Note to the reader: This announcement was published on April 1st 2011. You will have guessed it is directly linked to April Fool’s. Although we believe this project could be captivating and exciting, nothing of the sort will see the light of day… for now!

Following discussions with the Canada Media Fund, the Bell Fund and the Quebecor Fund, all three have agreed to finance a Toast Studio project based on a reality-style web-series on the daily activities of running a funding organization. Total budget will be $1,054,000.

“Producers know very little about the actual inner workings of these funds. This web-series will shine a light on the internal processes and decisional situations that give the green (or red) light to all these projects that are sent to them.” Mentions Alexandre Gravel, senior partner at Toast Studio.

In line with the current trend in transmedia projects, this series will be available on multiple platforms:

  • a 13-episode web-series will be streamed from the websites of each of the three organizations;
  • it will also be possible to follow activities live on the web thanks to a system of cameras that will be installed in key offices. Internet users will be able to share the best clips on social media networks and by email;
  • the public will be able to visit the offices of the CMF, Bell Fund and Quebecor Fund. They will also have the possibility to add an Augmented Reality layer to the visit, thanks to a mobile application available on iPhone and Android platforms;
  • many of employees of the three funds will be available on Twitter and Facebook to answer questions from producers about their daily reality;
  • an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) called “Fund Times” will put players in the position of an analyst who needs to give the stop/go on a large number of projects of varying quality;
  • QR codes will be dispersed in the final credits of multiple televised productions throughout the year. These codes, once scanned, will bring users to a video clip where the analyst that had analyzed the project will present the rational behind the acceptation of financing this given show;
  • towards the end of the adventure, three books will be published, each by a member of the board of the three funds. These books will give readers an exclusive access to the reality and the professional road of the people running these organizations.

“We are extremely happy to participate in the presentation and the demystification of an industry that might seem to have little excitement. With a content architecture and evolved storytelling techniques, the dynamism to which the producers have access will become clearer and fascinating. Along the way, we are also working at making this accessible to the general public.” adds Karine Charbonneau, producer at Toast Studio.

The CMF will be financing $375,000 (not coming from the Experimental Stream envelope nor from the Convergent Stream envelope), the Bell Fund is allocating $400,000 and the Quebecor Fund, $279 000.

For more details on this project or any other inquiries, contact Alexandre Gravel (senior partner, [email protected]) or Karine Charbonneau (producer, [email protected]) today.