Request For Proposal Content
Overview
In a very literal sense, color is more than what meets the eye. What I see as “red” may look very different to you, depending on the room you’re in, the time of day, the makeup of cells in your eye, and the neural wiring in your brain; it may also evoke very different feelings in each of us. Despite its elusive qualities, however, color exerts a profound influence on both the natural and built world around us and plays a fundamental role in human cultural and artistic expression. It’s a seemingly simple concept that contains multitudes – a world of mystery and surprise that science can do a great deal to help unpack.
A major element of NOVA’s "Colors" project will be a three-hour documentary miniseries taking PBS viewers on a wide-ranging journey from science labs to artists’ studios – with many strange stops in between – to explore color from every angle. To make sense of this great variety of topics, the miniseries will focus its inquiry around three episodes:
The Science of Color. Before we can explore the myriad uses of color and why it matters, we should know what it is. Stories that will help us understand why we see what we see could include:
● Physics. From Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery that light is made up of a literal rainbow of colors to the invention of the bottomless-pit-like color called Vantablack, we’ll lay our foundation with the physics of color.
● Chemistry. Medieval stained glass makers were masters at using substances with microscopic ridges or beads that scatter light waves or create interference patterns, resulting in vivid red and gold glass surfaces.
● Nano-Scale Biology. Medical researchers use Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) biosensors to create highly sensitive diagnostic tools; and nanoscale artist Kate Nichols uses the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to “paint” new spots on living butterfly wings.
Color in the Natural World. Even the most talented human artists can’t compete with the brilliance and variety of color produced by geochemistry and evolution, which can be seen all around us on Earth. Stories in this hour might include:
● How animals see and respond to color. Researchers at a company called Natural Gear are reinventing camouflage for hunters based on the way animals see color – which is surprisingly different from the way we humans do.
● Kings of camouflage. Even the cleverest human hunter can’t hold a candle to chameleons, cuttlefish, and other masters of disguise. How do they do it? And how does it affect their behavior?
● Climate. Lighter colors reflect more sunlight back into space, lowering global temperatures. From controversial geoengineering solutions to a new paint so white that it makes surfaces several degrees cooler than the surrounding air, we’ll explore the power of the albedo effect.
Humans and Color. Whether you live in a Red or a Blue State, support a Green New Deal, or see colors when you hear music like synesthete musical artist Pharrell Williams – color has a surprisingly big influence on your life, whether you realize it or not. We’ll dive into the more subjective side of the color equation through stories like:
● Art. A 19th century chemical revolution led to an explosion of new synthetic pigments that transformed the expressive capabilities of painters such as the Impressionists.
● Culture. In the Diné worldview, traditional values and stories can be referenced with four sacred colors: black, white, blue and yellow. Not only do these four colors represent the four cardinal directions, they help orient and organize a vast knowledge base that informs Diné culture.
● Psychology. Are certain colors really more calming than others? Why does giving different names to colors influence the way we perceive them? Psychologists, anthropologists, and other experts help us explore the effects of color on our emotions and behavior.
● Food. More than half of the human neocortex is dedicated to vision while taste occupies a measly 1-2%. As a result – as fascinating experiments have confirmed – our sense of taste is surprisingly influenced by the color and appearance of the food on our plates.
Please consider the following parameters when composing your proposal:
Editorial Assumptions
● Each film should be conceived as a stand-alone program that can be viewed alone or in any order with the other two films.
● Each film should have three to five (3-5) key stories per hour.
● The goal for each hour is to explore the world of color across numerous facets in our world.
● Assumes one writer per hour (writer may be engaged by GBH, if applicable).
● Assumes narrator (narrator may be engaged by GBH, if applicable), but no host.
● No use of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) without prior GBH written approval.
Editorial Schedule Assumptions
● Pre-Production (Starting no earlier than January 2026)
▪ R&D period (20) weeks (Months 1 – 4) .
▪ Shoot Prep (8) weeks. (Months 5 – 6)
● Production
▪ Shoot Window 1 (Months 7 - 10).
▪ Shoot Window 2 (Months 11 - 13).
▪ Shoot Window 3 (Months 14 - 15).
