Contribute to Tongal.com's website redesign by creating a suite of six short animated videos, each using finely-crafted claymation or something similar, that can make a lasting impression on the visitors that land on our homepage.
It's time for us to update the look and feel of Tongal.com, and we want something extra special to give our homepage that signature Tongal community flair, so we're looking to YOU to create a suite of creative and eye-catching animated videos that can greet site visitors when they land on our new homepage. These bite-sized videos will act as a quick introduction to the world of Tongal. They'll help tell our story, and demonstrate our ethos, to brands and creators alike — so they'll be an important and highly visible part of the site.
With that in mind, the goal here is to create 6 different animated videos; 3 hero videos, each no more than :10, and 3 supplementary videos that reinforce some key messaging. We're primarily hoping for polished claymation animation, but we're open to other similar styles of animation too. What's particularly important is that whatever medium you choose, we want to see the craftsmanship come through, while still ensuring that the video feels polished. If we're talking about using actual clay, that means we don't want to use fingerprints and uneven character builds (i.e. the craft, without the craftmanship). However, we're also open to 3D rendered artistry that looks like claymation, or other related animation mediums where craftmanship comes through, or where the artform itself feels "tactile." This does probably exclude most traditional 2D and 3D animation though, unless you can make a strong case for something that we're not thinking about.
As a suite, the different videos should flow and work together, and offer an introduction to the incredible craftsmanship within our community. We believe the personality of Tongal is bright and eclectic — and we want that to be reflected in these assets and across our broader brand refresh. Please consider a bright and vivid color palette for your animations. The videos should immediately draw first-time site visitors in, and encourage them to learn more by succinctly and visually communicating key messages. As we may also be using these on our socials, consider how you might incorporate sound design and music to make them engaging in sound-on applications. You can view details about the different videos and their respective messaging in the Background. Note that they're split between "hero" animated videos, which we expect to take up a large space on the screen, and supplementary videos, which will need to support and work around text on the page.
As you're concepting and ultimately bringing these to life, it's important to keep in mind how these will ultimately be realized on our website, and how they'll play out on differently sized screens. Although we're leading with 16x9, and include a number of other familiar aspect ratios, we expect some framing and positioning of elements to change depending on the aspect ratio. For the reframes, the content can remain largely the same though. Also, we're not expecting you to know everything about website video design, but if you happen to have experience, we'd love to hear about it in your pitch. You'll notice that we've built tech review periods into the timeline, and you will need to be prepared to work with both our tech team and post team to make sure they have everything they'll need to best bring implement these on the back end of the site so that they look their best on any screen. To that end, for all deliverables we'll need both the videos and raw individual layers (or frames) so that we can appropriately program website actions to the action of your animation.
As always, we'd love to hear from you about your approach and what working on this project would mean to you in a pitch video. More than this, though, we suggest putting together a proof-of-concept of how you'd bring one of the videos listed in the deliverables to life.
For any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.
DELIVERABLES: There are 21 total video assets.
EXPECTED TIMELINE: HERE
EXPOSURE: We expect content will be used on the platforms below. You should also review our Music providers in the Project Requirements, as well as the platform best practices.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Brand and studio executives, as well as independent creators, seeking to learn about Tongal's work, mission, and ethos.
TONE/FEEL: Imaginative, creative, bright, playful, magical, innovative. Celebrate Tongal as hub of creativity, opportunity, and connection.
EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES:
THE HERO VIDEOS
The heroes will tell a bit more of a story on their own, and the banner video will be the longest video of the set. The "banner video" will be the first video that visitors will see, and should feature our Tongal logo and lightning bolts, but we're looking to you to get creative with it to ensure it makes quite an impression while representing our story and ethos.
The Banner Video (:10) -
From Socials to Super Bowls to Silver Screens animation (:07) -
The World of Tongal IP (:07) -
THE SUPPLEMENTARY VIDEOS
Three Simpler Ideas (up to :05) - These three simpler animated videos will help to illustrate and accompany words presented on the site. We've included some thought starters / conceptual examples, but we want to hear your ideas here, so don't get hung up on the examples.
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 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.
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.