大象传媒 ALBA is a 大象传媒 licensed television service managed in partnership by MG ALBA and the 大象传媒.
CHILDREN鈥橲 SHORT DRAMA AND DOCUMENTARY OPPORTUNITIES 2025
大象传媒 ALBA is delighted to be once again partnering with the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) on a prestigious kids鈥� short drama and documentary exchange. Successful companies will each make a single 15-minute drama and/or documentary which will be shared and broadcast across Europe.
This is a unique creative opportunity for writers, directors and producers. The scheme offers mentoring from leading industry figures as well as support and feedback from other participating filmmakers. Films produced as part of this major international showcase regularly go on to win awards around the world.
DRAMA
Overview
鈥� Theme: 鈥淏elonging鈥�
鈥� Duration: 14鈥�45鈥�
鈥� Audience: Ages 8-12
鈥� Casting: Gaelic-speaking child actors at the heart of the story.
鈥� Genre: We are open to all genres that can appeal to a young audience, and which are age-appropriate.
鈥� Style: Cinematic and shot and edited to enable versioning into other languages.
Timeline
鈥� Group script meeting - early May 2025
鈥� Production window - July/August 2025 (ie during the school holidays)
鈥� Delivery to EBU/大象传媒 ALBA - end of October 2025
鈥� Screening meeting - early December 2025
鈥� TX on 大象传媒 ALBA - Christmas 2025
Funding
鈥� The successful drama proposal will have a funding contribution from MG ALBA of up to 拢80,000
DOCUMENTARY
Overview
鈥� Theme: 鈥淚 Can Do It!鈥�
鈥� Duration: 14鈥�45鈥�
鈥� Audience: Ages 8-12
鈥� Casting: A Gaelic-speaking child (no older than 12) should be at the heart of the story and should tell the story of a personal challenge in their own words with minimal contributions from grown-ups.
鈥� Style: Cinematic, observational, and shot and edited to allow for versioning into other languages.
Timeline
鈥� Group production meeting online 鈥� March 2025
鈥� Production window - July/August 2025 (ie school holidays)
鈥� Group rough-cut meeting - September 2025
鈥� Delivery to EBU/大象传媒 ALBA - end of October 2025
鈥� Screening meeting 鈥� early December 2025
鈥� TX on 大象传媒 ALBA - Christmas 2025
Funding
鈥� The successful documentary proposal will have a funding contribution from MG ALBA of 拢16,000
OTHER INFORMATION
鈥� The EBU has its own Executive Producers on both the drama and documentary who will be part of the initial selection process and who will work closely with the successful production teams.
鈥� The EBU requires world-wide rights and clearance for 10 years and other rights that make these non-standard deals.
鈥� Following TX the producer will be expected to enter their film(s) for competition on the international festival circuit (minimum ten submissions)
鈥� Examples of films from previous years are available.
鈥� In addition to MG ALBA鈥檚 funding we expect that the successful company or companies will make funding applications to Screen Scotland and for UK Children鈥檚 TV Programme tax credits.
Screen Scotland:
Tax reliefs (via BFI tax credits certification):
SUBMISSION PROCESS
鈥� For the drama call-out please submit at least two story ideas as part of your proposal. These should be 2 pages maximum each and should be outlines only ie not full scripts.
鈥� Whilst we encourage new participants, successful drama writers from previous years can apply.
鈥� For the documentary call-out please submit at least two story/subject ideas as part of your proposal. These should include short casting reels of the proposed subjects shot on a smart phone.
鈥� We will consider subjects from last year鈥檚 documentary submission round so long as they will be no older than 12 years-old at the time of filming.
鈥� For both drama and documentary please include a summary of production experience and an indication of key production talent.
鈥� Please note that in addition to the onscreen cast/subjects, writers and directors attached to the proposal are also required to be Gaelic-speakers.
鈥� Although we ask that submissions are routed through companies, we understand that in the case of the drama call-out not all writers will have connections in the production sector - in which case we will seek to build relationships. Interested writers should contact Bill Macleod at the email address below in advance of the submission deadline.
鈥� Companies may pitch for either drama or documentary schemes 鈥� or for both.
