ASIA TV FORUM
ATF ’16: Singapore company Xtreme Media wins $20,000 prize
SINGAPORE/MUMBAI: Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and all3media International, the distribution arm of the UK’s leading TV production group, yesterday announced that Singapore-based production company, Xtreme Media, has won the inaugural ATF Formats Pitch competition, walking away with a prize worth S$20,000 from all3media International. ATF is the region’s leading entertainment content event, is the platform of calibre to acquire knowledge, network, buy, sell, finance, distribute and co-produce across all platforms.
With the tagline “New Ideas. New Talent. New Formats.”, ATF Formats Pitch is the premier Asian pitching competition for creators and producers of innovative concepts for new and original, non-scripted entertainment formats. This platform showcases the best of Asia, and exposes ideas for export and development within and even outside of the region.
all3media International CEO Louise Pedersen, and Reed Exhibitions managing director (Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia) Michelle Lim, presened the cash prize for ATF Formats Pitch 2016, to Xtreme Media executive producer William Lim.
Introduced for the first time this year, ATF Formats Pitch 2016 received entries representing nine countries – Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Ukraine and USA. Earlier today, five finalists from China, Malaysia, Singapore and Ukraine pitched their concepts at a live judging session, to a panel of illustrious television format experts.
The winning format, “HIT IT”, stood out amongst competitors for its originality, creativity, innovation and ability to be adapted across the world. Planned as a weekly series, each episode will feature two teams. Produced by competing against each other in a series of comedic challenges that put a spin on sports. With many hilarious high-pressure moments, the game show hopes to entertain viewers with non-stop action of amusing, yet astonishing feats.
William Lim said, “Participating in the inaugural ATF Formats Pitch has been an eye-opener, with many participants sharing new format ideas that we have never explored before. We are honoured to have won the first-ever ATF Formats Pitch as we now have the opportunity to work with a well-established format distributor, all3media International, to further develop our concept.”
With the S$20,000 prize – comprising a $3,500 cash award and $16,500 customised consultancy package – Xtreme Media will be working with all3media in the coming months to develop “HIT IT”, readying it for pitching to broadcasters.
MUMBAI: The Asia TV Forum (ATF) is drawing to a close amid much fanfare. The event saw several activities such as an exciting round of on-stage pitches wherein producers from all over Asia presented their ideas. The winners of the inaugural Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) Animation Pitch were also anounced and the unveiling of the second ATF Formats Pitch took place on 30 November 2017.
Reed Exhibitions and global partner Green Gold Animation announced studio2 Animation Lab as the winner of the first-ever ATF Animation Pitch. The animation concept, titled “The Western Journey of Pigsy”, wowed the on-stage jury for its creativity and strong appeal to children. The line-up of judges, which comprises some of the biggest names in kids’ animation and entertainment, also saw strong potential for the concept to be exported and extended to a series.
Targeted at creators and producers of innovative concepts for new and original kids’ animation, ATF Animation Pitch is aimed at facilitating the exchange of ideas and talent between leading international television, distribution and Asian-based producers. In total, 61 entries were received from all over Asia.
“I am thrilled and excited to be named the winner of the inaugural ATF Animation Pitch. We had a unique concept and we felt that it allows viewers to experience the journey in the west story in a contemporary way. Moving forward, we will work towards developing the script for the concept,” said studio2 Animation Lab director Chiu Li Wei.
Chiu Li Wei and Grace Chuang from studio2 Animation Lab received a $19,000 prize from GreenGold Animation. This includes a $2,500 cash award, and a consultancy package worth $16,500 that is tailor-made for them to further develop the winning animation, making it ready to pitch to broadcasters.
After a closely contested fight between five finalists, leading independent distributor all3media International and ATF announced that Gamaliel Paulus (Gammy) from Indonesia, came out on top, winning $3,500 in cash and a $16,500 (both Singapore dollars) consultancy package tailor-made to develop the format, making it pitch-ready for broadcasters.
ATF Formats Pitch is the premier Asian pitching competition designed to discover innovative concepts for new and original non-scripted entertainment formats from the pan-Asian region. This platform showcases the best of Asia, and exposes ideas for export and development within and even outside of the region.
In its second year, the competition received more than 50 entries from 13 countries and only five finalists were selected to pitch their concept during the live on-stage judging session which concluded earlier today. Formats were evaluated based on creativity, originality and capacity to return for multiple series. The winning concept must also have the capability to resonate with audiences globally.
Portraying all these qualities was the winning format, Ranking. It is a game show where participants have to guess the correct order of a ranking in return for prizes. Besides the excitement value that comes with game shows, it also serves to dish fun facts and information to viewers. The judges loved the simplicity of the idea and felt that it had great potential for further development.
“As many people are familiar with rankings, I believe my format will appeal to any country. Also, I have not seen it in the form of a game show concept. As a producer myself, I understood that for a format to do well, it has to be simple. I am very thankful for the win, I didn’t expect it at all,” said Gamaliel Paulus (Gammy).
To further develop the format and make it ready for pitching to broadcasters, Gamaliel Paulus (Gammy) will work closely with all3media International. This follows the success of “Hit It” from XTREME Media, which won at the inaugural ATF Formats Pitch last year, and has received its first local commission for a debut in February 2018.
Aside from the ATF Animation Pitch and ATF Formats Pitch, ATF and ScreenSingapore is also home to another pitching competition, the Southeast Asian Film Financing Project Market.
