Creatives Assembly 2023 – Mediacorp awards development funds to winners of Unscripted Formats and Bloomr.SG Multi-Channel Network Accelerator Pitch Competitions

Singapore, 16 November 2023 – In its ongoing commitment to commissioning innovative content, Mediacorp has awarded development funds of up to $50,000 to Beach House Pictures for emerging victorious at its Unscripted Formats Pitch; and $20,000 to Wagon Collective for winning the Bloomr.SG Multi-Channel Network (MCN) Accelerator Pitch Competition, with an additional $20,000 promised for series expansion.

Held at The Theatre at Mediacorp on 15 and 16 November 2023 respectively, both live pitching battles took place as part of Creatives Assembly 2023, the third iteration of Mediacorp’s annual call for ideas exercise to seek the best concepts for commissioning across languages and platforms.

Unscripted Formats Pitch

The inaugural Unscripted Formats Pitch saw an open call for ideas for the next big dance reality competition or reality format, attracting a variety of entries from production houses, digital content creators and institutes of higher learning. All submissions were evaluated on creativity, innovation, audience appeal and engagement, as well as potential, and four finalists were eventually chosen for the live pitch. They are: 360 Entertainment Productions for The Ultimate Content Creator 2024, a reality format that pits aspiring content creators across backgrounds in weekly challenges; Beach House Pictures for Wingman, a “noisy-impossible-to-ignore” reality dating competition that puts love and friendship to the ultimate test; IFA Media for Can You Really Dance? Hit Like!, a reality dance competition in which 10 influencers face-off under the scrutiny of esteemed dance professionals; and MCC International Pte Ltd for Centre Stage, which challenges dance enthusiasts to compete in live battles of dance trends at designated public areas.

In a captivating showcase of creative prowess and innovation, each finalist was given 20 minutes to pitch their concepts to judges Angeline Poh, Chief Customer & Corporate Development Officer, Mediacorp; and Derek Wong, Head of Viu Originals, Viu OTT. Beach House Pictures ultimately clinched top honours for their inventiveness and deep understanding of audience preferences and trends, walking away with up to $50,000 in development funds.

Jessica Lee, Head of Development, Beach House Pictures said: “We are delighted to have won this year’s live pitch. Our idea began from a casual conversation - as most great ideas do - and was formed over hours of brainstorming and research. We feel that it is timely, entertaining, and hopefully a breath of fresh air in an otherwise saturated reality dating space. We look forward to developing the idea further with Mediacorp and bring it to life in a not too distant future.”

Bloomr.SG Multi-Channel Network (MCN) Accelerator Pitch Competition

In a further showcase of Mediacorp’s dedication to empowering content creators across platforms, Creatives Assembly 2023 also saw the company’s social media creative studio Bloomr.SG launching the Bloomr.SG Multi-Channel Network (MCN) Accelerator Pitch Competition. This follows an open call in October for all Bloomr.SG MCN Accelerator Programme creators to pitch a series of five different pilot concepts across genres.

Of these, two finalists were shortlisted for the live pitch on 15 November, during which they pitched one chosen concept they deemed had the best potential. They are: Wagon Collective, represented by Wong Wei Kang, Cassandra Spykerman, and Khidhir Kassim, whose mini-series concept Screaming At The Sun follows a band of four aspiring musicians in the pursuit of their dreams; as well as Eshton Chua and Amanda Khoo, whose reality concept One Final Wish seeks to uncover and realise the last wishes of one senior citizen per episode. Evaluating their pitches on creativity, presentation flow, articulation of concept and feasibility was a panel of professional judges, comprising Alan Seah, Head, Creative Central, Mediacorp; Prem Anand, Executive Research Writer, English Entertainment Productions / Writers (Content), Mediacorp; Sherri-Anne Lim, Regional Multi-Channel Manager, Bloomr.SG, Mediacorp; as well as Munah Bagharib, Actress, Host and Bloomr.SG MCN Creator. While their scores made up 50% of the final tally, the remaining half was decided by votes from an audience of more than 150 students, in recognition of the vital role that youth play in shaping social trends.

After a gripping showdown, Wagon Collective emerged victorious, taking home $20,000 to produce one episode each for all five concepts in their original pitch. That’s not all: after the launch of these pilots on their respective platforms, the best performing concept will further receive an additional $20,000 for a series expansion of five more episodes.

