“Secrets and Lives” utilises humour and surprising, innovative approaches to factual story telling to deliver tough subjects, entertaining and engaging journeys, strong characters and, ideally, tackle the major social issues of our time.

The initiative allows for both development of new ideas and production of previously developed ideas. 

SBS and the FTO will jointly decide on the final selections.  Opening date for submissions is 16/06/09.


Programs commissioned under the Secrets and Lives initiative must be episodic and be made up of 3 x 25 minute episodes.  One-off documentary films are NOT eligible for the Initiative. Only NSW Production Companies or teams are eligible.  Projects must be substantially produced or post produced in NSW and successful applicants will need to provide details of their NSW spend. Program budgets should not exceed $120,000 per episode.  

Once FTO’s approval is provided, SBS and the FTO will mutually agree on development or production (as applicable) deliverables and enter into agreements with the selected producer.

The project brief and submission details are as follows:

Secrets and Lives will take viewers into the fascinating, compelling and entertaining worlds of the stand out characters that will inhabit each of the strands mini series.
 
These could be dramatic, real life soap operas taking us into a gripping subculture of Australian society or more constructed pieces where passionate characters are trying to tackle the major social issues of our time.
 
No matter how the stories are told, each one will reveal the secrets hidden in our characters lives and the issues that the programs explore.
 
We want the tone of these programs to be raw, honest, edgy, and contemporary. But this doesn't necessarily mean 'dark'. Edgy can mean bizarre, humorous, stories told with a lightness of touch and in entertaining ways. Think counter intuitively - what are the radically different or surprising approaches to tackling the key subjects that affect us all?
 
Stand out characters are absolutely key. Passionate, highly entertaining, must watch people who we want to spend our viewing time with and keep us hooked - no matter what subject or world they're taking us into.
 
We want Secrets and Lives to be innovative in its approach to story telling - what's going to elevate your series above traditional ob doc? What stylistic device is there that can make the series feel fresh? We're open to constructed elements but whatever it is, it must feel real and have genuinely real outcomes for the characters involved. Each Secrets and Lives series will have a minimum of three episodes and a maximum of six, so particular care needs to be given to holding the audience not just over the part breaks but also making sure they come back for episodes 2, 3, 4 and so on.
 
Think carefully about the titles. What's going to make your series stand out in the TV guides or on the EPG? We want titles that grab the audience's attention when they're deciding what to watch.
 
Secrets and Lives will have a strong and innovative online presence. When submitting ideas please also put forward your proposals for the series online content. Be bold, think of ways of creating unique, immersive experiences for online users - the ideas need to go beyond a supporting website with bite size elements that didn't make the TV series. What's going to allow viewers to deepen and enrich their experience of the characters and worlds you introduce them to in a different way to the TV proposition?

Proposals should include:
 
1. A one liner.
2. A one paragraph synopsis of the idea.
3. A story outline of no more than 5 pages that detail the character/s, events and narrative structure.
4. CVs or bios of key creatives i.e. Producer, Director, Writer.
5. Full contact details of your production company, including postal address.
If you have any other materials such as a DVD trailer or some footage that you feel supports your submission, you are welcome to send it in with your proposal.
SBS may request a full schedule, budget including NSW spend, and finance plan at a later date.

Proposals should be submitted in hard copy via post to:

Amelia Chin
'Secrets and Lives...' Initiative
SBS Commissioned Content
Locked Bag 028,
Crows Nest, NSW 1585
 
Email submissions will not be accepted.

For more information please contact Amelia Chin on
 
Ph: 02 9430 3627
amelia.chin@sbs.com.au

Please note that the SBS and Film Victoria Secrets and Lives initiative is still open and accepting submissions.

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SBS COMMISSIONED CONTENT

SBS commissions cutting edge, entertaining and exciting drama, comedy, documentary, factual and factual entertainment programming from Australian production companies for broadcast on SBS TV and Online.

Our current Content Commissioning team is:
Denise Eriksen
John Godfrey
Peter Newman
Vincent Beasley
Erik Dwyer
Caterina De Nave
Carole Sklan
Heather Oxenham

Please note the Commissioning team does not consider completed programs.
We also do not commission projects from international production companies.

If you have a completed documentary, feature film or short film you would like to discuss with SBS please contact : programming@sbs.com.au

For queries not related to Commissioning please contact: programming@sbs.com.au

Phone: 1800 500 727
Email: comments@sbs.com.au

If you have a program you would like to pitch to the SBS Commissioning team then please read on.

SBS invites Australian producers to submit proposals for SBS commissioned programs all year round. Proposals should be addressed to the relevant project coordinator.

Drama and Comedy: Brett Sleigh
03 9949 2477 / brett.sleigh@sbs.com.au

Documentary and Factual Series: Zaac D’Almeida
02 9430 3905 / zaac.dalmeida@sbs.com.au

Factual Entertainment and Entertainment: Carlie Hill
(02) 9430 3916 / carlie.hill@sbs.com.au

We kindly ask that you DO NOT submit proposals via email. Proposals should be sent via post to:

SBS Commissioned Content
Locked Bag 028
Crows Nest
NSW 1585

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Our submission requirements are as follows:

Documentary, Entertainment, and Factual Entertainment proposals should include:

1. A one liner.

2. A one paragraph synopsis of the idea.

3. A story outline of no more than 5 pages that detail the character/s, events and narrative structure.

4. CVs or bios of key creatives i.e. Producer, Director, Writer.

5. Full contact details of your production company, including postal address.

If you have any other materials such as a DVD trailer or some footage that you feel supports your submission, you are welcome to send it in with your proposal.

SBS may request a full schedule, budget, and finance plan at a later date.

Drama and Comedy proposals should include:

1. An introductory page on the project from the producer and creative team. You should have an experienced television producer attached to the project, ideally with credits in the genre you are pitching.

2. CVs or bios of key creatives i.e. Producer, Director, Writer.

3. A brief synopsis of the program or series including; characters, proposed story arcs and individual episode ideas. These need not be incredibly detailed, just an idea of where the proposed series is heading.

4. A sample script if available. This is particularly useful for emerging writers.

5. Other useful supporting information might also include; a proposed cast, finance plan, sample footage (if already shot) and details of previous development (State or Federal agencies).

Once SBS receives your proposal it will be acknowledged and passed on to the appropriate member of our commissioning team for assessment. The assessment period usually takes around six weeks, but please be sure to advise us if there are any particular deadlines we need to be aware of and we will endeavour to meet them.

SBS receives many proposals with similar themes and ideas to projects already in development. SBS therefore cannot be held liable if, in the future, a program emerges with similarities to your proposal.

We look forward to receiving your program ideas!