FEBRUARY 2023 SYFY MOVIE ANIMATED HOMAGES:

• Independence Day
• Men In Black
• Zombieland

 

To give you an idea of what you might see, previous films that SYFY has featured include: Battleship, The Legend of Tarzan, Fast & Furious 7, Independence Day, Men in Black, Zombieland, Jurassic World, The Wolverine, and X Men: Apocalypse. 

*Again, please note that SYFY is NOT looking for you to recreate a scene from the movie. Your video should be a clever homage that avoids actors' likenesses as well as overt references to creatures/monsters that are associated with the movie. 

As you'll see in the February animated homages, the first shot of your video should have minimal motion, and the final three seconds of your video should resolve on a simple, uncluttered frame because SYFY needs room to incorporate additional center-frame graphics that will be added after you deliver.

Have you ever wanted to create an animated 8-bit homage to X-Men: Apocalypse? Or turn your favorite Fast & Furious drag race into a claymation masterpiece? Or papercraft the Earth and show us the alien's perspective in Independence Day? If this sounds fun to you, you're in the right place!

SYFY has been the home of heart-stopping, mind-bending, shape-shifting, genre-expanding content and creativity for the past 30 years. Every month, SYFY features at least three iconic genre films on their channel, and to help promote them, they're looking for talented content creators who are also genre fans to create short :15 tribute videos to each movie. And by genre content - we mean everything from cyberpunk sci-fi to futuristic fantasy to thrilling superheroes and the boldest, bloodiest horror films you've ever seen. Specifically, we are looking for content creators with animation skills in any style - meaning 2D animation, stop-motion animation, claymation, papercraft, creative motion graphics, mixed media, etc. 3D animation is acceptable, but hyperrealistic VFX work is difficult given the timeline and budget, so you must show that you can execute within these parameters. Live action will not work.

Here's the challenge though: SYFY doesn't know which movies they're going to feature until about four weeks beforehand, and that doesn't give us enough time to run a traditional project. SYFY also wants a variety of content, and ideally, creators who actually know and love each movie. That means we can't just lock in three animators and call it a day. For this project then, we're looking to assemble a group of 10-15 creators, each with established animation portfolios, and a range of skillsets. Each month, once the movies are locked in, we'll reach out to everyone - on short notice - and ask who's interested and able to produce a video. This will run through the rest of 2023, starting with SYFY's April slate of movies, meaning there are at least 27 animated tribute videos that will be created this year.

If selected for any given month, you will receive $2,500 to create a single :15 animated video for ONE of that month's three featured SYFY movies. You can check out the timeline for SYFY's March movie homages to get a sense of what the turnarounds would be like.

Since there are only three movies airing each month, we only need three animators to create videos for any given month. That means this isn't guaranteed monthly work - it's just access to the opportunity - and in theory, you could be selected now, but then you might not actually be chosen to make a video until June or July. 

Here's how the process will work:

1. You (the creator) will submit your past work for us to review, along with a list of your content creation skill sets (e.g. papercraft, 2D animation, stop motion, etc.). 
2.  SYFY will review your submission and select a group of 10-15 content creators to have "on call" throughout the rest of 2023. SYFY will mainly be evaluating your skill sets as a content creator at this stage.
3.  When SYFY locks their movie slate for the upcoming month, Tongal will reach out directly to the whole group of animators with a list of movies, and the project timeline, so you can let us know if you're interested in that month's movies, and available to create a video. We'll also ask you to rank each movie in terms of your preference to help SYFY with movie assignments. 
4. Tongal will send the list of interested content creators to SYFY, and SYFY will select which three they want to move forward with. They'll also assign each movie to a creator based on the creator's rankings. 
5.  For pre-production, you'll be required to submit a treatment or storyboard that breaks down your vision for the video and how you plan to execute it. You will likely go through two rounds of review on your treatment.
6.  Once pre-production is approved, you will have around a week to submit a polished first cut of your video. 
7.  After SYFY submits their creative feedback, you will be expected to submit revised edits on a tight turnaround (usually 2-3 days but sometimes less). You will likely go through two rounds of revision on your video. 
8.  Once SYFY approves the video for delivery, you will work with Tongal's producers and QC team to help deliver the necessary master files.
9.  This process will repeat on a monthly basis.

It's important to note we are NOT looking for a one-to-one scene recreation. Instead, your video should be a clear homage to the movie we are celebrating. In addition, it should NOT feature any actors' likenesses or direct replicas of any significant monsters or creatures. Tongal producers will work with you in pre-production to ensure any potential IP issues are avoided. Check out the Background to see the tributes that were created for SYFY's February movies. These should give you a good sense of how to make a video homage that is not a direct scene recreation and also avoids infringing on the original movie's IP. 

You might be familiar with the SYFY animated logo projects we've run in the past (like this one). These movie homages are a NEW initiative from SYFY, so your video does NOT need to resolve on the SYFY logo. Instead, your video should end in a cleared frame so SYFY can add additional tune-in graphics on their end. 

All in all, these projects tend to go from ideation to completion in the course of three to four weeks, so get ready to hustle! For any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.

 

DELIVERABLES: Per creator, there are two total video assets:

• One :15 movie homage video (16x9, 9x16)

 

EXPOSURE: SYFY channel broadcast and social platforms.

 

TARGET AUDIENCE: Adult fans of SYFY content.

 

TONE: Epic, celebratory, mysterious, magical, bad-ass, nostalgic, reverent, hilarious - many different genre tonalities can work, as long as you remain respectful.

 

EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES: 

• This project is specifically meant for animators; you can work in 2D animation, stop-motion animation, claymation, creative motion graphics, mixed media, etc. 3D animation is acceptable, but hyperrealistic VFX work is difficult given the timeline and budget, so you must show that you can execute within these parameters. Live action will not work.
• The first second of your video should be a shot with minimal motion because SYFY needs room to incorporate additional center-frame graphics that will be added after you deliver.
• The final three seconds of your video should resolve on a simple, uncluttered frame (with minimal motion) because SYFY needs room to incorporate additional center-frame graphics that will be added after you deliver.
• The use of voiceover is NOT necessary, and we expect most videos will not need it to tell their story in a compelling way. That said, you MAY use voiceover if you have a compelling narrative reason for it in your video.
• All work should NOT include or reference existing IP or characters. 
• AVOID graphically violent or sexual  images, or overtly political subject matter.

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.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• ANIMATION SKILLS (REQUIRED): Tell us about your specific animation style or skill sets so SYFY can get a sense of your artistic style. All types of animation are on the table - from stop-motion to 2D to 3D to papercraft to claymation and beyond - so let us know all the animation skill sets that you have.
  
  
• 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. 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.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. 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.
   
   
4. 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.
   
   
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. 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.
    
8. Limit 5 submissions per member, per Phase.
    
9. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.
   
   
10. The Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest.
    
    
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 Videos 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, 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.
    
    
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.