Wong Wei Kang, Founder of Wagon Collective, said: "We are deeply honoured to receive this inaugural award. This is not just a win for us, but a testament to the power of collaborative storytelling. We have a dream team – Cassandra Spykerman's transformative vision as a writer, Shafiq Sallehan's cinematic brilliance as director of photography, Khid Kassim's seasoned expertise as producer, and Lim Ziyu's vibrant talents. Together, we are excited to craft stories that resonate with youths, stories that inspire and connect. This is for every dreamer out there who believes in the magic of cinema, to produce a series of our own stories from our youth, to the youths out there."

Fostering engagement and collaboration in content innovation

Following overwhelming response in 2022, the first day of this year’s Creatives Assembly also included an “Ask Mediacorp Anything” engagement session for students from institutes of higher learning to interact with Mediacorp artistes, radio DJs, editors, correspondents, screenwriters, commissioning editors and other industry professionals, who offered varying perspectives on the evolving trends, challenges, and opportunities in the multifaceted world of media. Attendees were also introduced to the finalists of Mediacorp’s Podcast Competition Be A Podcastar; and taken on a tour of the Mediacorp campus.

Meanwhile, on the second day of the event, representatives from production houses and other industry guests enjoyed a series of talks on the future of storytelling, including on:

• The latest AI technologies by John Ng, Emerging Technology Mentor, Vostok VR Singapore and Lee Chee Tian, AI Architect, Mediacorp; and
• Virtual Production, including its role in reinventing content production and revolutionising storytelling speaking by Jourdansky Yong, AVP, Content Project Development, Mediacorp; Henri Wen, Senior Product Manager, Content Development Department, Interactive Entertainment, Tencent; and Suryahti Abdul Latiff Director, Media Capability Development, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) respectively.

The event concluded with Mediacorp’s commissioning team canvassing for a broad range of ideas across genres, platforms and languages for submission.

On wrapping another successful run of the annual initiative, Angeline Poh, Chief Customer & Corporate Development Officer, Mediacorp, said: “Creatives Assembly 2023 underscores Mediacorp's commitment to being at the forefront of content development and innovation. In gathering the brightest minds across the creative ecosystem through our open call for ideas and competitions such as the Unscripted Formats Pitch, we continue our search for impactful stories, leveraging diverse talents to produce content that is not only relevant but also resonant with the evolving tastes and preferences of our audiences.

Added Ms Poh: “Congratulations to Beach House Pictures and Wagon Collective! Your concepts clearly showcased a deep understanding of what captivates today’s viewers, and we cannot wait to work with you to bring your stories to life.”

Parties who are keen to work with Mediacorp to transform concepts into reality may submit their proposals from 16 November to 11 January 2024. For submission requirements and more information on Creatives Assembly 2023, please visit www.mediacorp.sg/formatspitch2023.

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Media Contacts

Lim Zi Ai
Communications Specialist
ziai.lim@mediacorp.com.sg

About Mediacorp

Mediacorp is Singapore’s national media network and largest content creator. Its purpose is to create engaging and trusted content, as well as to connect communities and inspire people. Mediacorp engages over three million people in Singapore daily across four languages on its digital platforms including mewatch, melisten and CNA.asia, six TV channels and 11 radio stations. Beyond Singapore, Mediacorp also has a growing international audience through CNA and content distributed across markets.

With a focus on nurturing talent and growing the sector, the company is committed to investing in nation-wide initiatives like Star Search, Anugerah, Yaar Antha Star and SPOP, commissioning a wide variety of work from local content creators, and collaborating with institutes of higher learning. As Singapore’s first local Multi-Channel Network in partnership with YouTube, Mediacorp is also committed to developing a network of digital content creators.

For advertisers, Mediacorp has partnered industry-leading brands like ESPN, Mothership, theAsianparent, VICE, YouTube and 99.co to form the Mediacorp Digital Network in offering more effective content-driven solutions.

Mediacorp is the recipient of industry accolades including New York Festivals, World Media Festivals, PromaxBDA (World and Asia) and Asian Academy Creative Awards.

For more information, please visit mediacorp.sg.