We are looking for one visionary director to assemble a team to script, storyboard, produce, and edit a fast-moving campaign of digital video content, while coordinating with 5 different filmmakers shooting footage from around the world, all to show how Paypal's different products make it easier for people to seamlessly adapt to the "new normal."
To address questions that have come in, some updates have been added in red below.
The goal of this project is expansive and very fast-moving: with only 4 weeks, Paypal needs a creative campaign director who can put together a team to script, storyboard, produce, and edit a package of 10 key videos, with motion graphics, while coordinating satellite shoots with 5 different filmmakers around the world. You will not be shooting anything yourself: instead, you will be providing creative direction to 5 other filmmakers, each of whom will be shooting MOS, and who will send raw footage back to you to edit. These videos will be driven by on-screen text, without dialogue or VO, and satellite filmmakers will be sourced in a separate project with their own budgets. We're also providing 10 specific scenarios for 5 different Paypal products, so what they are shooting is more narrowly prescribed and this is more predictable than an open-ended creative ask.
Creatively, this is about the new normal, and the idea that Paypal can "make it easier to make it better," as you can see in this recent video. The times we live in have been challenging and uncertain for all of us, but as we head into the fall, they want to focus on the little pockets of positivity that we experience in our daily lives, and demonstrate how Paypal can be a uniquely relevant and reassuring force right now. By enabling people with digital solutions to pay safely online or in-person, to transfer and receive money with friends & family, or pool funds and donate for worthy causes, Paypal can make it easier for people to be more in control of their financial lives, and seamlessly adapt to the new ways of living. That, in turn, can help people feel less stressed and more optimistic about what the future may hold.
Please carefully review the 10 scenarios in the Background / Additional Details. For your Pitch submission, we're asking you to edit together a :15 proof-of-concept sample video (16x9) demonstrating your proposed approach using ANY of the 10 scenarios laid out in the Background. This is about pacing, tone, framing, video structure, motion graphics, and finding a way to tell a simple product story in an engaging way. You may use whatever footage you can find online, as well as temp motion graphics. It is also important that you lay out your team.
Keep in mind that this is about your vision for the videos: other people just happen to be shooting it.
PROCESS:
DELIVERABLES:
TIMELINE:
EXPOSURE:
TARGET AUDIENCE:
TONE:
EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES:
Our priority is ensuring everyone's safety, so please review our COVID-19 Production Safety Guide and check federal, state, and local rules before and during your shoot to make sure your on-set protocols are up to date. We’re working hard to keep people working during this extraordinary time, and our advice here is to make sure your submission is executable within the anticipated timeline, while also ensuring everyone's safety.
Paypal wants to showcase their products' relevance in customers’ lives, through their eyes, in a positive way, while staying cognizant of the current environment globally – i.e. social distancing, masks, financial struggles, social activism, protests, and the importance of racial inclusion. They want to tell both sides of the new normal so the content connects with the breadth of consumer experience. Also, although the brand's long been a critical component of eCommerce, most people still don't realize how much they offer, so they're hoping to add a greater emotional bond to the functional ubiquity of PayPal, and become the leading digital wallet - the ‘Swiss army knife’ in today’s digital world.
The key thinking is captured by, "Make it easier to make it better," although that's not necessarily a tagline. Keep that phrase in mind, and think about how much more commerce is digital, how frequently people are making touchless payments, donating to causes like Black Lives Matter, or pooling money to help out a friend or family member, etc. Paypal's products naturally tie into the consumer experience. Here they are:
PRODUCTS TO FEATURE:
VIDEO BREAKDOWN: The key consideration here is that each video follows a similar format (open on talent & setting, introduce the scenario, demonstrate the PayPal product, cut to CTA), but the elements within each video can be flexible, so even though you don't have full control over what the 5 satellite shooters will have access to, it's somewhat superficial. For example, in the App Video for Digital Natives, "a backdrop of social activism" could be about making face masks, painting signs, working a soup kitchen, and although you won't know exactly what backdrop you'll have, you can still beat out a video and plug in whatever the satellite filmmaker brings to the table. Simultaneously, you'll be able to make reasonable asks of the satellite filmmakers (i.e. need a 4th friend for the socially distant picnic).
PAYPAL APP ASSETS:
In order to be considered for this project, you must include the below materials in your pitch submission. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery.
The most compelling pitch will be greenlit, and upon completing the Winner Affidavit and the IP Assignment, the responsible creator will receive funding. Please note: the payment of the pitch funds is subject to a payment schedule determined by Tongal. Please see the full payment schedule in the Assets section.
PRE-PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS: Prior to shooting, filmmakers must receive the below approvals from the Sponsor.
For your convenience, we’ve provided some helpful templates to use at your discretion. They include templates for creating a treatment, production budget, storyboards, shot list, call sheet, and a music cue sheet. Additionally, there are templates that will help you clearly present cast, location, and wardrobe options to the Sponsor. They can all be accessed here.
REVISION REQUIREMENTS: Once the Video Phase has closed, the greenlit submitters will enter the Revisions Phase. Filmmakers will perform reasonable edits on their videos according to the Sponsor’s feedback.
MUSIC: Tongal has partnered with three premiere music providers: Jingle Punks, Universal Production Music and Epidemic Sound, any of which can be used to source music for your video submission to this project. 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 separate Music Release Form. To learn more about using each of these music providers, click on any of the providers’ names above.
If you choose to use custom/original music, you must fill out and submit our Music Release Form. If you obtain music from third-party catalog providers, you must purchase the appropriate license at your own expense and submit it with your license purchase receipt when you turn in your video paperwork.
ASSET DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS: 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 the costs associated the hard drive and shipping.
For Tongal’s file delivery specs and any other questions you may have about post production, please click here.