www.rte.ie/brainstorm is a popular RTÉ on-line initiative which began in July, 2017. Its purpose is to bring new thinking, new ideas and new perspectives from academia into the public domain in an accessible manner. Given the reach of rte.ie and the RNN app – which now registers over 200 million page views every month – the range of essays and articles published on Brainstorm is wide and resonates with the Irish public.
RTÉ Specialist Factual is now seeking a linear television adaptation of the Brainstorm model and is seeking proposals for a five-part series to play in pre-watershed. Slots are of commercial half-hour durations.
The series can be presented formally or through the use of graphics and, tonally, will need to complement the existing Brainstorm archive. Episodes can be either magazine-based or topic-themed. Stories can be led by presenters but should feature fresh academic thinking at their core. In addition, whilst outlining the proposed production style, producers should provide details on how the production will be managed given the current Covid-19 pandemic.
A useful editorial starting point might be the existing Brainstorm archive, which now includes hundreds of pieces and boasts a wide field of reference. From pieces asking ‘How do I Know if my Child is Being Bullied at School?’ to ‘How the Irish Celts Invented Halloween’ to ‘The Science of Teenagers’ to ‘Why do British People Know so Little About Ireland?’, the Brainstorm library extends widely.
RTÉ asks that all proposals consider smart visuals and graphics and the use of animation, while mindful of the RTÉ One pre-watershed audience. They are also asking for a series of cross-platform deliverables. All episodes must be accompanied by the following:
- 3 x 1 minute Social Media videos. These will be produced in 1:1 or vertical format for Social channels [Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram] using video, animation, text overlays and voice-overs.
- 3 x 2 min short-form videos for RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Player and RTÉ’s YouTube Channel
Please submit your ideas into the eCommissioning system under the programme category Specialist Factual / Brainstorm.
Closing date for receipt of proposals is 12 noon on 28th May, 2021 (Strict Deadline).
The series is budgeted to a maximum of €270,000, which includes all additionality. Budgets should be costed to include clearances of all archive for future RTÉ and third-party use.
As Brainstorm is an existing RTÉ initiative, RTÉ will retain the copyright to all of the programmes in this series.