鈥� Deadline for submission 鈥� 31.01.25 @ 1700
鈥� Commissioning decision 鈥� 21.02.25
鈥� Submissions should be sent to: bbcalbacommissioning@bbc.co.uk
鈥� If you have any questions please contact Bill Macleod at bill.macleod@mgalba.com
大象传媒 ALBA & 大象传媒 Scotland Co-Commission Call-out for Short Form Drama
大象传媒 Scotland and 大象传媒 ALBA launch an exciting commitment to work together to fund new Gaelic-language production in Scotland. With a co-commissioning pot of 拢800k over two years, funded by the 大象传媒 and MG ALBA, these two distinct 大象传媒 channels will work together to source new projects that can work for all Scottish audiences, and which will be made available on a variety of platforms including iPlayer, YouTube, and TV. Producers will respond to genre specific content briefs over the two years with a view to making Gaelic content across different genres and which develops talent within the Highland and Islands creative sector.
The first production opportunity will be for digital-first drama skewed to younger audiences. Inspired by the success of 大象传媒 Scotland鈥檚 recent award-winning short-form dramas including Float and this year鈥檚 Royal Television Society Scotland drama award-winner Dog Days, the digital-first dramas will be pitched as short ten-minute episodes primarily aimed at 大象传媒 iPlayer and a window on 大象传媒 ALBA YouTube. After an initial phase of development, the ambition is that the successful project will go into production in 2025.
Unscripted opportunities will be announced later in the year.
This commitment seeks to build a production skill and talent base in the Highlands and Islands and to develop and feature young Gaelic-speaking talent.
New Gaelic-language digital-first drama opportunity
大象传媒 ALBA and 大象传媒 Scotland invite pitches for a new short-form episodic drama series aimed at younger audiences. In a similar format to 大象传媒 Scotland鈥檚 recent award-winning short-form dramas including Float and this year鈥檚 Royal Television Society Scotland drama award-winner Dog Days, the new Gaelic digital-first drama will be episodes of ten-minute durations primarily aimed at publishing on the 大象传媒 iPlayer with a window on 大象传媒 ALBA YouTube.
We are open to a range of idea types and drama genres. Stories should be fast-paced and hooky, tackling themes and exploring territory relevant to younger audiences of 16-24 years old. Whether coming-of-age, horror, sci fi or romance, producers should be clear on why their initial concept will cut through in a competitive drama market for younger viewers. Although we welcome wit and attitude, we are not looking for out-and-out comedy genres such as sitcom or sketch-based shows.
This drama opportunity does not support stand-alone stories or monologues and should be episodic in nature with cliffhanger episodes and captivating characters we will want to stay with across a series. We will, however, consider stylistic approaches to episodes that lean into the digital budget such as single takes, phone filmed dramas, Dogme 95 etc (although a more traditional television style is also absolutely fine!)
We are united in a desire to develop Gaelic-speaking talent so please keep this front of mind when looking at on and off-screen talent involved in the creation and realisation of the idea. Cultural and linguistic authenticity are really important. We are not looking for ideas that have been wholly originated in English, or that require translation. However, we are open to collaborations between Gaelic and English-language writers.
Pitches should come via any Scottish production company but must clearly state how the offer supports the development of talent and production in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
Priority will be given to projects which have creative talent (writers, directors, producers) in, or from, the area.
We will also give weighting to projects which have two or more of the following elements in the Highlands and Islands.
鈥� Stories
鈥� Locations
鈥� Production
鈥� Company base
We will also welcome partnerships between production companies if one of them is not based in the Highlands and Islands.
Please note, if you are an emerging Gaelic writer interested in this opportunity but unsure of how to connect with production companies, please email Bill Macleod here - bill.macleod@mgalba.com - for support.
Final programmes can have a mixed language-scheme, but the predominant language should always be Gaelic.
Digital drama is a low tariff genre of circa 拢3k-拢4k per minute and we would expect producers to shape their editorial ambition and crew scale to reflect this - or work with additional funders to increase the overall production budget.
Initial Ideas (short treatments) should be submitted before 6/1/25 with funded development available to support a number of projects before a production decision in Spring 2025. Please include information regarding the writer(s) and a writing sample in Gaelic with an English language transcript.
