This is your chance to create 30-minute Documentary about the past, present, and future of Thomas & Friends™!

In 1945, the Reverend Wilbert Awdry created a cheeky tank engine named Thomas for his son, Christopher. Through friendships, humor and adventure, the Reverend Awdry brought to life a world of wonder, excitement, energy and imagination for his son to learn and grow. It didn’t take long for these stories to gather steam with families all over the world!

Now, nearly 70 years later, Thomas & Friends™ is still picking up speed! To celebrate the rich history, current success, and exciting future of the world’s favorite tank engine, Thomas & Friends is giving YOU, the Tongal community, the opportunity to create a 30-minute documentary, celebrating the 70^th Anniversary of Thomas & Friends.  Yes - you can be the engineer who brings Thomas (and his legacy) safely into 2015 and beyond…

So start laying track by submitting your Concept for how the past, present and future of Thomas & Friends should be brought to life. Ultimately one filmmaker will create an unforgettable 30-minute Thomas & Friends Documentary.  The winning filmmaker will have access to amazing archival footage including episodes from each series, high-res imagery from the original books, original sets, models and photography (located in the UK, so be ready to travel!), an asset library, past and present music/songs, footage from live events and more! You’ll also have the unique opportunity to interview Christopher Awdry, the little boy who inspired the creation of Thomas & Friends and the wonderful world of Sodor. Truly: the chance of a lifetime. 

The goal of this project is to create a 30-minute Documentary (along with a 3 minute promo and a 1-2 minute teaser trailer). The filmmaker must have the proven skillset to tell a compelling documentary-style story.

--Key Marketing Messages: Thomas is relevant, moving forward, and emotionally engaging.  Despite the long history (first published in 1945) Thomas is as engaging for young children today as when he first appeared and is loved by many people across many generations. The messages and the stories of Thomas still resonate with kids today, 70 years later.

--Target Audience: Children, parents and fans of Thomas & Friends all over the world.

--Executional Mandatories: Please adhere to the brand guidelines of Thomas & Friends, to be made available to the winning filmmaker. Since Thomas and Friends’ home base is in the UK, there are a few special considerations for the deliverables on this project. At the end of the project after all revisions are complete, you must deliver: your master file in Apple Pro Res 1080/25p or 1080/50i (pure not converted) format, a Music & Effects (M&E) track for dubbing purposes, textless elements, all audio stems and ProTools sessions/project files. Regarding the master file format, please keep this in mind when shooting your video that the video must be shot/exported in 25p to avoid any issues later.  

--Tone:

 Thomas & Friends is about experiencing childhood through the world of Sodor:

• A world of wonder, fascination, excitement, energy, imagination, discovery and adventures.
• Celebrating innocence, humour and friendships.
• Interacting with a strong and vibrant community of diverse personalities.
• Always moving forwards to stay relevant and current.
• Over the past 70 years Thomas has made a lot of friends and been on many adventures.
• When your best friend is a train you can go anywhere.
• Whilst the brand started off as Thomas The Tank Engine, the brand is now Thomas & Friends.

WHO IS THOMAS (the character)?

• Thomas is a steam engine with a real face.
• Thomas is a cheeky boy.
• Thomas is real.
• Thomas is curious, adventurous and raring to go – he wants everything and wants it now.

--Assets:  The one winning filmmaker will be given access to tons of great Thomas assets, including a digital library of photos, drawings and video. Keep in mind that many assets outside of the digital library are located in the UK, including access to the Awdry family and vintage Thomas train sets, and the winning filmmaker will need to travel to the UK. Please be sure to budget for travel expenses when you are considering Pitching on this project. 

--Exposure: Intended for use online & potentially DVD.

This Project will be worth a total of $60,000 and consists of 3 Phases: a Concept Phase, a Pitch Phase and a Production Phase. Be sure to read the following information carefully as well as the Official Rules.

