewing Party" by Jack Maraghy
"Cancelled Nutcracker Ballet" by Rebecca Swegle
Biggest Idea
250 characters isn't much, but it's enough to spark some pretty BIG ideas. We should have known from the start that PayPal's holiday campaign would be a big deal when they had the vision to combine TWO ideas from two Tongal concepting projects into one MEGA holiday idea that would be impossible to deny.
Both concepts combined served as the inspiration for the "Make It One to Remember" campaign hero video, which landed the #2 spot on AdAge's list of the year’s Top 10 Holiday Ads.
Created by Kelsey Taylor for PayPal
LEGO World Builder
A Whole New World
As one of Tongal's earliest partners, the LEGO Group has long understood the value of letting fans drive new content. So when we had the opportunity to put our heads together to launch a NEW storytelling platform geared entirely towards LEGO's amazing fan community, we said: EVERYTHING IS AWESOME.
Enter: LEGO World Builder, a collaborative platform built to surface new LEGO stories, with an eye on developing them into future videos, series, and more! What worlds will YOU create?
Federico Fracchia
Most Green Lights
If you're familiar with our IG story series, Who Got The Greenlight?, this next creator's achievements will come as no surprise. That's because Federico Fracchia has the distinct honor of being the creator who received the most green lights on Tongal in 2020, with 20 Ws under his belt, including tons of greenlit concepts, quick pop culture mashups for TNT Drama, a script for Southeastern Guide Dogs, and design work for the Snowpiercer series launch campaign.
What's his secret? No really, Fede, share your secret so other creators can take note!
Podcasters
Trending in 2020
Another major creator trend we saw this year was podcasting, thanks in no small part to the 1,800 podcasters who made their voices heard in The Next Great Podcast search we launched with iHeartRadio. With the silkiest of voices and an ear for storytelling, podcasters brought BIG personality to the Tongal platform and tickled our aural imaginations along the way. What podcasting opportunities do you hope to see on Tongal in 2021?
Crankub Animation Studio
Most Animated
Animators have the power to transport us to places beyond our wildest imaginations, which is just what the doctor ordered in a year that found many of us cooped up inside. And no Tongal animators took us to more wild places in 2020 than Martí and Sara of Crankub Animation Studio, because with 7 greenlit pitches, they were the creators to land the most individual animation projects this year.
By now, our 2020 Tongal Time Capsule is jam-packed with a whole lotta goodness, and that means there's only one thing left to do: Go out to the desert and bury it in an isolated spot, where no one but us will ever find it again. JUST KIDDING! It'll live here on the blog and Instagram under the hashtag #TongalTimeCapsule forever and ever, so keep adding your memories there or drop a comment below and tell us what stood out for you. We'd love to see the Tongal moments that were special to you, stoked your creativity, and brought out your best in 2020.
And we can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2021!