Pitches should be submitted to gaelicdigitalcommissioning@bbc.co.uk
This opportunity forms part of 大象传媒 Scotland and 大象传媒 ALBA鈥檚 two-year commitment to support new Gaelic-language production opportunities with further unscripted opportunities to be announced later this year.
大象传媒 ALBA WINTER COMMISSIONING ROUND 2024/25
大象传媒 ALBA is a contemporary, forward-looking channel with Gaelic at its heart. Our outlook is broad, and our ambitions are big. We want to move, excite and inspire audiences across Scotland and beyond with strong human stories and unique perspectives. Authenticity, relatability and a willingness to take risks are key. Surprise us. Make us sit up and take notice.
This call-out is focused on factual content. We are seeking proposals for bold and brave programmes that can win a wide audience - as well as ideas that can achieve critical recognition for the channel. The quality of the core idea and its creative realisation are fundamental to us. Although co-funding isn鈥檛 essential, we welcome proposals which have other partners attached, or which have the potential to do so.
DATES FOR SUBMISSIONS
鈥� This round is primarily for content which could deliver for the 2025 schedule.
鈥� Deadline for ideas 鈥� Monday 6 January 2025, 5pm
鈥� Deadline for MG ALBA/大象传媒 partnership decisions 鈥� Friday 24 January 2025, 5pm
Final submissions and any questions on anything contained in this Commissioning Round should be addressed to Jennifer MacKenzie: bbcalbacommissioning@bbc.co.uk
COMMISSIONING PRIORITIES
GENRES
鈥� We are looking for high-impact factual and factual entertainment content. Programmes with compelling characters and contemporary issue-led stories would be particularly welcome.
鈥� We are also looking for short-form factual and factual entertainment ideas targeting the 16-35 demographic for digital-first publication.
鈥� Although the door is open to music documentaries we are not looking for proposals that are essentially performances with a factual wraparound. However feature-length, high-end music documentaries that deliver at both a theatric and broadcast level are welcome.
鈥� In this round we are not prioritising historical subjects
SCHEDULE PRIORITIES
We鈥檙e looking for distinctive, eye-catching primetime content for the linear schedule which will also make an impact on iPlayer.
Short-form digital-first ideas are also welcome. We are seeking innovative approaches to how content is packaged and presented with younger audiences (16-35) in mind, be it as iPlayer-first content, for 大象传媒 ALBA YouTube or for the linear channel. Impact is key. Short-form programmes should be conceived as compelling content in their own right, not schedule-fillers. A clear articulation of the target audience, content style and other short form grammar will be a prerequisite for a commission.
FORMATS AND DURATIONS
We are open to proposals for single programmes and short series. Single programmes will need to demonstrate how they are distinctive with thoughts on strong marketing hooks.
We will take a flexible approach to durations. The key thing is that the format fits the core proposition and isn鈥檛 overstretched to an arbitrary length.
We will consider ambitious feature-length single documentaries (including music genre) that have a cinematic/festival life cycle before appearing on linear TV. It is expected that feature documentaries will either already have co-funding attached or will have a credible co-funding finance plan in place.
SUBMISSIONS
鈥� Proposals should not exceed one A4 page per programme and include title (in Gaelic and English), log-line, format details and a mock-up of an iPlayer thumbnail.
鈥� Please also provide a creative summary including interest from key talent, programme price, timescale for production and thoughts on digital media opportunities.
鈥� Show that you have thought about how the programme can be promoted through the press, social-media or other broadcast outlets.
鈥� We welcome video tasters 鈥� a requirement if new talent is proposed.
鈥� The opportunity to develop your submitted proposal through discussion with commissioners may be given.
鈥� Priority will be given to ideas that take into consideration further funding such as, but not limited to:
Creative Scotland's Broadcast Content Fund -
Tax reliefs (via BFI tax credits certification) -
Who we are
- Head of Gaelic Services & Inclusion: Margaret Mary Murray
- Director of Content Additionality: Margaret Cameron
- Commissioning Editor: Bill MacLeod
- Commissioning Executive: Fiona MacKenzie
- Commissioning Executive: Calum MacConnell