MCX Screenmakers | PITCH-O-RAMA! Pitching Competition

Exclusive to the MCX Screenmakers conference,​ Pitch-o-rama is a performance-style pitching competition giving content creators the opportunity to pitch a bold and original concept to win $10,000 cash along with in-kind development support from Mercury CX and ABC TV | iview.

We are seeking stories that reflect a unique and distinctive perspective. These may include voices and stories from those who identify as: women, First Nations peoples, people with a disability, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD), Persons of Colour, LGBTQIA+ and those with projects from diverse social, economic, regional and cultural perspectives.

Concepts should be designed for release on an ABC platform, such as ABC TV, ABC iview or ABC's social channels. They may be for a scripted or factual series in any genre including comedy, kids, drama or documentary.

Each participant will be given a strict five-minute time period in which to engage an industry panel and the audience with their pitch - so be creative, be memorable and pitch to win!

A panel of judges including an ABC representative, Mercury CX CEO Karena Slaninka, and Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner will have five minutes to ask questions with the team.

PRIZES

The overall WINNING PITCH receives $10,000 in cash funding from ABC TV | iview and Mercury CX to put towards development costs - which may include a proof of concept, writer's room costs, series bible – along with additional development support from Mercury CX executives and feedback from the relevant ABC TV commissioning team.

Additional prizes in 2021:

WINNING PITCH For the winning team – presented by AACTA

• Two complimentary tickets to the 2021 AACTA Awards
• Complimentary AACTA General membership to the winning team (up to 4 memberships to the winning team)
• Free entry to all AACTA Pitch and other AACTA Development initiatives for a year (up to 4 members)

EMERGING PRODUCERS For an emerging producer - presented by Screen Producers Association:

• Full 'Gold Coast' Registration for Screen Forever 36, 17-19 November 2021 at the Star, Gold Coast, including:
• Access to all conference sessions.
• Access to book SPA Connect Market Meeting, including Ready, Steady, Pitch!, Roundtables, and exciting networking opportunities.
• Entry to the catered networking and social events, Opening Night Drinks, Awards and Gala Party.
• Refreshments and lunch during Conference hours.

REGIONAL PRIZE For a team with a project that has regional content or for individuals from a regional area - presented by Screenworks:

• Up to 3 x full passes for the winning team to attend the 2022 'Regional to Global' Screen Conference.
• Access to the upcoming Screenworks Development Skills: Webinar Series - A series of four x two-hour webinars for practitioners seeking to polish up their development and pitching skills.
• 12-month Screenworks Membership (up to 3 memberships for winning team).

* N.B. Winning PITCH-O-RAMA does not guarantee that the ABC will further develop or commission the project.

The Pitch Event

The Pitch-o-rama public pitching event will run over a two-hour session at the Screenmakers Conference on Friday 8 October 2021.

• Up to 10 projects will pitch for five minutes each, and each project will then receive up to five minutes feedback from the panel.
• The panel will select the winners by the end of the conference day, taking into consideration:
• a) Originality of the concept.
• b) Creative presentation.
• c) Development plan.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants selected to participate will need to be registered delegates for the FULL MCX SCREENMAKERS conference​ (PITCH PASS or ALL ACCESS only)
• Applicants must be Australian residents and 18+
• All applicants must be available to pitch at the Screenmakers Pitch-o-rama event on Friday 8th of October 2021 online.

Selection Criteria

• Pitches must be no longer than five minutes in duration and can include props and costumes, though no video material is allowed.
• Projects should be designed as a short or long-form scripted or factual series, suitable for an online platform including ABC's social media channels like Facebook, Instagram or Tik Tok.
• Projects should be designed to appeal to younger audiences (within a classification range of G to MA 15+).
• Pitches must demonstrate a strong sense of what specific ABC platform the series is best suited to connect with its audience.
• Pitches should include an introduction to the key creative team.
• Applicants must incorporate their next stage development plan into their pitch, stating what they will use the $10,000 funding for to reach the next level towards production. This may include the development of treatments, pitch documents, series bibles, episode breakdowns, formats, scripts, animation tests and other materials required for advancing the concept. It may also include a pilot episode or proof of concept production if it suits the scale of the project.
• The recipient/s of the funding must deliver their developed concepts/materials within an agreed timeframe to Mercury CX and ABCiview.

Key dates

• Short info webinar at 7pm – 8pm, Monday 19 July 2021
• Submissions OPEN on Sunday 1 August 2021
• Submissions CLOSE 11.59pm Monday 20 September 2021
• Up to 10 shortlisted projects/teams will be NOTIFIED by Friday 1 October 2021
• Shortlisted teams will present their five-minute PITCHES at the Pitch-o-rama event online to be held as part of the Screenmakers conference on Friday 8 October 2021
• WINNERS ANNOUNCED Friday 8 October 2021.

REGISTER FOR MCX SCREENMAKERS CONFERENCE