Tirdy Works is a half-hour unscripted series set in a small rural town with four paved roads and a booming new business: arts and crafts created out of moose tirds. Tirdy Works is a hilarious, off-kilter look at entrepreneurship, parenthood and life, told through the eyes of Mary Winchenbach, her family, and the local folk who call Somerville, ME home. 

What started with a single tird and a simple concept, Mary’s moose-crap creations have taken America by storm after a Facebook post went viral. But now, in order to make all their dreams come true, Mary has to figure out how to increase production, plan for expansion, experience growing pains, and pull the locals of Somerville together. And the clock is ticking...with another brutal Maine winter just around the corner. 

Some of Mary's most iconic and best-selling items include the Poo Poo Platter, Moose Tird Earrings (in Plain Ole Turd and Peace of Crap styles), and Poo-Poo Clock.

 

REFERENCE VIDEOS FOR INSPIRATION OR TONE: 

• Check out the Tirdy Works trailer here.
• Get a better sense of who Mary is in this video.

No, you didn't read that synopsis wrong: we're looking for a filmmaker to create an unboxing series around handmade moose poop crafts. Crafts and trinkets made from poop. From a moose. 

These moose poop crafts are surprising in many ways: yes, they're punny. Yes, they're cute. And yes, they are actually, truly, 100% handcrafted from actual hand-harvested Maine moose poop. TruTV is looking to capture that sense of surprise, and the folk spirit behind the Tirdy Works themselves, in a series of videos showing unsuspecting recipients unboxing and reacting to Tirdy Works products. 

While we want legitimate and authentic reactions, it's important that these videos, and the on-screen reactions, feel celebratory and excited, not disgusted or mean. Tirdy Works (you can read more about it in the Background section) is a follow-doc sitcom about Mary, the folk artist behind such delights as the Poo Poo Platter, and her small community in upstate Maine. There's a chance that Mary will even record a greeting video to go with each unboxing gift, which can be incorporated into your videos, to give both the recipients and viewers a sense of who she is in advance of the show's premiere.

Your pitches should include which Tirdy Works products you'd like to have unboxed, and the talent who will be doing the unboxing. You are welcome to include influencer talent, but they must be willing to sign the Tongal talent release and to work within your overall production budget. 

Our priority is to make sure everyone is safe. Along with that, we’re working really hard to keep people working during this strange time. Our advice here is to submit only if you feel you can do something within the anticipated timeline that ensures everyone's safety given today's reality.

 

DELIVERABLES:

• Five (or more) Tirdy Works unboxing videos, up to :60 (16x9 and 1x1)
• One endcard

 

TIMELINE: For the full project timeline please see the Assets section.

 

EXPOSURE:

• YouTube
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Please check out the platform best practices page.

 

TARGET AUDIENCE:

• Fans of TruTV shows like Impractical Jokers and Tacoma FD
• Fans of quirky lifestyle shows like Alaskan Bush People and Pawn Stars

 

TONE: Surprising, celebratory, funny, and quirky.

 

EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES: 

• Pitches should include talent options. You may pitch with influencer talent, but they must be willing to sign the Tongal talent release without modification and work within your budget.
• The greenlit filmmaker's talent should be ready and willing to have their unboxing reaction captured on camera, but should not know in advance what they'll be receiving. 
• Tirdy Works product should be the focus of each video. 
• Talent reactions can be UGC compiled by the filmmaker; creative filmmaking and editing approaches are encouraged given the current environment.
• Consider incorporating a tagline or title, such as, "Give a Crap."

 

OPEN BID: 

• This is an open bid project, so you will get to set your own budget proposal in the $750–$1,000 per video range. Please specify how many videos you're pitching to produce, the per-video cost, and the total bid. 
• By participating in this open bid project, creators acknowledge that the Sponsor is under no obligation to greenlight a bid. Though most open bid projects on our platform do move forward with a greenlit bid, we will notify you in the event the Sponsor decides not to fund any bids via the project forum. Regardless of the result, all open bid 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): 500 characters or less synopsizing how you plan to approach and execute this video.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• 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.

• HEADSHOTS/CASTING BOARDS (REQUIRED): Casting notes or concepts, headshots of actors, YouTube or Instagram channel links, etc. Your casting boards should reflect talent who would be willing and available to participate in these videos.

• BUDGET (REQUIRED): This is an open bid project, so you’ll get to set your overall budget proposal. You can download the budget template here. The Sponsor would like each producer to create up to five with a cost range of $750–$1,000 per video.
  
  
• 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. 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. 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. Videos must be in the English language or subtitled.
    
9. Limit 5 submissions per member, per Phase.
    
10. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.
    
    
11. The Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest.
    
    
12. 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.
    
    
13. 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.
    
    
14. 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.
    
    
15. 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.