With a clever and attention-getting 1-3 minute video, communicate some of the ways Middle Income America has changed for both Boomers and Millenials in a humorous, fun, and engaging way.
Marriage. Mortgages. Household incomes: these are just some of the biggest factors of the American lifestyle, and for Middle Income America – households with income between $45,000 and $145,000 – they can define, or at least indicate, a generation's financial health. In H&R Block's annual Outlook on American Life report, one of the most surprising learnings is that there are actually two Middle Income Americas: one for Millennials and one for Baby Boomers. Yep, sorry Millennials: you sorta kinda have more in common with Boomers than you thought. While Millennials and Boomers may have different lifestyles and points of view, many of their financial choices overlap, and neither generation behaves as middle-earners did even 20 years ago, let alone in the 80s or 50s. While the 9-to-5 job, married-with-2.4-kids-and-a-mortgage, retiring at 65 path might not be so normal these days, the new normal is somewhat consistent, whether you're 32 or 65. You're less likely to be married; you're more likely to live on the coasts vs the fly-over states (sorry, Midwest); and you're likely really, really feeling the impacts of inflation.
H&R Block's Outlook on American Life is full of fascinating and sobering details and stats like this, and we're looking for one Tongal filmmaker to use quirky humor and an engaging creative point of view to highlight the differences unearthed by the report, in a 1-3 minute video, and then encourage viewers to explore those findings further. Your video can be live action, animation, motion graphics or stop-motion, or a mix of mediums and styles; what matters most is that it's engaging, humorous, and informative.
H&R Block sees this video as a "conversation" between multiple key entities; discussing, debating, and/or comparing the differences of Middle Income America then (anytime from the 1950s-2000s) vs now. This can be done with characters portraying current and past Middle Income Americans, comparing life now vs then, or with current and past Middle Income Americans humorously discussing the differences with America itself. They're interested to see how you'd take this quirky idea and expand on it: is Inflation the villain of the story? Is retirement, or home ownership, or financial stability the treasure today's Middle Income Americans fight for but yesterday's Middle Income Americans took for granted? Does the conversation take place at an H&R Block office while 'then' and 'now' Americans are working on their taxes with their H&R Block tax pros?
Finally, H&R Block should show up in your content through messaging that they've been there through the years to provide help and inspire confidence in their clients and communities, but this can be achieved in your CTA card along with driving viewers to the report to read more.
Check out more information in the Background, and for any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.
DELIVERABLES: There are five total video assets:
EXPECTED TIMELINE: HERE. Please note the production window overlaps with the Thanksgiving break in the U.S.
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: All Americans, but especially Millennials and Baby Boomers (32-65)
TONE/FEEL: Quirky, informative, entertaining, humorous, relatable.
EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES:
OPEN BID:
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 REQUIREMENTS: Prior to the commencement of actual production, creators MUST receive final approval from the Sponsor on the elements below. There may be multiple rounds of feedback until an element is approved.
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 three music providers: Jingle Punks, Universal Production Music and Epidemic Sound. 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.