Generally, these vignettes should provide a seamless & entertaining transition from streaming  into the ad break. We want the viewer to by entertained with interesting, exciting or unexpected tips, tricks and information in a creative way. 

 

REFERENCE VIDEOS FOR INSPIRATION OR TONE: 

• Summer Hydration Hacks
• Horror Trivia
• Oscars Trivia

***We've received some additional creative mandatories for this brief. Therefore, we're reopening this pitch for a few more days to allow those of you who already pitched to adjust your pitches accordingly. And if you weren't able to pitch in the initial window, we'd love to see your ideas! Find updates in red below (updated 4/14). ***

The Roku Channel is one of the largest ad-supported video on demand streaming platforms, hosting thousands of shows and movies that you can watch for free. They occasionally run animated  "tagged vignettes" - :30s editorial videos sponsored by a brand partner to create a more enjoyable transition from shows into the ad break. With this project, they want to create an entertaining :30 video centered around a back-to-school related concept of your choosing. 

The back-to-school topic is up to you: it could be a life hack, a school year tip, an interesting factoid, etc., and those are just a few thought starters. We want to hear different, unique, and interesting ideas and creative approaches. Your concept should be simple enough that the audience doesn’t need any background about what’s being presented and why. Try to avoid overly narrativizing your concept. Overall, your concept should appeal parents and teachers. It should not look or feel like they’re being served to kids. 

The overall goal of this video is to present something for The Roku Channel audience to enjoy while they stream and walk away with some interesting new information. Successful examples will leave the viewer thinking to themself, “that’s a great idea, I should try that!” or “wow, I had no idea. So cool!” Tonally, we want it to be upbeat, positive, and generally position back-to-school as an exciting, celebratory time of year.

As these will eventually be sold to sponsors, in stop motion content we do need to avoid showing any school supplies that could eventually prove to be a conflict of interest. Do not include anything that could be branded - ie bags, notebooks, pencils, etc. Something like fruit, however, would be acceptable. 

The last :03-:05 of your video needs to be reserved to include a “presented by” voice over for the sponsor (which is still TBD). With that in mind, plan for a "presented by" end card that continues the style of your overall video, leaving space for a future sponsor logo in addition to the voice over. Once the sponsor is finalized, you'll add their logo and have your voice over talent record the updated “presented by” read. This video asset should include Voice Over throughout since this will be running on television and you will need to have that talent record a placeholder “presented by ‘your brand’” tag, and as the sponsor will not be decided at the time of production. Please ensure you plan for an additional read from the VO artist to accommodate the updated tag once we do have a sponsor on board.

While we're open to most any approach, we expect 2D animation, stop motion, motion graphics, or mixed media to be the most realistic options. We can provide access to stock footage for you to incorporate into your video, but we are NOT looking for live action concepts here. While 3D animation is acceptable, hyperrealistic VFX work would be difficult given the timeline and budget, so you must show that you can execute within these parameters.

For your pitch, please note the submission requirements for your treatment document. Your treatment must contain the listed information to meet Roku Brand Studio requirements. Then check out some examples of past vignettes from in the Background, and for any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.

 

DELIVERABLES: There is 1 total video asset:

• One :30 animated video (16x9)

 

TIMELINE: HERE.

 

EXPOSURE: We anticipate content will be used on the platforms listed below, but if casting talent, please be sure your talent reviews the required Talent Release, 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 page.

• The Roku Channel

 

TARGET AUDIENCE: Parents of children aged 5+

 

TONE: Upbeat, positive, celebratory

 

EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES: 

• The last :03 must have an empty end card with "presented by" text and room for a sponsor logo. For now please include a placeholder “logo” (ideally, a circle that contains the text “your brand logo” within it).
• The same voiceover talent used throughout the vignette must be available to read a presented by tag once the sponsor is finalized.
• Avoid mention or depiction of existing brands or products, alcohol, drugs, political or religious opinions, violence, adult content or anything disparaging towards a person, brand or company.
• Avoid creative that explains how to “customize” a product since brands are sensitive to showing off their products in a way that isn’t available for purchase or as originally intended.
• We should not show any actual real-life products like school supplies (bags, notebooks, pencils, etc) in  stop motion creative

 

By participating in this project, creators acknowledge that the Sponsor is under no obligation to greenlight a submission. Though most projects on our platform do move forward, we will 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 the project team.

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 produce the content listed out in the Deliverables.
  
  
• TREATMENT (REQUIRED): This must be a pdf document containing the below information. If it's helpful to you, we've provided a treatment template, which you can find here.
  • • Logline that includes a punchy title for your pitch and an explicit mention of your back-to-school topic
    • Blurb on how the topic connects to the ‘Back to School’ theme
    • Rough bulleted or paragraph overview of creative approach & how the spotlight will come to life on screen
    • Visual references for desired style & tone (inclusive of sample fonts/color palettes/ animation style references) 
    • Link to relevant work

• 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.

• 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.

1. 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.
   
   
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. 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.
   
   
5. Preferred format for upload to the Tongal website is HD 720p and formatted for the aspect ratios listed in the Deliverables (e.g. 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.
   
   
6. 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.
   
   
7. 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.
   
   
8. 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.
   
   
9. Videos must be in the English language or subtitled.
   
   
10. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor, nor can Submissions contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.
    
    
11. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.
    
    
12. The Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest.
    
    
13. 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.