RMITV - Student Community Television Inc. Room 97, Level 3, Building 12, RMIT University City Campus P: (03) 9925 3416 E: c ontent@rmitv.org w ww.rmitv.org
Dear Producer,
Thank you for expressing interest in producing your next project with RMITV.
RMITV is a student-led television production house operating out of RMIT University and is always on the lookout for new content ideas. This guide will provide you with an outline on making a program with RMITV and the program proposal guidelines.
Where do I begin? For your production to be considered you will need to prepare and send a program proposal to the RMITV Content and Development Manager. Only pitches from current RMITV members will be considered, please note that you do not have to be an RMIT student to become a member. Membership details can be found on https://www.joinit.org/o/rmitv-student-community-television.
IMPORTANT PRODUCER INFO All producers should read and familiarise themselves with the RMITV/SCT Inc Constitution and Programming policies, as well as all other current policies, available on the RMITV website: www.rmitv.org.
To be considered, producers are required to have completed at least one full season of crewing on an RMITV program.
Program proposals are reviewed by the Content and Development Manager.
The decision-making process usually takes 3-4 weeks.
The producer grants to RMITV SCT Inc. a special purpose, non-exclusive licence which permits RMITV to reproduce parts of the Program (no more than 7 minutes or 40% of a total episode, whichever is longer) for the purpose of promotion of RMITV.
All producers and crew on your program must be current RMITV members.
All approved RMITV productions are required to re-pitch to RMITV for each season.
Upon approval of a program by RMITV, the producer is required to complete and sign the Program Commencement Agreement before access is given to RMITV resources.
RMITV Producer Benefits ★ Free equipment hire (including weekend use) ★ Free edit suite hire (within office hours) ★ Access to our database of over 500 volunteer members to draw your crew from ★ Access to the TV Studios at RMIT University ★ Access to our office for production meetings, computer, phone and internet access and printing (within office hours)
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1 RMITV - Student Community Television Inc. Room 97, Level 3, Building 12, RMIT University City Campus P: (03) 9925 3416 E: c [email protected] w ww.rmitv.org
★ Access to distribution platforms (C31 Melbourne, C44 Adelaide, livestreaming to Facebook and YouTube) ★ Social media promotion ★ A management team who can offer advice and guidance
What does RMITV produce? ★ Television shows ★ Webseries ★ Livestreaming events ★ Audiovisual media in any medium that you’re committed to making
Will RMITV make anything I pitch? RMITV encourages pitches from current RMIT and tertiary students.
RMITV endeavors to make programs which:
- Align with RMITV’s core values (Engagement, Diversity and Opportunity) - Provide variety to current RMITV programming - Are feasible given RMITV’s resources and the production’s proposed budget and timeframe - Are made by producers with experience within community media - Provide a benefit and opportunities for students and RMITV members
The provisional decision will be made by the RMITV Content and Development Manager. If the show is approved a few conditions may be imposed, such as the requirement of a pilot or a reduction/alteration in the production’s scope. If the program is not approved a reason will always be given and you may lodge an appeal to the SCT board.
For questions or feedback please email the Content and Development Manager at [email protected] or call the RMITV office weekdays 10am-5pm.
We look forward to receiving your pitch!
Warm regards, RMITV Content and Development Manager
www.rmitv.org www.youtube.com/rmitv www.facebook.com/rmitv www.instagram.com/rmitv
2 RMITV - Student Community Television Inc. Room 97, Level 3, Building 12, RMIT University City Campus P: (03) 9925 3416 E: c [email protected] w ww.rmitv.org
RMITV Program Proposal Guidelines Please complete a program proposal document for your content idea using each of the bolded headings as a guide. Save as a .pdf document and email to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Insert Program Title Here-Program Proposal’.
Program Title Please ensure that this does not duplicate any other current C31, Melbourne or Victorian television program title. For legal reasons, we advise you do not use a name that is already registered with another organisation (even in an unrelated industry). A Google search is the best resource to ascertain this.
Synopsis A short summary of the showʼs content.
Blurb A paragraph about the program to be used on the RMITV website, social media etc. Detail what the show is about, who is involved, when you intend to shoot and who interested volunteers should contact, etc.
Program logo/Main title Please provide a high resolution image for use on the RMITV website and other station & program purposes, if available.
Audience Give a description of the intended audience or section of the community you are catering for. Outline who will watch this program and why they will watch this program.
If you are producing a program intended for C31 please refer to the C31 charter, their broadcast license agreement conditions and the community television code of practice to ensure that you are complying with these. These documents and more can be found at the C31 website (www.c31.org.au) and the C31 Make TV page (https://www.c31.org.au/get-involved/make-tv/).
