Produce a cohesive suite of playful and sweet family-oriented live-action social videos, and show parents how Spin Master's new animated series Vida the Vet can expand the loving hearts and curious minds of preschool-aged children.
Vida the Vet is a new show for toddlers that follows a vet named Vida and her vet tech, Popcorn, as they help their animal friends in Sweetwood. Each episode, kids learn facts about different animals and how to care and deal with specific problems (like, what happens when you get poison ivy, how to overcome a sad day, or how to get rid of the hiccups). Each episode has a unique, catchy song, and each animal/character has a unique personality too. To help raise awareness about Vida the Vet for parents and kids alike, Spin Master is looking to create a suite of fun and engaging live-action social videos geared towards parents of preschool-aged toddlers to demonstrate how Vida the Vet is a show that expands loving hearts and curious minds with imaginative stories of empathy and well-being.
The goal of this project is to create 6-8 live-action social videos, each no longer than one minute, that reflect some of the values, subjects, and themes of the show, and covering topics pulled from several different "buckets" of content. You can check out the Background for more information about the type of content in each bucket. Please note: the potential video topics in each bucket are just thought starters - you can suggest your own video ideas based on your creative vision and what you think is achievable. Ultimately, we want parents who watch see these videos to better understand what Vida the Vet is all about, and then play the series for their kids because they think of it as both educational and impactful. When it comes to execution, we expect this will be a one day shoot in a studio setting, but it's possible that you may want to shoot some scenes "in the field," like on a trip to an actual vet's office, for example. Since these are social-first video, it's OK to shoot on an iPhone - these videos should look and feel organic to social media.
You'll note that we said "6-8" videos, because rather than prescribe an exact number of videos, we're actually offering you some flexibility here. The exact number of videos, as well as the actual theme of each video, will be up to you and your creative vision, and it will depend in part on how much material you include in each video. For example, you might combine several different topics from a content bucket into one longer video, and in that scenario it'd make sense that you'd have fewer total videos - but you could also create more, shorter videos, and then cover less in each video. From an expectations standpoint, just know that Spin Master is hoping to get at least two videos for each bucket of content, but the more videos that you can create with the budget, the better!
When it comes to casting, Vida is a redhead, so if the child talent has red hair - even better! Specifically, kids should be 3-5 years old and parents should be Millennials (25-35 years old). For the child talent, it's OK to cast a kid that's older than 5, so long as they can reasonably connect with a toddler audience. The expectation is that it would be the same talent used across all the videos. Diversity is also a priority for the Spin Master team, but if a parent and child are present together, ideally there is some resemblance between them.
All videos should adhere to the Vida the Vet brand guidelines, which will be provided. Tonally, these videos should be playful, cheerful, informative, and trustworthy. Vida shares real facts about the real world, and she’s a positive and likable role model for kids, so these videos should reflect that ethos. Since these videos will be living on social media, we want the content to feel organic to the platform. The videos should be eye-catching, grab the viewers' attention within the first 3 seconds, and all content should feel connected to Vida the Vet (e.g. the use of brand colors, songs from the show, values from the show, and catch phrases).
In your pitch treatment, make sure to detail your proposed creative format for the suite of videos, as well as your proposed theme for each video in the series. Make sure to let us know how many videos you plan to create, and if you can include potential talent and locations in your treatment, that would be helpful to see too. The more detail you can share about how exactly you'd bring this content to life, the better!
Check out more information in the Background, and for any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.
DELIVERABLES: There will be 6-8 total videos, depending on your creative approach.
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:
TONE/FEEL: Relatable, engaging, charming, caring, helpful, playful, cheerful, informative
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.
Value/Learning Based Content:
Family-Focused Activities:
Kid-Focused:
VIDA THE VET SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:
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.