Here are the three concepts:
- TIME & PUNISHMENT: This podcast will detail the discovery, investigation, prosecution, and punishment associated with different types of crimes committed at different points and in different places throughout history, LONG before societies developed the organizations, processes, tools, and innovations currently used in investigation. It should be told as a thrilling and suspenseful narrative that you’d expect to hear for a modern crime, and the episodes will look at the personalities, procedures, roles, cultures, organizations, and laws involved in that process. The crimes themselves can be either real and documented historical crimes, OR hypothetical and fictional crimes based on existing historical research from an era. A host can certainly serve as a narrator and anchor, but we expect that you'll need to bring in historians and experts to weigh in on all of the details to make the storytelling compelling and accurate. The examples below illustrate what we mean, although you're not tied to them:
- One episode might introduce the highway robbery of a prominent figure in 1749, and then follow London's Bow Street Runners, perhaps the first western police force, as they investigate and ultimately track down the criminals behind it, bringing them to justice before the magistrate at Bow Street Court.
- Another episode might cover the famous and well-documented true story of Yaoya Oshichi in Edo, Japan, 1682, a teenage arsonist who set fire to buildings in the city to try and reunite with an old lover, until she was ultimately tracked down by samurai police and sentenced to death by fire because of a mandatory sentencing requirement for those aged 16 and up.
- CRIMINAL ART: Art has incredible power. It can inspire, motivate, and drive people to do amazing things... but this podcast will investigate what happens when art motivates people to pursue darker intentions - to steal, to lie, and even to kill. You have a lot of flexibility in how you explore this concept, and there are dozens and dozens of cases you can look at, but here are a few examples of criminal cases that illustrate what we mean:
- In 2004, fourteen year old Michael Hernandez, lured his friend into a bathroom stall and stabbed him more than forty times, and would claim that he modeled his behavior on the villains featured in the films “American Psycho” and “The Silence of the Lambs.”
- In 1988, Jeffrey Lyne Cox, a high school senior, read Stephen King’s book “Rage,” which tells that tale of a high school student who kills his teacher and takes his classmates hostage. Cox attempted to re-enact the plot by entering his humanities class with a
rifle, ordering the teacher to leave and making hostage demands. He was eventually overtaken, and prompted King to request that the novel never be published again.
- LATE CHECKOUT: Thousands of people arrive at hotels, Airbnbs and well-known landmarks every day - each with their own stories, and from every walk of life. But some may never leave. This podcast will explore strange murders & crimes that have occurred at these places, as well as the subsequent investigations and impact on other guests, staff, and members of the community.
- The Body in Room 348 - The corpse at the Eleganté Hotel stymied the Beaumont, Texas, police. They could find no motive for the killing of a popular oil-and-gas man and no explanation for how he had received his strange internal injuries. Bent on tracking down his killer, his widow turned to a private investigator to crack the case.
- The Dresser Drawer Murder at the Claypool Hotel, Indianapolis, IN, involved typist Dorothy Poore, who was reported missing after she missed a Civil Service examination on a Friday in 1954. One of the most sensational crimes in Indianapolis history, Poore’s 5-foot-6-inch, 125-pound body was found jammed into a dresser drawer, which was about 48-inches by 24-inches and approximately-10 inches deep. The coroner said there was no evidence her death was caused by blows, puncture wounds or bullets, and noted there were no signs of violence on the body, but bluntly added, “You don’t just stuff yourself into a dresser drawer.”
Some mystery and thriller podcasts meticulously dissect a single event over the course of an episode, while others might use a few examples to illustrate a particular topic of story. Any framework is appropriate, and you should consider the full range of storytelling approaches too, from classic journalistic investigations to more casual conversational discussions, and even comedic angles.
Your approach obviously depends on the concept you choose, but the studio is open to anything. Additionally:
- You're not tied to a specific episode length.
- You should be able to sustain your podcast for at least 10 episodes.
- You should be able to identify at least 10 stories that you can investigate.
- You are not tied to murders and violent crime; conspiracies, disappearances, frauds, kidnappings, blackmails, hustles, and thefts are on the table too.
TONGAL ORIGINALS INCUBATOR & THE SPONSOR:
- This project is part of the Tongal Originals Incubator program, and we're partnering with a premium content studio to make it happen. You can learn more about the program itself HERE, but the Sponsor has elected to remain hidden for the initial phase of this project. We can tell you that they're able to develop, produce, or finance any podcast, but beyond that, you'll be able to learn more if you're selected for the Production Phase.
RIGHTS & PARTICIPATION:
- If your Pitch is in consideration: Before pitches are selected, a short list of submitters whose pitches are in consideration will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, at which point the Sponsor will be revealed, and budget proposals will be subject to good faith negotiations with the Sponsor. After that, the submission selections will be finalized and announced.
- Submissions Not Selected by Sponsor: All rights to pitch submissions that are NOT selected by sponsor will revert back to the submitters after the close of the project.
