Original Story Competition / Call for Entries
MARZA ANIMATION PLANET INC. (CEO: Koichi Fukazawa), the new film production arm of Sega Sammy group, and 100 Meter Films (CEO: John Williams) are pleased to launch the MARZA Story Circus competition.
MARZA’s company vision is to produce: Delightful stories for children all over the world! MARZA aims to produce feature-length CGI animated films for global distribution. We are looking for original and entertaining stories for children and families with contemporary themes and positive messages, set in any culture or period.
Eligible Entrants
The competition is open to both professional and unpublished writers. Writers may submit as many stories as they want.
HOW TO SUBMIT A STORY
In the first instance please send a synopsis of your original story along with the application form by e-mail. Please download the application form at http://www.100meterfilms.com/en/story_competition/
Synopsis Format
Microsoft Word format
A4 sized paper (Maximum 3 pages)
Size 12 font
How to Apply
All submissions should be sent by e-mail to the following address: info@100meterfilms.com. Please write "Story Circus Submission" in the subject line.
Please read the terms of agreement carefully before submitting your work. Submissions must be written. No illustrations or character designs will be accepted. Submissions must be in either English or Japanese. Please retain a copy of your file as we cannot return them. All submissions must be made by e-mail.
Submission Period
July 1 to July 30 2010 (Materials must arrive by the 30th of July)
Announcement of the Results of the first round
September 15
Writers whose stories are selected in the first round will be notified by e-mail.
The Selection Process:
Numbers of works selected in Round 1 - 20 (Option Fee: 50,000 yen)
Numbers of works selected in Round 2 - 10 (Option Fee: 100,000 yen)
Numbers of works selected in Round 3 - 5 (Option Fee: 200,000 yen)
Selected stories will be developed for adaptation into films. (This does not however guarantee that the film will be made.)
Announcement of results
September 15
Writers selected in the first round will be notified by e-mail, and asked to submit a longer treatment of the story for the second round (5 to 6 pages) . Writers selected in the first round will be asked to sign an option agreement.
First Option Agreement
While the moral rights belong to the writer, the agreement to the terms stated in the option
agreement shall mean that MARZA holds the exclusive rights to develop the story.
Option Fee: 50,000 yen
Option valid for: 6 months (from the date of signing)
Round 2
Writers selected in the second round will receive feedback on their second treatment and be asked to submit a 10 page treatment which reflects this feedback. Writers selected in the second round will be asked to sign a second option agreement.
Second Option Agreement
Option Fee: 100,000 yen
Option valid for: 6 months (from the date of signing)
Final round
The writers selected in the final round will be asked to sign a third option agreement. The stories
that are selected in the final round will go into development with the aim of producing a script that is the basis for an animated feature film. MARZA will either buy or license the rights to develop the project or sign a writer's agreement with the writer to complete a draft or drafts of the script, further to the signing of the third option agreement.
Depending on the project, the writer must be willing to agree that another writer or other writers may be involved during the development process. In this case the writer is ensured an "Original Story by" credit.
Third Option Agreement
Option Fee: 200,000 yen
Option valid for: 1 year (from date of signing)
More information here.
