Cast an engaging Gen Z personality as a "tour guide" and fly to Sint Maarten Island to produce an authentic and visually stunning 7- 9 minute campus tour video for the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, where you'll immerse potential students in the beautiful campus environment and highlight what makes this school so special.
The American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) is one of the most established and respected international medical schools in the Caribbean. Located on the island of Sint Maarten, AUC provides world-class medical education grounded in personal attention, mentorship, and global perspective. Unlike many medical schools that foster intense competition, AUC cultivates a collaborative, community-driven environment - one where students lift each other up and succeed together. The result is a school atmosphere that’s as inspiring as it is supportive, embodying AUC’s commitment to Excellent Education – Caring Culture.
Having said all that, we're actually here to talk about the campus itself: attending med school on an island is obviously an incredibly unique experience, but it's hard for most people to drop in for a tour, so AUC wants to create an accessible suite of video content that can bring the campus and its community to life for perspective Gen Z students.
The goal of this project is to find a small, nimble, creative team that can create an authentic, dynamic, and visually stunning 7-9 minute "hosted" campus tour video, immersing viewers in the world of the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. The tour video will be accompanied by a suite of cutdowns and teasers - largely pulling from the tour video itself - and these will be delivered in many aspect ratios, so this will ultimately involve a suite of content. In all of it, we want to capture the island’s beauty and its unmistakable rhythm, the "work hard, play hard" ethos of the campus lifestyle, the advanced facilities that the school offers, and the deep sense of belonging that defines the AUC experience for students. To ensure that the content resonates with Gen Z audiences, and to ensure it feels relatable and engaging for anyone watching, we want to create something that feels like this MIT Campus Tour video, with a particularly charismatic on-camera personality serving as our "tour guide" or "host," with a direct-to-camera influencer-style delivery, and a snappy, upbeat pace.
In terms of the content and messaging, AUC will provide a detailed outline for the shoot and the tour video, laying out what locations, facilities, activities, and other highlights they'd like to see. They'll also provide some student perspectives, and help with any additional research, background, or introductions that you'll need. On top of that, you'll find some key marketing messages in the Background. While some of this will need to be scripted, and while we'll need a very specific plan for the individual cutdowns, your primary task will be to find a way to inject real color and character into the video. That may come through in scripting, and it's important that our tour guide feels easy and conversational, but we'll expect off-the-cuff moments with your talent, improvisation, and maybe even a few unscripted interactions with students, faculty, or locals. It's here, again, where finding the right on-camera personality becomes so important, and remember that because our audience is Gen Z, our talent and their voice should be too.
As you move through the campus tour, you'll want to showcase the vibrancy and variety of things available to students, from libraries and labs to stunning beaches and scuba sites, revealing that this is not a sterile academic setting, but a living, breathing hub of ambition, compassion, and care. Find ways to show community and connection, while still giving prospective students a sense of some of the more everyday things, like dorms and dinner spots. With an eye towards post-production, think about how you'll handle transitions and movement, and each segment fits into the larger whole.
In terms of physical production, you'll find a few budgeting assumptions in the Background, but we're expecting a small and agile crew, maybe just 2-3 people, working alongside your talent, YouTube-style. There's no expectation of complicated equipment loadouts or drone photography here; a good camera and a gimbal go a long way. We'd anticipate that you'll need two days of filming, in part because this is an active campus and classes will be in session, so you'll need to work around existing schedules when it comes to campus facilities, activities, but also because we also want to see what life on the island looks like, so we'll need to hit some beaches and plan to film some leisure activities. Releases will also be required for anyone or any place that appears in the video - even students or faculty - so you'll also need to consider those logistics when shooting in any public or private spaces, although AUC can help simplify the process. Finally, although you'll be able to plan a lot remotely, you should also expect to include one scout day in advance of principal photography.
In terms of cutdowns and the rest of the suite, your tour video can serve as the foundation for most assets, and the sizzle and teaser videos should be pretty straightforward adaptations of that. To ensure that the :30s and :15s work effectively though, from a messaging standpoint, it's possible that you'll want to shoot some standalone footage with the talent delivering key lines. For alternate aspect ratios and vertical versions, you should be able to crop and reframe, so long as you're keeping the vertical aspect ratio in mind when filming.
For your pitch, if you've got access to suitable talent, we'd encourage you to submit with talent. Otherwise, it'd be helpful to showcase how you direct talent like this, and how you're able to edit together a long-form piece like this so that it feels engaging and upbeat. It'd also be smart to speak to the logistics that are involved here, and how you manage complexity with a small crew.
Check out more information in the Background, and for any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.
DELIVERABLES: There are 18 total video assets along with some social posting copy.
EXPECTED TIMELINE: HERE
EXPOSURE: We expect content will be used on the platforms below, but if casting talent, be sure they review our required Talent Release before they're cast, as we CANNOT guarantee that usage is limited to these platforms. You should also review our Music providers in the Project Requirements, as well as the platform best practices.
