​Contests For Existing Shows
Finally! A Script Contest
Where Winning = Published!
Maybe you love one of the series that TrashTown Studio produces already and want to be part of the family. Maybe you don’t have original ideas because you fell out of a tree when you were young and hit your head. Whatever your reasoning, if you want to help us create some of our existing series, we want that too.
How It Works
How You Submit
Ready to get on the TrashTown bus? All aboard. Wait...that’s a train. But we’re definitely bus people.
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Make sure the series you are interested in submitting for has an open contest. Sometimes we run more than one at the same time. Sometimes not.
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Read the details of the contest. If in doubt, match to the length, pacing, and narrative structure you’ve seen in other episodes.
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And perhaps this is obvious, but make sure your script leverages the characters, thematic scenes, tone, intent, etc. of the series you’re submitting for. If the series is based in the 1800s religiously and you give us a time traveling episode involving a new character named Dr. Frogsinpants who inadvertently collapses the ecosystem when the frogs escape his pants and devour all the local honeybees, it probably won’t win.
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On second thought....do submit that episode. We want to read it.
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Probably don’t kill off characters or make significant changes in their personas unless that’s part and parcel to the prior episodes. Don’t turn them into unicorns or buzzards, unless again that’s common. But if it’s common, maybe it’s overdone.
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Pay the submission fee (more on that later) and submit your script.
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Follow us on the socials. We’ll follow you. Collective support and all.
How We Judge
Once the contest is ‘ready for judging’, either based on a deadline or a total number of submissions, we get....uhm....judging.
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Contests will usually be judged within a couple of weeks. You won’t have to wait long.
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We judge according to our special scorecard, but extended to include things like how well the script adheres to the intent of the series itself, does it advance the cause, and are we going to enjoy making it.
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The original creator of the series has some extra authority. Meaning if this series was created by a writer that isn’t part of the full time TrashTown team, we’ll listen to her/him pretty deeply in choosing, including letting them break ties.
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Just like with our new concept contests, if you’re the winner we let you know. If you’re not, you get a consolation prize in the form of 50% of your submission cost in credits on our store. We do this so you buy merch and share the creativity of our community. Give a mug to your brother-in-law for his birthday. Or throw it into the ocean out of exasperation you didn’t win. Then get back to writing. Be better next time. Practice your art.
What Comes Next
Once a winner has been declared, then you’re part of the TrashTown Studio family, and that means we all get to work (after a celebratory drink from our beer fridge).
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Important to note the first thing that WILL happen is some script refinement. This is an existing series which means we need to retain some creative control. Don’t be a baby about it.
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Once finalized, we’ll put it into our machine. Since it is an existing series we’ve already got characters, voice actors, etc. Production will happen quickly.
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You can help with directorial feedback. We always collaborate on camera ‘angles’, transitions, unique animations, props, etc. Expect to help.
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Hopefully within 4 weeks (everything depends on lots of factors) your submission is live and you’re now a published writer.
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We then get promoting across all our channels and you hopefully do the same. Tell your friends and family what you’ve wrought.
How You Make Some Cash
Just like with our Original Concept Contests, if you’re the winner we do everything in our power to put some cash back in your pocket so you’re not just a published writer, you’re a paid one.
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10% of revenue on all merchandise for the series in our shop for the first 2 weeks after your episode is released.
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25% of all direct ad revenue achieved from your episode, if applicable, for the first 6 months after it’s published (so long as it is published). We reserve the right to take down these episodes at any time, especially if there is a copyright violation.
Our Rights
You’re basically a guest writer here, so understand that, outside of the cash earning opportunities described above, you’re giving us all the rights to your submission if selected (and only if selected).
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As the winner, you grant us a perpetual, royalty-free license and title to the episode and all content and copy therein. It’s ours.
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If you aren’t a winner, we don’t claim any of those rights, but we cannot prevent future artists from submitting ideas that look and smell like what you submitted. The artists are attesting that a submission is their original content and indemnifying us if it’s not.
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You won’t sue us. Full stop. If you see something that you think looks identical to your idea, bring it to our attention. But see the point above.
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That said, if you have some interesting stuff in your script and we didn’t select you as the winner, we might reach out with an offer to collaborate.
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We have no obligation to engage with you on any further episodes. We might not have enjoyed working with you. That’s life.