- Submissions Selected by Sponsor: All rights to pitch submissions that are selected will be owned by the Sponsor for a period of 7 years. If and when the Sponsor elects to move forward with a submission after a pilot is delivered, the submitter's involvement and participation in the project, including their percentage of net proceeds, will be subject to good faith negotiations with the Sponsor and covered by a separate agreement.
With the explosive popularity of podcasts like Serial and My Favorite Murder, it's clear that audiences can't get enough of true crime content. That's why Tongal has teamed up with one of Hollywood’s premium content studios - and we're talking A-list here, with Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, you name it - to produce a pilot for the next great podcast set in the world of true crime. The studio has identified three topics they think could be successful, each of which is included in the Background/Additional Details section below.
We're running this project a bit differently than normal, so if you are interested in learning more and pitching on this project, submit in the Pre-Pitch Phase to demonstrate your production capabilities. ANY creators that can produce a podcast will be asked to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement so that we can reveal the identity of the studio. At that point, you will also be given additional information to put together a pitch. One (or more) creators may then be selected to move forward into the next phase to produce a pilot.
Please note that there will not be any funds awarded in the Pre-Pitch Phase. Should a creator be greenlit in the Pitch Phase, they will then receive funding to produce their content.
Please also note that this is a podcast production project, so we are looking for people who have past experience producing audio & podcast projects. If you're not able to produce yourself, but you know someone who would be a great fit for this, refer them through our Podcast Referral Project and earn up to $600.
DELIVERABLES:
- One 10-minute condensed podcast pilot
- One Series bible
TIMELINE: For the full project timeline please see the Assets section.
EXPOSURE: The studio may develop a podcast for any audio platform
TARGET AUDIENCE:
- True mystery or suspense podcast audiences lean female, but the studio is open to podcasts aimed at any adult audience, so you can target a broad demographic.
TONE:
- The studio is open to a wide range of tonal executions, so this can be dramatic, emotional, comedic, intense, irreverent, weird, quirky, or exciting - or any mix of these. It can be educational and conversational too, so long as it's a compelling format that will hook a listener.
EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES:
- Avoid "whodunit" stories that are simply re-tellings of a criminal case, especially if they don't add anything new to the investigation. If it’s going to be a whodunit, it also needs to have really compelling characters involved.
- Avoid one-person, Wikipedia-style re-treads of well-known mysteries or conspiracies. They want a more dynamic structure with the host or hosts, and they want to be able to reveal something new or surprising.
- These concepts - and really any true crime concepts - are research heavy, so your team should ultimately include a researcher, and probably a producer who is experienced working with and licensing archival material in your Pitch.
- If relevant to your pitch, you should include information on individuals or sources you have access to, intellectual property you control, or other reporting that may be pertinent.
OPEN BID:
- This is an open bid project, so if you are selected to move forward to the Pitch Phase, you will get to set your own budget proposal within the $6,000-$10,000 range.
- 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.
PRE-PITCH PHASE:
In order to be considered for the Pitch Phase, you must include the below materials in your Pre-Pitch Submission. The Pre-Pitch Phase gives filmmakers the opportunity to submit a 500-word synopsis of their creative vision for the final Pilot(s), confirm their availability for production, and submit samples of previous work. It’s your chance to raise your hand and say, “Hey, I’m available and I have this opportunity and want to learn more!”
- TEXT (REQUIRED): 500 characters or less synopsizing why you are interested in and think you could be a great fit for this project.
- LINKS (REQUIRED): To your previous podcast work. Please specify your role (producer, director, sound engineer, etc.) and DO NOT INCLUDE LINKS TO YOUR SHOWREEL. Please link to individual podcasts.
- PODCAST CONCEPT (REQUIRED): Select which of the three concepts you're pitching on from the dropdown menu.
PITCH PHASE:
If selected to move forward to the Pitch Phase, you must include the below materials in your pitch submission to be considered for this project. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery.
- TEXT (REQUIRED): 500 characters or less synopsizing how you plan to approach and execute your podcast. Your treatment should break down how you envision your 10-minute condensed pilot, as well as how that would fit into a longer season of content, with multiple ideas for additional episodes.
- PODCAST CONCEPT (REQUIRED): Select which of the three concepts you're pitching on from the dropdown menu.
- LINKS (REQUIRED): To your previous podcast or audio work. Please specify your role (producer, director, host, etc.). Please link to individual podcast episodes or audio files.
- TREATMENT (REQUIRED): This must included a detailed narrative description of your podcast's subject, as well as your approach to covering that subject. We've provided a treatment template, which you can find here.
- TEAM BREAKDOWN (REQUIRED): Please include a breakdown of the key members of your team (including but not limited to director, producer, host, etc.) and relevant examples of their past work.
- BID (REQUIRED): This is an open bid project. This budget should be within the range of $6,000-$10,000. No full budget is required; just your bid.
- PITCH VIDEO (Optional): This is your opportunity to be face-to-face with the studio and show them what you're capable of. Consider submitting a pitch video in which you tell them what they can expect should they choose your pitch. For some examples of effective Pitch videos, check out this gallery. All Pitches will remain private until after the studio gives creator(s) the green light to move forward.