Take part in Project Pilot and turn story ideas into TV pilots

The search is now on for exciting and gripping story ideas that can be turned into TV documentaries, comedies, dramas and children's programmes, with competition winners given the opportunity to turn ideas into television pilots.

This project, Project Pilot, is an initiative by local broadcaster MediaCorp TV12, Arts Central, supported by the Media Development Authority (MDA), sponsored by mobile operator, M1 with technology partner, Panasonic.

Ms Alice Tan, CEO, MediaCorp TV12 says, “This is the first time that such a comprehensive platform is given to develop media talents –from aspiring filmmakers to media professionals. Arts Central believes in taking creative risks with our media talents and rewarding them with the first step to producing a pilot. It’s not about what we want as a television channel, but what they want as a creative individual in the industry"".

Mr Seto Lok Yin, the MDA's Director of Industry Development agrees, ""There are many creative people out there with exciting ideas for television. This competition gives them a great platform to turn their ideas into television pilots. With Arts Central, these pilots get local viewership. With the MDA, we provide opportunities for local talents to produce quality content for the international television market place, opening doors to international broadcasters.""

There are three categories in the competition: Professional, Media Students and 3G.

Under the Professional Category, contestants pitch their creative concepts to a panel of international judges. Five finalists will be shortlisted, each receiving a sum of S$30,000 as budget for the television pilot episode. These five pilots will subsequently be aired on Arts Central in November. The winner of this category, chosen by the public through a voting system, receives a cash award of S$5,000, a trophy and the opportunity to develop the pilot into a series.* The voting public and the finalists also stand to win prizes from Panasonic. The pilots will also be aired on MiWorld Mobile –M1’s very own mobile portal - via the 3G network and on Channel NewsAsia International, which has a potential viewership of 16.3 million hotels and households across 20 territories.

Students will get a chance to express their creative talents under the Project Pilot: Media Students Category. This category is open to students from the media and tertiary art schools in Singapore. Each participating school’s submission will be judged by a panel of Project Pilot judges. The shortlisted projects will likewise be aired on Arts Central in January 2006 and on M1’s MiWorld Mobile. The public casts its vote on the winner and the winning school will receive S$3,000, a trophy and prizes from Panasonic. In addition, the students from the winning school will be offered a one-year employment contract with MediaCorp.

One of the international judges, Ms Sheena Macdonald, President, Rhombus Media (Canada) says, ""I think it is wonderful that there is a component involving students as, after all, these dedicated young people will be entering the industry within a few years. I can imagine that the exposure to an international perspective will benefit them greatly.""

The third category, Project Pilot: 3G, is a competition that is held in conjunction with both the student and professional categories. The 3G competition encourages aspiring filmmakers to submit a one-minute clip on digital video. Ten entries will be shortlisted by the organisers and each shortlisted entry will receive S$500 cash, M1 vouchers worth S$200 and compete via M1 MiWorld Mobile 3G network for a chance to develop its pilot clip into a series. The winner from the shortlisted entries will receive S$2,000 in cash, a production budget of $10,000 and a chance to work with award-winning local filmmaker, Kelvin Tong to develop a series of ten 3-minute episodes. All shortlisted content as well as the newly developed series will be shown on M1’s MiWorld Mobile via the 3G network.

M1’s Sales and Marketing Director, Mr P. Subramaniam says, ""Project Pilot is in line with our continuous effort to discover talented individuals out there who can make use of 3G technology to showcase their work and live their dreams. At the same time, we believe this initiative will definitely enrich our 3G content and provide a new platform for showcasing such talents.”

Ideas for Project Pilot are to be submitted to MediaCorp TV12 Arts Central. The entry deadlines are • Professional category - 20 July
• 3G category - 15 August
• Media Students’ category - 2 November
More information is available at www.artscentral.com.sg

The panel of judges are:
1. Ms Fiona Crago, General Manager, Beyond Distribution (Australia)
2. Ms Sheena Macdonald, President, Rhombus Media (Canada)
3. Mr Seto Lok Yin, Director, Industry Development Division , MDA, Singapore
4. Ms Elaine Chin, Director of Development and Production, HBO
5. Ms Jobina Tan, Senior Manager, Central Programming, MediaCorpTV12 Arts Central, Singapore

Public queries can be directed to this email: projectpilot@artscentral.com.sg

Issued by MediaCorp TV12 Singapore

For more information, please contact:
Nazlene Zainal Alias
Manager, Channel Promotions
Central Programming
Tel : 6225 8133
Fax : 6225 0966
E-mail: nazlene@mediacorptv12.com

Azlan N. Salim
Senior Manager
Creative Service, Corporate Branding
Tel : 6225 8133
Fax : 6420 8594
Email: azlan@mediacorptv12.com

Chua Swee Kiat
General Manager
Corporate Communications
M1
DID: 68951060
Fax: 68993902
Email: chuask@m1.com.sg

Koh June May
Senior Manager, Corporate &Marketing Communications
Media Development Authority
DID: 68379363
Fax: 63364142
Email: june_may_koh@imda.gov.sg