Produce two :30 engaging and emotionally resonant broadcast videos for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that will welcome and thank viewers who watch the upcoming General Conference this fall.
Twice each year, in the fall and spring, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hosts General Conference, where Church leaders from around the world share messages of hope, peace, strength, and joy through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s a time for reflection, inspiration, and spiritual connection for members and seekers around the world. For this fall's conference, the Church wants to create two broadcast videos that will help set the tone and provide a meaningful experience for viewers before and after the event.
The goal is to produce two :30-second videos that will bookend the General Conference programming. The first and primary video is a "Welcome" message, designed to spark joy, anticipation, and emotional openness as viewers prepare to engage with the messages to come. The second is a "Goodbye" video, offering heartfelt thanks to viewers for joining in, and honoring the time they spent celebrating Christ and opening their hearts to His teachings. With these videos, The Church is seeking a compelling, emotionally resonant hook that captures viewers' attention right from the start.
While The Church is open to incorporating motion graphics concepts, the primary vision for this project is a live-action production. You’ll find examples of past videos in the Background section, but those should serve as inspiration, and you shouldn't feel limited in how you can approach this. The ultimate goal is to evolve the visual storytelling into something more dynamic and thematically rich. That could be accomplished with all sorts of different creative approaches, such as a sweeping drone footage building anticipation around the Conference Center (as seen in sports game lead-ins), or a cinematic, documentary-style narrative following an individual whose life was transformed by the messages of General Conference, or something else entirely original. The aim is to build on the moral and thematic foundations of past work while elevating both the visual execution and emotional impact to resonate with today’s audiences. You'll see in the reference videos that it's the message that takes lead, and that we're not necessarily looking for high production value, large sets, or complicated shoots. You have a lot of flexibility, but it should be in service of the message, and that means you should be deliberate in the creative choices you make and how you're allocating budget.
One of the key takeaways for those who have watched and listened to General Conference is a deepened sense of connection with God, strengthened by the awareness of belonging to a global community. The “Goodbye” video should express heartfelt gratitude to all who participated, while offering a message of peace and joy as they return to their daily lives. It should invite viewers to reflect on their personal experiences and the themes of the Conference, encouraging them to carry its spirit forward. Ultimately, this video should inspire individuals to share why General Conference is meaningful and worth experiencing.
As part of this project, you’ll be responsible for developing scripts for the videos and collaborating closely with Tongal and The Church during pre-production to ensure the messaging is clear and aligned. While the content will primarily reach existing Church members and their communities, The Church is also aiming to engage a broader audience, including those exploring faith or coming from different religious backgrounds. With this in mind, your concepts should remain rooted in the unique spirit of The Church and General Conference, while remaining welcoming and accessible to all.
If your idea is greenlit and involves filming at the Conference Center or its surrounding areas, you'll have access to those locations. The Church will coordinate and secure the necessary permissions. Beyond this consideration and given the importance of this video project for The Church, they're also looking at creative approaches from another one of their production partners, and this is not guaranteed to move forward, so we encourage you to be crystal clear in your approach so The Church can make as informed a decision as possible.
Check out more information in the Background, and for any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.
DELIVERABLES: There are six total video assets.
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 it is NOT limited to these platforms. You should also review our Music providers in the Project Requirements, as well as the platform best practices.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Church members, their friends, and people interested in faith.
TONE/FEEL: Welcoming, engaging, inspiring
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.
HELPFUL REFERENCE VIDEOS FOR INSPIRATION/TONE: As noted in the Objectives section above, these are all broadcast videos that The Church has produced in the past to promote General Conferences. We are looking to elevate ours and in turn do something different, but we think it's helpful to view what has been done previously.
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.
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. The bible can be presented in stages as different elements are developed and prepared (i.e. it's not expected that a storyboard is ready when you present your first draft). There may be multiple rounds of feedback until an element is approved. You are also welcome to include other key items that you think would be helpful (e.g. moodboards, lighting, shot list, etc.), or that you'd like the Sponsor's feedback on.
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: Jingle Punks and Universal Production 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 choose to 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.