Open Call: Eviction Notice!

1. Pitch | 2. Rate Pitches | 3. Produce | 4. Rough Cuts | 5. Completed Productions

Pitch Us!

Eviction Notice

One hundred and fifty years after the end of slavery, Americans continue to struggle with the legacy of this history and its impacts on society and on every day life.
“Banished” - a film by Marco Williams to be broadcast to PBS in February- explores a little known story of how slavery and racism still reverberated in the 20th century - the forcible and wholesale removal of Black families from their communities during 1920s.

In our nation, no wide-ranging plan has yet been adopted to acknowledge or redress these actions. As individuals and as a nation, how do we resolve past wrongs, especially around matters of race? The WGBH Lab and the National Black Programming Consortium invite you to pitch us your idea for a video short exploring belonging versus expulsion, anger versus forgiveness, guilt versus reparations.

Check out the Independent Lens trailer

Airs on PBS February 19th, 2008
Marco Williams talks about "Banished"

A successful pitch offers a new approach to story telling -– we’re looking for a surprising visual style, a fresh genre or a unique voice in your three-minute video story.

Selected pitches receive production funding and editorial support. Shorts may be presented in conjunction with WGBH/PBS's Black History Month programming in February, via broadcast and broadband. We’re also happy to consider completed shorts that address these themes.

What is the Open Call?

Open Call seeks big ideas for small screens. Through the WGBH Lab, Open Call offers filmmakers and anyone with a story to tell, the chance to be seen and heard. While we love to see entries from people with film and video experience, we encourage everyone with a unique point of view to participate.
First, pitch us an idea based on the latest theme. If we like your idea, we’ll give you a grant of up to $2,000 to make your short film. The WGBH Lab’s will give you input and advice, and eventually, your work will have a home here on the WGBH Lab web site. The key here is COLLABORATION – with experienced film professionals and with other filmmakers on the site. Take advantage of the Open Call community and make your voice heard.

Four Phases of the Open Call

Here's what to expect in the coming weeks:

Pitch

November 20th–December 12th
Submit your best idea for a three-minute short based on our latest theme. If you’ve made videos in the past (as a professional filmmaker or not), send us a sample reel of your work. We are open to your personal interpretation of the theme, and we encourage fresh ways of telling your story – a surprising visual approach, an unexpected genre, or a unique voice.

Rate and Review

December 17th – December 21st
We will post selected pitches on this web site, allowing for the Open Call community to comment and review. Then the WGBH creative board will select which pitches to fund, taking into account user input.

Produce

December 21st – January 19th
We announce Open Call producers and their work begins! If your pitch is selected, you’ll start to make your short film with the funds we give you.

View Rough Cuts

January 22nd – January 25th
Now you’re ready to present the first rough cut of your work to the Open Call community. Your piece will appear in the “rough cut room” and is open to critique and rating by your peers. You will revise and refine your short based on the feedback you receive. A final version of your film will become a part of the Lab’s permanent showcase.

*All dates are subject to change.

Guidelines | Eligibility | How to Apply | Group Applicants

Guidelines

There are two rounds of selection in an Open Call: The pitch selections and a final list of producers who receive grants to complete their productions. Of the finalists, WGBH will select at least three producers to receive a grant.

The takes into consideration community feedback, but ultimately, their decisions are final and not subject to review or appeal. Criteria during round one include, but are not limited to whether the pitch:

demonstrates a fresh approach to narrative

will be appropriate and entertaining for a public broadcast venue, and meets WGBH broadcast criteria

The creative board encourages working filmmakers as well as on non-film professionals to submit their pitches. The board seeks to award original creative expression as well as applicants with a capacity to bring the project to successful completion.

We encourage applicants to explore new genres, original concepts, alternative points of view, visually-driven story lines, and other less conventional story forms.

In the second round of selection, uploaded sample reels and pitches from the finalists will be available online for the Open Call community to review. Audience favorites will be one factor in determining who will become the final Open Call producers.

Notification of grant awards will be made by e-mail on or before December 18th.

Anyone interested in taking part in an Open Call must complete the and sign the Submission Release at the bottom of the form.

(A PDF version of the Submission Release Form is also available.)

Eligibility

Almost anyone with something to say about the latest theme – regardless of filmmaking experience -- may apply to the Lab's Open Call.

You must be a legal resident of the United States and be at least 18 years of age to apply. Employees of WGBH are not eligible to enter. All entries submitted become the property of WGBH and will not be returned or acknowledged.

If selected to receive a grant you must complete, sign, and return a Producer Services Agreement and:

comply with all independent contractor criteria of WGBH including completing all independent contractor status verification paperwork required by WGBH (e.g. Taxpayer I.D. Number for Business). Failure to do so will disqualify you from becoming a grant recipient
be available to produce the short during a four to six week period beginning on or around December 18th, 2007 and ending no later than January 31, 2008. *Be sure to see timeline above
not become an employee of or provide other services to WGBH prior to December 31, 2007
obtain a fiscal agent if WGBH deems it necessary
certify that the completed work is original, and no other person or entity holds rights to the entry
certify that the completed work has had no prior cable, network or public television broadcast in the US
grant WGBH all right, title and interest, including the copyright, in and to the short produced with the grant

How to Apply

Register as a user on the WGBH Lab web site. You can use this username and password to access and comment on other footage.

Complete and submit the online application that includes contact information, your written pitch, sample reel and Submission Release Form.

(A PDF version of the submission release form is also available.)

The sample reel should showcase your previous video work, or give us a sense of what you have planned for this production.

Applicants will not be notified if incomplete applications are submitted. Please submit only the requested items. All entry materials become the property of WGBH and will not be returned or acknowledged. WGBH is not responsible for entries that are lost, damaged, mutilated or misdirected. By submitting an application, you represent and warrant that you have all necessary rights to the material submitted.

Each applicant may submit only one application per program Open Call. If you’re working with one or more people on your project, each member of the group must submit an application.

Proposals submitted to or currently under consideration with other production, broadcast, funding or distribution entities should not be submitted.

Group Applicants

If you are working with several people on one production, each member of the group must submit an online application, accept the Submission Release Form, and provide a sample reel. In the application, each member of the group must indicate that they are part of a group submission and list all members of their team.

Only one submission will be accepted per group per Open Call. Only one grant will be awarded to a joint submission.