RMITV is a full member of the Melbourne Community Television Consortium (MCTC) and is granted fee-free broadcasting on C31
Classification Rating Indicate an initial classification for the content matter
Please refer to the below publication for the Community Television Codes of Practice and Classifications: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cyDrve3ZV51V6PbHJIg2XqI4Z8T4-ZCp?ogsrc=32
Episode Duration & Length of Series
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3 RMITV - Student Community Television Inc. Room 97, Level 3, Building 12, RMIT University City Campus P: (03) 9925 3416 E: c [email protected] w ww.rmitv.org
Please indicate what the length of each episode is i.e. TV half hour, TV hour, 5 minute short etc and how many episodes you intend to produce in the series. A standard C31 half hour show runs for 26 minutes in three sections. An hour show runs for 50 minutes in five ten-minute sections.
If this is intended to be a ʻone offʼ program please list the length of the program and list ʻoneʼ in this section.
You are welcome to propose a shorter or longer series. C31 may request that you adjust your series length to be accommodated by their programming grid.
Intended Distribution Outlets In this section please indicate what your intended outlets for the program are i.e. televised on C31 Melbourne (or other), televised on cable television networks, Facebook, YouTube, livestreaming etc.
Note about live-to-air broadcasting: The TV Studios at RMIT have livestream capabilities to Facebook and YouTube and a link capacity to C31. C31 charge a fee to receive a live transmission from RMITV outside of office hours (9AM-5:30PM). If you are interested in live broadcasting your program on C31 TV please contact us for more information.
Episode Rundown/Example Script Please complete a show rundown for the pilot episode or an episode in your series. This is to give an idea of the show structure, listing what the segments are, how long they run for, what order they run in and who is in each segment. For a narrative-based production, please provide an example script to give an idea of the structure and content.
RMITV Resources Request Please list in this section what resources you are requesting of RMITV for the production of your program.
RMITV resources that are available to producers are as follows:
- RMIT Studio access during the production period - RMITV office resources* including landline calls, printing of production documents where possible, use of computers for internet access and word processing - Equipment Hire* - Edit Suite Hire
*Office resources are subject to reasonable use. Use of equipment is in accordance with the Equipment Hire Terms and Conditions Agreement.
Budget Please provide a budget outline for your production and indicate the sources of necessary funding. This may come from Sponsorship, Fundraising or Private Investment. The costs producers generally have to either privately fund or find sponsorship for include:
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4 RMITV - Student Community Television Inc. Room 97, Level 3, Building 12, RMIT University City Campus P: (03) 9925 3416 E: c [email protected] w ww.rmitv.org
● Sets ● Catering ● Costumes ● Props ● Travel Expenses ● Any extra equipment that RMITV are unable to supply. (See the RMITV website for a sample budget template)
Timeline Please include a brief approximation of your intended timeline. Include key dates such as the end of pre-production/start of production, end of production stage/start post-production, end of post-production stage and broadcast dates.
Be sure to include information such as when on your timeline you would need to use RMITV resources, and what frequency of usage you would prefer. (For example: ʻduring the production phase from late August to early September we would require one camera and tripod overnight approximately two times a weekʼ).
Note: For pre-recorded shows that do not involve a topical or timely element C31 requires episodes to be submitted in four-episode batches. Please keep this in mind when planning your production and post-production stages.
Student Media / RMITV Benefits Please include the ways in which your production will benefit RMITV and the greater student media community. Outline any training and mentorship opportunities, social events/networking etc. Providing opportunities and training organisation-wide to RMITV members and students is a priority to RMITV.
Ongoing Program Evaluation Please list the ways in which your program will be evaluated by your production team, viewers or the community so it may be improved on an ongoing basis.
CVs and Previous RMITV Involvement Please provide a CV for yourself as Executive Producer and other Producers involved in the project. If other crew roles have already been filled and you believe that their experience will strengthen your project please also attach their CVs.
Please indicate what involvement you have had with RMITV in the past or at present. List what productions you have worked on and in which crew roles as well as any work in the Management team or on the SCT Board.
Link to Previous Work Please provide a working online link (YouTube, Vimeo etc) to a piece of your previous work. It can be any duration and any genre. If you’ve made something in a similar style to your proposal feel free to provide a link to it.
www.rmitv.org www.youtube.com/rmitv www.facebook.com/rmitv www.instagram.com/rmitv
5 RMITV - Student Community Television Inc. Room 97, Level 3, Building 12, RMIT University City Campus P: (03) 9925 3416 E: c [email protected] w ww.rmitv.org
Contact Details Producers Name/s Contact Number/s Email Address/s Show Website (if applicable)
PROPOSAL CHECKLIST ❏ Production Title ❏ Synopsis ❏ Blurb ❏ Program Logo (if available) ❏ Intended Audience ❏ Classification Rating ❏ Episode Duration & Length of Series ❏ Intended Distribution Outlets ❏ Episode Rundown ❏ RMITV Resources Request ❏ Budget Outline ❏ Timeline ❏ Student Media / RMITV Benefits ❏ Ongoing Program Evaluation ❏ CVs and Previous RMITV Involvement ❏ Link to Previous Work ❏ Contact Details
Ready to pitch? Please complete a program proposal document for your program idea using each of the bolded headings as a guide. Save as a .pdf document and email to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Insert Program Title Here-Program Proposal’.
www.rmitv.org www.youtube.com/rmitv www.facebook.com/rmitv www.instagram.com/rmitv
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