Create a :30 TrueView animated video for The Gift Card Shop, a gift card e-commerce site.

The Gift Card Shop is an e-commerce site that sells a variety of digital gift cards and gift cards sent via mail with over 100 brands and merchants to choose from, along with variety of designs for general gift cards too. The goal of this project is to create a :30 animated video that introduces viewers to the The Gift Card Shop brand and highlights their most popular gifting occasions; Congratulations, Birthdays, and Thank Yous. Along with incorporating these occasions, you must also communicate the idea that with the The Gift Card shop you “get it right every time” and it makes shopping fuss free. The Gift Card Shop is open to most forms of animation, including traditional 2D or 3D animation, stop motion, or even dynamic motion graphics.

Check out more information in the Background Section, or ask questions here in the Project Forum.

DELIVERABLES: Four total deliverables:

• One :30 video (16x9)
• Three alternate :30 versions (16x9). Alternate variations will involve the same characters, locations, and script, and will mostly involve small changes that can be handled in post-production, including changes to CTAs, end-card designs, on-screen text copy, and other minor edits. Additionally, depending on where the creative lands, a version may include a slight variation to the script. This will be decided between the selected producer and client during scripting.

TIMELINE: Please find the anticipated timeline HERE, but note that if you are selected, you should consult with your Tongal producer to ensure you are always working off of the most up to date timeline.

EXPOSURE:  YouTube. For YouTube TrueView for action best practices please click here.

TARGET AUDIENCE: Potential buyers of gift cards, specifically the Considerate Shopper, and The Last Minute Gifter. 

• The Considerate Shopper believes gift cards can be thoughtful, if you put a little intention and effort into it and purchase a card that is just right for the occasion or recipient. With their digital-first lifestyle, eGift cards are great options because they take the stress and guess work out of giving—allowing the recipient to get exactly what they want. Because of their purchase frequency, they need a reliable, safe and frictionless online experience for a variety of brands and gift card options to choose from. “With a wide variety of brands and card types, The Gift Card Shop takes the stress out of giving and consistently gets me what I need.”
• The Last Minute Gifter is scrambling for a quick yet thoughtful gift for an occasion, event or moment they are soon to miss. They view gift cards as acceptable gifts and a perfect option for their last-minute decision making style. Because they are time-pressed and anxious, google searches or recommendations from others will have to do, and if a website doesn’t catch their eye, they are immediately on the next. “The Gift Card Shop helped me quickly get the right gift card just in time for the big day.”

TONE: Helpful, down to earth, and a little witty. They would also like to channel The Gift Card Shop Clever Helper who;

• Is Engaging: In an industry that can be overly sweet and sentimental, we sound smart, energetic and direct. We’re honest about the realities (and humor) of gifting gone wrong and clear about how to get it right. Our wit is subtle, used sparingly and usually in the form of phrases separated by em dashes or parentheses
• Is Down-to-Earth: There’s a casualness and familiarity to the way we speak. To achieve this tone, we favor contractions (“it’s”; “we’re”; “she’ll”) and go with common abbreviations and acronyms whenever they help keep things simple, especially on social channels.
• Is Collaborative: We go beyond accommodating our shoppers’ needs and actually encourage them along their gifting (or getting) journey. What does this look like? Lots of invitations that begin with “Let’s,” lots of questions and occasional kudos.
• Is Empowering: We want to show shoppers that we understand their needs and offer gifting options that are just what they’re looking for. In order to convey this idea, we should use words like: right, thoughtful, exactly, simply, impress, slam dunk, nailed it, etc.

EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES: 

• Must capture their top 3 brand benefits: 
  • Shop for the most popular occasions or any occasion
  • You "get it right every time,"
  • There are 100+ brands to choose from
• Must specifically highlight their biggest gifting occasions: Congratulations, Birthdays, and Thank You
• Must cater to the Considerate Shopper and Last Minute Gifter audiences
• Must incorporate their Brand Guidelines into the visual style of the video
• Must incorporate one of the following Call To Actions, "Shop Now" or "Shop Today" along with the URL thegiftcardshop.com
• You MAY NOT show any real gift cards that are featured on the site; instead illustrate your own gift card that focuses on the gifting categories/occasions.

REFERENCE VIDEOS: Here are some videos that The Gift Card Shop has provided that reflects the specific style and tone they would like to achieve.

• American Express - Imagine What You Could Do
• Bravo Pay - Explainer Video
• Google Fi - Connect Safely with Privacy & Security Features
• Vidico - All Trails
• Vidico - Cadabbra

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.

• TEXT (REQUIRED): Up to 500 characters synopsizing how you plan to approach and execute this video.
  
  
• TREATMENT (REQUIRED): A detailed narrative description of what's going to happen in the video. If it's helpful to you, we've provided a treatment template, which you can find here.
  
  
• 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.

• SCRIPT (Optional): This should include dialogue from the video you intend to create.
  
  
• STORYBOARDS (Optional): Additional concept art, storyboards, shot list, anything that helps get your point across. You can download the Tongal storyboard template here.
  
  
• PITCH VIDEO (Optional): This is your opportunity to be face-to-face with the Sponsor and show them 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. For some examples of effective Pitch videos, check out this gallery. All Pitches will remain private until after the Sponsor gives creator(s) the green light to move forward.

The most compelling pitch will be greenlit, 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. 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.

• SCRIPT: This project requires script approval before the Video Phase. The Sponsor may provide feedback on your script(s) and ask you to submit a new version. There may be multiple rounds of feedback until a script is approved by the Sponsor. 
• STORYBOARD: If you are doing an animated video, this project requires storyboard approval before you move into animation in the Video Phase. The Sponsor may provide feedback on your storyboard and ask you to submit a new version.

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.

BUILDING YOUR TEAM: Tongal supports inclusivity in all of our productions and strongly encourages you to hire diverse talent for your team. To find staff & crew in your area, check out these resources and partners.

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: For any music that you use from a library, it is MANDATORY that you use one of Tongal's three 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 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. 

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.

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 your submission be greenlit, you will also be required to provide a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec.
   
   
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.
   
   
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 A VIDEO 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. You may not contact any employees or members of the Sponsor’s organization, their affiliates, or any of their partners. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in disqualification of your entry in the project.
   
   
6. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.
   
   
7. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor.
    
8. By submitting to this project, you acknowledge that your work may become subject to public voting on the Tongal site. Public voting may be used to help the project sponsor determine the final rank order.
    
9. Videos must be in the English language or subtitled.
    
10. Limit 5 submissions per member, per Phase.
     
11. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.
    
    
12. The Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest.
    
    
13. 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.
    
    
14. The Sponsor will be entitled to reasonable revisions on the finished Videos without providing additional compensation. Remember it's easier to re-edit than re-shoot so try to get as much coverage as possible.
    
    
15. In addition to the standard Tongal W-9, Winner Affidavit, and IP Assignment, greenlit Video creators MUST also provide Talent, Location, Music (or other) Releases for all assets appearing in their 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 earnings.
    
    
16. 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.