Nat Geo WILD is currently available in over 58 million U.S. homes, and globally in more than 144 million homes in 140 countries. Nat Geo WILD is known for its wildlife and natural history programming, as well as series that celebrates people who dedicate their lives and work to saving animals. Its distinctive tone is often more unorthodox, cheeky, and subversive than its sister channel, the National Geographic Channel.
Now, Nat Geo WILD is, well, er… going WILD! with a new show PRODUCED ENTIRELY BY THE TONGAL COMMUNITY (that's you). If you're new to the Tongal Community, before you dive any deeper here, click here to find out how Tongal works, then come back to this brief!
What is this show? Think what SNL was to NBC when it premiered in 1975 or what Adult Swim was for Cartoon Network when it premiered in 2001. Both captured the essence & brand of their networks, but presented them as an alternative programming option for a late-night audience in a way that let the networks take risks and step out of their comfort zone and experiment in short increments to see what could resonate with audiences. That’s the type of lightening in a bottle that Nat Geo Wild is looking to capture, and what they’re turning to the Tongal community to bring them, but with their characteristic essence: wildlife, the outdoors, and natural history.
There are going to be 6 episodes of Wild After Dark, which will be made up of 2, 3 and 4 minute segments. Some of these segments can stand alone (more cow-bell!) OR they could be a non-traditional, off-beat continuing series (think Max Headroom). They do not all have to be straight up comedy pieces, and Nat Geo WILD is open to all of your wild ideas, including approaches that are live action, any style of animation (2D, puppetry, anime, stop motion), mockumentary, sketch comedy, etc.
If you aren’t familiar with Nat Geo WILD (yet), check out Savage Kingdom (lions in a soap opera with dramatic British VO!) and Fish Bowl (Super Bowl counterprogramming at its finest). These are good references for sensibility or a starting point, but we want to take off the training wheels and get more subversive and fun within that same ecosystem.
To fuel your brainstorms and Pitches, you can draw inspiration from any of these five buckets below (you’ll have to select a bucket when submitting your Pitch), or submit something entirely original:
Check out more in the details below, and don't forget that we've got a Wildcard and Editing project for this too!
The primary goal is to create a funny, creative, and provocative TV segment OR series of segments featuring animals for Nat Geo WILD. These segments will then be edited together to create six 22-minute TV episodes.
The style of video is completely up to you, and if you think you can produce multiple videos within the time allotted for production, you can produce a recurring segment with a series of videos that repeat across multiple episodes. There are no limits on your creativity here, and you are NOT required to use live animals.
There are three options of individual video segment lengths, each with its own corresponding budget.
If you pitch a video segment that repeats across the episodes, you'd multiply the video segment budget by the number of videos you're producing for it. For example, if you decide to a pitch a 2 minute segment that repeats in each of the 6 episodes, you'd multiply a 2 minute segment ($6,200) by 6 videos, for a total of $37,200. Note that if your segment repeats, it does NOT have to repeat every episode, and it is perfectly acceptable to film only 2 or 3 videos for a segment. Also, if your Pitch is selected, there will be a period of negotiation after the Pitch Winners are selected, and the Sponsor may ask you to produce more (or fewer) videos for your segment.
You may choose any of the video segment length options for your submission. Keep in mind that it’s your responsibility to ensure you can execute your vision for the Video within the budget and timeline. The timeline is fixed for all video segment lengths / styles. If you choose to do a 3-minute video segment and 2D animation, for example, make sure you can accomplish that for the $9,000 budget and be able to delivery by the first cut due date.
FYI: Tongal is running a separate project for an Editor to package the final Videos into complete episodes for Nat Geo Wild, so you will NOT be responsible for a broadcast quality sound mix or graphics application. You WILL be required to deliver Master files, audio stems and project files based tech specs that will be provided to the Pitch winners.