PHASE 1: CONCEPT – Tell us your Concept for how to bring the Thomas & Friends™ 70^th Anniversary Documentary to life in 250 characters or less. Your Concept should explain the storytelling device, style and structure that you think the filmmaker should use to bring the pieces of Thomas’s story together. The winning Concept creators will receive $500 each and a 5% one-time residual payment if the winning Documentary is based on their Concept. (That means if your winning Concept is the basis for the winning Documentary, you will receive $1,750.)

PHASE 2: PITCH - Submit your Pitch (What Is a Pitch Phase?) convincing the Sponsor why you should be selected to execute a Documentary based on one of the winning Concepts from the previous Phase using:

• Text (REQUIRED): 500 characters or less synopsizing how you plan to approach and execute this Documentary.

• Links (REQUIRED): To your previous video work. Please specify your role (producer, director, cinematography, etc.) and DO NOT INCLUDE LINKS TO YOUR SHOWREEL. Please link to individual videos.

• Treatment (REQUIRED): A detailed narrative description of your vision for how the Documentary will unfold. 

• Pitch Video (REQUIRED): This is your opportunity to show us what you're capable of. Consider submitting a Pitch Video in which you tell the Sponsor what they can expect should they choose your Pitch. Also, test videos, animatics, etc. are welcome.   

• Image (Optional): Additional concept art, storyboards, shot list, casting notes, anything that helps get your point across.

• Script (Optional): This should include dialogue from the video you intend to create. 

**Please note: Treatments AND Pitch Videos are REQUIRED in Pitches for this project.**

The most compelling Pitch will be selected and, upon submitting the Winner’s Affidavit and the IP Assignment, will receive $23,000 to help create the Documentary.  Additionally, upon submitting a Documentary that satisfies the criteria laid out in your winning Pitch, the Pitch winner will also be GUARANTEED the winning place in the subsequent Production Phase.  So, if your Pitch is selected and you execute your Pitch effectively in your Documentary submission, you will win an additional $35,000 (subject to deduction for one-time 5% residual payment to eligible Concept winners). For an example of an effective Pitch, check out Erik Beck’s winning “3 Artists & 5,000 LEGOs” Pitch video. All Pitches will remain private until after the winner of the Production Phase is announced and the Project is complete.    

PHASE 3: PRODUCTION – The winner from the Pitch Phase will create a 30-minute Documentary along with a 3 minute promo and a 1-2 minute teaser trailer based upon their winning Pitch. The Production Phase will include TWO CUTS of the Documentary, as outlined below. The Thomas & Friends team and Tongal will provide meaningful feedback and supervision along the way.

FIRST CUT: Working in collaboration with the Sponsor, the winner from the Pitch Phase will begin creating a 30-minute Documentary utilizing the assets provided by the Sponsor, including archival footage, antique Thomas train sets originally used to create live-action episodes, as well as access to interview Christopher Awdry, the little boy who inspired the creation of Thomas & Friends™.

FINAL CUT: With input and notes from the Sponsor, the winning filmmaker will edit and develop a final cut of the Documentary.

--Production Phase Payout: The winner of the Production Phase will earn the following prize: 1st place $35,000 (less any 5% one-time residual payments paid to the Concept winner, as applicable).

--Music:  The winning filmmaker will have access to a library of songs and music from the Thomas films and TV series.

Tongal has partnered with Epidemic Sound for the Thomas & Friends Documentary Project. Music from the Epidemic Sound catalog is available to filmmakers at no cost solely for their incorporation into Submissions to this Project and will not require a separate Music Release Form. Filmmakers may also choose to use original music. If you are selected as a winner and your Submission uses custom/original music, you must fill out and submit our Music Release Form. If you obtain music from any other catalog providers, you must purchase the appropriate license at your own expense and submit it with our Music Release Form when you turn in your Video paperwork.  