TARGET AUDIENCE: The intended audience is prospective students (Gen Z ages 18–28). They may know about AUC, but are actively researching other schools. They are actively researching med schools and open to global, non-traditional paths.
TONE/FEEL: The tone should be energetic, authentic, and aspirational.
EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES:
By participating in this project, creators acknowledge that the Sponsor is under no obligation to greenlight a submission. Though most projects do move forward, we'll notify you in the event the Sponsor decides not to fund any submissions via the Project Forum. Regardless of the result, all submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the Sponsor and project team.
BUDGETING ASSUMPTIONS:
SOME KEY LOCATIONS & HIGHLIGHTS: The wider campus location enables AUC medical school students and their families to access stunning beaches, excellent diving, sailing, sports activities, cuisine from around the world, and countless local markets and duty-free shopping. It'll be important that we see life on the island, and showcase the fun and active lifestyle offerings that are available. What we see, specifically, is TBD, but in addition to that, the campus itself includes:
KEY MESSAGES:
CALL TO ACTION:
HELPFUL REFERENCES:
In order to be considered, include the below materials in your submission. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery. All Pitches remain private, even after a Pitch is selected, and Tongal strives to have Pitch selections made by the end of the Evaluation period, but additional time may be required by the Sponsor, depending on any number of factors. Unless specifically requested, there's no need to include a budget with your submission.
The most compelling pitch will be greenlit by the Sponsor, and the responsible creator will then receive an email from Tongal producers detailing next steps. All submitters will also receive an automated email notification that a selection has been announced. To ensure you’re receiving project updates, review your email settings to check that you haven’t unsubscribed.
Creators who’ve been selected will receive funding upon completing the Winner Affidavit and the IP Assignment. Payment of the pitch funds is subject to a payment schedule determined by Tongal, typically included with the project timeline.
PRE-PRODUCTION BIBLE & APPROVALS: Prior to the commencement of actual production, creators MUST prepare a singular pre-production "bible" document with the elements contained below, and that document MUST receive final approval from the Sponsor. We recommend that you use the bible template we provide HERE, or something very similar. The bible can be presented in stages as different elements are ready for review (i.e. it's not expected that storyboards, if required, are ready with your first draft). Apart from the below, you're also welcome to include other key items that you think would be helpful to communicate your plan (e.g. moodboards, lighting, music, shot list, etc.).
Note that there may be multiple rounds of feedback until elements are approved, and if you begin production before you have received final approval, you may need to reshoot or reanimate at your own expense.
For convenience, we've provided some helpful templates that you can consider using for pre-production materials, and they can all be accessed here.
BUILDING YOUR TEAM: Looking for help? Post crew and production opportunities connected to Tongal projects on Backlot. Backlot includes search tools to help you find collaborators and crew by role, skill set, location, and more, for productions of any size and type. Tongal also supports inclusivity in all productions, and strongly encourages you to hire diverse talent for your team. To find additional options for staff & crew in your area, check out these resources and partners.
REVISION REQUIREMENTS & RESOURCES: Once Content has been submitted and the initial Production Phase completed, greenlit creators will enter into Revisions. Creators will perform reasonable edits on their videos according to the Sponsor's feedback. Check out our Filmmaker Resource Portal to access helpful post-production resources like Text-Safe Guides for different platforms, Project File Organization Tutorial, Export Presets, and Captioning services.
MUSIC: If you use music from a library for your content, you MUST use one of Tongal's music providers: Universal Production Music, PrimalHouse, or Slipstream Music. Music from these providers is available to registered Tongal members at no charge solely for their incorporation into submissions to this project, and will not require a Music Release Form. To learn more, click on any of the providers' names above.
If you use original music, you must fill out and submit our Music Release Form. Please ensure your composer reviews and signs this form BEFORE beginning their work.
STOCK FOOTAGE: Tongal has partnered with the stock footage library Storyblocks, which can be used to source video clips, photography, and After Effects templates for your video submission to this project. Video or photo content from Storyblocks is available at no charge, solely for incorporation into submissions on this project, and will not require a separate Release Form. If identifiable people or intellectual property appears in a video clip or photo, you may only utilize assets that are clearly marked “Model released: Yes” or “Property release: Yes” on the clip description pages. You may NOT use any audio.
If you intend to use Storyblocks, inform your Tongal producer, and an account will be created for you to access the library. Once assets are approved for delivery, you must provide a complete list of all Storyblocks content that you used via our template HERE.
ASSET DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS & RESOURCES: You must also provide all project files, editing sequences and a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec in order to submit final payment. You are responsible for any costs associated with the hard drive and shipping. Tongal also reserves the right to request all raw files associated with the project.
To ensure a smoother delivery, please review the Export Presets, Specifications, and Project File Organization Tutorial in our Filmmaker Resource Portal.