PLEASE NOTE: You will be expected to deliver a high quality master with audio source files and all project files. We will provide the Pitch winner with the specific Technical Specifications and Materials List. If selected as a Pitch Winner, there will be an extensive on-boarding session between you and the Tongal Producer to ensure smooth delivery of your segment. YOU MUST ADHERE TO THE BELOW DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS AT ALL STAGES OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS.
*At the minimum, we’re going to need 25 pieces of content, so there’s a lot of opportunity for people to win here!
--Deliverables:
--Target Audience:
--Executional Mandatories:
--Anticipated Production Timeline:
--Tone:
--Exposure:
This is an open bid project, so you’ll get to set your overall budget proposal. You can download the Budget template here. Keep in mind, the budget guidelines listed below in the Pitch Phase section.
This Project will consist of 5 Phases: a Pitch Phase, a Pre-Production Phase, a Video Phase, Revisions Phase and Asset Delivery Phase.
Be sure to read the following information carefully as well as the Official Rules.
PHASE 1: PITCH - Submit your Pitch (What is a Pitch Phase?) convincing the Sponsor why you should be selected to execute a Pilot using:
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 single Video or multiple Video segments, if applicable. If it's helpful to you, we've provided a Treatment template, which you can find here.
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.
Headshots/Casting Boards (Optional): Casting notes or concepts, headshots of actors, etc.
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, animatic, etc. are welcome.
The most compelling Pitches will be selected and, upon submitting the Winner’s Affidavit and the IP Assignment, will receive a portion of their agreed upon budget to help create the Pilot. Please note the payment of the Pitch award is subject to a payment schedule determined by Tongal. Additionally, upon submitting a Video that satisfies the criteria laid out in your winning Pitch, completing Sponsor notes, providing the necessary release forms, and providing all assets required by the sponsor the Pitch winner will receive a final payment. For an example of an effective Pitch, check out The Indie Machines winning “3 Artists & 5,000 LEGOs” Pitch video. All Pitches will remain private until after the winner of the Video Phase is announced and the Project is complete. In this project the Sponsor will determine how many submissions it will select, if any.
PHASE 2: PRE-PRODUCTION - The Pitch winners will enter the Pre-Production Phase (What is a Pre-Production Phase?). During this phase, filmmakers will need to receive the following Approvals from the brand:
No filmmakers may begin shooting their Video until all Approvals are completed and the Video Phase has officially begun. If you begin shooting your Video during the Pre-Production Phase before you have received final approval, there is a chance you will need to reshoot (at your own expense).
During Pre-Production, filmmakers will also need to provide:
PHASE 3: VIDEO - Once the Pre-Production Phase is complete, the Pitch winners will each create a Video segment of an approved length based upon their winning Pitch.
--Video Phase Payout: Upon submitting a Video that satisfies the criteria laid out in your winning Pitch, completing Sponsor notes, providing the necessary release forms, and providing all assets required by the sponsor the Pitch winners will receive a final payment according to the agreed upon budget.
--Music: Tongal has partnered with the premiere music providers Jingle Punks, which can be used to source music for your Video submission to this Project. Music from this providers is available to registered Tongal members at no charge solely for their incorporation into Submissions to this Project and will not require a separate Music Release Form. To learn more about this music provider, click on the provider’s names above.
If you are selected as a winner and choose to use custom/original music, you must fill out and submit National Geographic's Music Commission Agreement (will be provided to Pitch winner).
PHASE 4: REVISIONS - Once the Video Phase has closed, the winning submitters will enter the Revisions Phase (What is a Revisions Phase?). During this phase, filmmakers will perform reasonable edits on their Video according to the Sponsor’s feedback.
PHASE 5: ASSETS DELIVERY - Deliverables are as follows: ProRes 422 HQ or DNxHR HQX file, audio stems AND all project elements used in the creation of the Video. National Geographic's Technical Specifications will be provided to the Pitch winners. You will be responsible for the costs associated with the hard drive and shipping.
1. Each Video(s) MUST not exceed 4 minutes in length. 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 you win, 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, winning Video creators MUST also provide Talent, Location, Music (or other) Releases for all assets appearing in their winning 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 prize.
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.