Tongal members are encouraged to browse the Epidemic Sound catalog by visiting player.epidemicsound.com. On their login page, enter the following credentials:

Username: TongalMusic
Password: TongalTunes14 (case sensitive)

Click login. From the main screen, there is a brief tutorial section on how to use the site. Click on "The ES Player – An Introduction Tutorial" button in the upper right corner. Alternately, click any of the tabs across the top: Browse, Albums, TV Elements and SFX to start searching for music or sound effects, or use the Quick Search field in the upper left.

Once you’ve identified the track(s) you want to use, click the down arrow under the Actions column to the right of the song title/description. This will open a download window, allowing you to save the file to the location of your choice. You can also download stems by clicking the second "hollow" download arrow. Or, you can create Playlists in the My Music tab and add tracks to playlists to be downloaded later by clicking on the plus "+" icon.

Keep track of the Track Title and Composer(s) of the songs you end up using in the video (info listed below the sound wave player up top), in addition to the fact that you used Epidemic Sound to obtain the tracks. IMPORTANT: Epidemic uses a "per second" basis to process licenses, so, you can use AS MANY TRACKS AS YOU WANT, but you must identify the timing of each one used in your final video. When entering your credits on Tongal, enter the elapsed time of each track used in the Track ID # field in seconds.

--Referral: Any Tongal member who refers the winning Documentary creator in this Project using the Tongal “Invite Friends” functionality will receive a referral fee equal to 5% of the amount won. That’s a potential $500 in bonus cash just for telling all of your talented friends about this Project! Check out more about our Referral Program in FAQ.

1. Preferred format for upload to the Tongal website is HD 720p 16x9. Acceptable file formats are .mov, .avi, .mp4, .wmv. Acceptable codecs are H.264 (MP4), MPEG-4, H.263, MPGV, WMV, DivX. Should you win, you will also be required to provide an Apple Pro Res 1080/25p or 1080/50i (pure not converted) format, a Music & Effects (M&E) track for dubbing purposes, textless elements, all audio stems and ProTools sessions/project files. Regarding the master file format, please keep this in mind when shooting your video that the video must be shot/exported in 25p to avoid any issues later.  

2. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal. Winners may be required to agree to additional clearance and/or rights documentation as mandated by the Sponsor.

3. In the event you utilize any third party materials, such as music provided by a third-party music provider not provided by Tongal, you must obtain full written license and consent from the owner of such third party materials and provide such license and consent forms to Tongal.

4. BY SUBMITTING AN ENTRY, YOUR SUBMISSION IMMEDIATELY BECOMES THE SOLE PROPERTY OF TONGAL OR ITS ASSIGNEES – SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES. YOU MAY NOT PUBLICLY SHARE OR PUBLISH YOUR SUBMISSION IN ANY MANNER AND YOU MAY NOT POST OR UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION TO ANY WEBSITE OR VIDEO HOSTING SITE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE OR VIMEO), WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF TONGAL.  FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF YOUR ENTRY IN THE PROJECT.

5. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.

6. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor.

7. Documentaries must be in the English language.

8. Limit 5 submissions per member, per Phase.

9. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.

10. In the event that fewer than 30 Pitches are received, the Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest for up to fourteen (14) days at their discretion.

11. In addition to the judging criteria stated in the OFFICIAL RULES, Pitches will also be evaluated on that member's ability to execute the final Video based on their prior work and experience as a filmmaker.

12. The Sponsor will be entitled to reasonable revisions on the finished Documentary without providing additional compensation. Remember it's easier to re-edit than re-shoot so try to get as much coverage as possible.

13. In addition to the standard Tongal W-9, Winner Affidavit, and IP Assignment, winning Video creators MUST also provide Talent, Location, Music (or other) Releases for all assets appearing in their winning Videos, as well as a photograph/headshot  OR copy of a photo ID for all On-camera Talent releases. You must also provide all project files, editing sequences and a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec to claim your prize.

14. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.