Tongal Collaborative Filmmaking Online

Tongal is a crowdsourcing site that brings together brands of all shapes and sizes, and matches them with a diverse array of creative producers. Once a brand proposes a project, Tongalers are free to contribute to all levels of the creative process, from ideation to production through distribution. This allows users to contribute to the arena they're most comfortable in, whether it's pitching the initial idea, making a video for a winning idea, or simply sharing the video with friends.

For those who prefer to be critics, correctly predicting winning videos can also earn you points. Each phase of the project is a contest, with winners earning cash prizes, and points. The more points a Tongaler has on the leaderboard, the more unique offers and opportunities will be offered to them by participating brands.

Tongal is completely free for creators. You sign up using a valid email address or by logging in with various social media accounts. Once you've created an account you'll go to your profile page, where you can edit information about yourself and also post messages for the community to view. Here, you can also mark projects and follow other users.

In addition, your profile page is where you can keep track of project deadlines, and also select from many criteria to tell the Tongal community what your particular skills are. Since an important part of Tongal is harnessing social media to spread the final products of the campaigns, users with a lot of friends, followers or YouTube subscribers will benefit from posting videos and garnering views. In this way, your existing social media presence will be rewarded in the Tongal community.

The Projects tab is at the top of the page, and once you click on it you'll find the assignments that brands have uploaded as well as their deadlines. On the side of the page are various tutorial videos to help you understand how to approach each phase of the competition. When you click on an individual project link you'll be presented with the brand's assignment. The assignment gives an overview of what the brand is looking to get across, and also includes the official rules for the competition. Remember, there are many ways to contribute to a campaign, so this is where you decide how to get involved.

For example, the Colgate Palmolive company recently posted a brief for Speed Stick, naming the target audience as: "...a guy in his early 20's. He's just starting out in the real world and he's eager to get himself on the right path to success." The campaign revolves around the idea that: "It's okay to freak out, guys. We all do it. As long as you give the impression that you can handle it on the outside. And that's where Speed Stick Power comes in..." The prize money for the pitch, in which a user will contribute a short sketch of what the video will be, is $4,000. The winner of the video contest will receive $27,500. That said, a little innovation and creativity is highly rewarded on Tongal!

Tongal will work with your brand to design a campaign that maximizes effectiveness and resources. The average campaign lasts six to ten weeks, with the first week dedicated to designing the project with the Tongal team. After that, the campaign is placed on the website with different time frames for each phase. Users will submit ideas in under 500 characters, prompting the initial conversation between the Tongal community and the Brand.

You, as a brand manager, judge and purchase the best ideas. You can also purchase further suggestions from users before the campaign moves into the production phase. Tongal gives your business the opportunity to spark creative ideas among users, and purchase them in any form from ideas to completed video projects.

The final phase, Exhibition or Distribution, is a chance to work with users who have strong social presences. When these users display videos and get views, your brand thrives. Tongal is a way for companies to generate and distribute content using a grassroots method - a useful function in today's branding environment.

Tongal gives creative individuals the chance to contribute to real-life branding campaigns, and lets brands engage directly with creatives and consumers. If you haven't tuned in to the crowdsourcing phenomenon, Tongal's a great way to get started!