Call for Contributions:

Scripts for ACTOR Edutainment Films

Due 1 October 2021

Dear ACTORians,

We invite all ACTOR members to submit script proposals for individual films to appear in an animated edutainment film series. Edutainment films combine education and entertainment in fun, innovative, and informative stories. The films are targeted toward curious students and an educated lay audience. The series will appear on the ACTOR/TOR websites and the ACTOR YouTube channel.

Each film will be approximately 1.5–3 minutes in length. There may be an opportunity for longer films in the future, but this first series is meant to be short hooks that raise awareness and drive people to the ACTOR website and our research. Scripts will undergo a peer review process within ACTOR and may be edited for content or style by the ACTOR production team. You may propose more than one script, but each proposal must be a separate submission. We are hoping to select 5–10 scripts for production.

Potential Topics: Any aspect of timbre or orchestration from any (inter)disciplinary viewpoint. Some suggestions can be found below.

Script Length: Approximately 200-435 words.

Script Format: Do not worry about format, just write a compelling story about your topic and we will format it as part of the process if selected. If desired, a script template is available for download here.

Suggestions:

• Be creative and have fun

• Tell a story using a narrator, use metaphors or other rhetorical devices to illustrate your point

• If telling a story with characters, keep it simple, no more than two characters in this short format

• Do not try to explain everything, keep a narrow scope

• Do not use specialized terminology

• If you have ideas for animation, please include them. Describe what you envision, even if it is only partial. If not, do not worry about it, just tell a compelling story about your topic and let the animators worry about illustrating it

• Topic Ideas:

  • Timbre: What is it?

  • Timbre through the lenses of: Acoustics, Psychoacoustics, Musicology/Music Theory

  • Timbre Research: What is it?

  • How timbre research disciplines interact

  • Intro to perceptual terms (fusion, blend, auditory stream analysis)

  • Creating new timbres

  • Room acoustics and timbre

  • What is Orchestration?

  • Timbre or a timbral topic in a particular musical work

  • Anything you think would make a great edutainment film!

Animation and Music: If any ACTOR member has professional animation experience, or if ACTOR members would like to be involved in creating music and sound effects, please get in touch with Matt at the address below.

Submission Process:

Submit a single PDF including the script proposal and cover sheet with author name, contact info, and project title through the submission portal by 1 October 2021.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Matthew Zeller
ACTOR Output Innovation Postdoc
matthew.zeller[at]mcgill.ca