RTÉ’s Storyland makes a comeback

After a break last year, RTÉ online drama competition Storyland is back, and aspiring and experienced drama production teams are invited to pitch their ideas between now and July 31st.

Five series, each consisting of four six-minute webisodes, will be commissioned. This is a change to previous years, when shortlisted entrants made a single episode and viewers voted for the idea they wished to see commissioned to make another episode, before one project was eventually crowned the winner.

RTÉ head of drama Jane Gogan said she opted to take a break from Storyland in 2013 to "stand back and reflect" after its first four years.

“We have decided to take the whole voting part out of it, as it was incredibly cumbersome. The idea was we wanted to ask producers to concentrate on marketing, but actually there is a lot we can do ourselves. What we have moved on to for phase two of Storyland is a straight commission.”

The Irish Film Board is involved this year and will share some of the costs with RTÉ.

Under the rules of the scheme, the maximum budget of each series is €30,000. Entrants must put a producer, writer, director and production company in place and must submit a full series outline, a script for the first six- minute episode and a 30-second video promo that should “define the mood, energy, attitude and style” of the series.

An information open day will be held in RTÉ for television, film and digital content professionals on June 4th, and places can be reserved by emailing storyland2014@rte.ie. In previous years, between 80 and 130 production teams have entered.

RTÉ has used the Storyland scheme, which is in its fifth season, to bring “fresh creative ideas” and emerging writing, directing, acting and production talent to its attention.

The first winner in 2009 was Hardy Bucks, which went on to be commissioned for two full television series by RTÉ. The characters reached cinemas last year in The Hardy Bucks Movie, and a sequel is in development. It is this crossover potential that has attracted the interest of the Irish Film Board.

Gogan says RTÉ wants to work with creative talent that does not instinctively associate with traditional broadcasters, including people who work in the gaming sector and other digital content makers.

More information is available on the RTÉ drama website.