● Post-Production
▪ 10 min / hour of explanation / illustration graphics
▪ Post-production (42) weeks / at least 12 weeks offline edit / episode
▪ Mix/Online (4) weeks (Month 21)
Proposal Deadline
December 1, 2024
Contact
Kevin Young, Senior Supervising Producer, NOVA
kevin_young@wgbh.org
Proposal Components
Proposals should include a production model, staffing plan, budget and timeline which conforms to the editorial assumptions above.
Budget
The budget limit for non-U.S. based companies is US $2M inclusive of R&D, production, staff, animation, archival footage and stills, writers, music (licensed and original), narration/talent, post-production, fact-checking, insurance (production, G&L, E&O) and delivery.
The budget limit for U.S. based companies is US $1.8M for R&D, production, staff, animation, archival footage and stills, post-production, fact-checking and delivery (certain costs in the budget may ultimately be paid directly by GBH based on applicable collective bargaining agreements).
Certain other assumptions for production of the program:
Ownership and Rights: The program will be produced as a work-for-hire for GBH, and copyright in and to the program will be solely owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation. The producer will be expected, within the approved budget, to obtain all rights, permissions and releases for all third party elements included in the program for use in all manner and media, now existing or later invented, in perpetuity, throughout the world.
Production and Delivery of the Program
With respect to production of the program, the producer must agree that it will be responsible for delivering the program in accordance with the following documents, guidelines, and policy:
NOVA Tapeless Media Delivery Guidelines:
PBS Technical Operating Specification (NOVA): https://wiki.wgbh.org/x/ywF4Bw
WGBH Editorial Guidelines on Journalistic Standards and Practices: https://wgbh-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com/7f/8c/3b1b92ad478f93896d44a428f108/wgbh-editorial-guidelines.pdf
Terms of the GBH Travel and Expense Reimbursement Guidelines:
https://wiki.wgbh.org/x/shOsC:
PBS Editorial Guidelines:
https://www.pbs.org/standards/
GBH Respectful Workplace Policy: https://wiki.wgbh.org/display/LGLEXT/GBH+Respectful+Workplace+Policy
Federal Funding Compliance Requirements
The project is expected to be funded in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Therefore, the selected production company will be considered a “Subrecipient” as such term is used in the following federal regulations and the production company will be expected to comply with the following (if GBH receives funding, proceeds with the project and enters into a subsequent production services agreement with the production company):
Federal Funding Regulations for Subrecipients: https://wiki.wgbh.org/x/yxOsC
Federal Funding Flow-Down for Vendors and Subrecipients: https://wiki.wgbh.org/x/yROsC
Agency Specific Clauses (NSF) for Subrecipients: https://wiki.wgbh.org/x/zxOsC
Additional Terms
All Proposals must include the following confirmation:
- Acknowledgement that the applicant has reviewed the NSF 2024 Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards and can meet the proposal and grant administration requirements of a "subrecipient.
In addition, the selected prospective production company will be required to:
- Register with the NSF, or if already registered, provide confirmation that their registration is updated and active
- Respond in a timely manner to the Risk Assessment Questionnaire which will be sent by the GBH Compliance Office and to any requests from the proposal team for additional information
- Work with NOVA throughout the NSF proposal preparation period (Sep – Dec 2024) and meet GBH determined deadlines for subaward proposal materials in NSF format with required level of detail including but not limited to a budget, budget justification and production schedule; biographical sketches for key personnel; current and pending (other) support forms; collaborators and other affiliations information (see the PAPPG for instructions and definitions).
- Solicitation. Solicitation by GBH of proposals does not constitute an agreement by GBH to produce the prospective project or enter into any agreement with any party submitting a proposal.
- Confidential Information. All proposals should clearly identify any portion of the proposal that should be considered confidential, proprietary commercial information, or a trade secret.
- GBH Information. If GBH shares any materials, data, information, or analyses (collectively, “Information”) with an applicant, the applicant shall be deemed to agree to protect, preserve and maintain all such Information on a strictly confidential basis, and to promptly return to GBH, upon its request, all tangible copies of such Information provided to the applicant.
- Proposals. By submitting a proposal, an applicant grants to GBH the right to duplicate, use, disclose, and distribute all of the materials submitted for purposes of evaluation, review, and research. In addition, an applicant guarantees that it has full and complete rights to all information and materials included in its proposal and that the information contained in the proposal is accurate as of the date of submission. An applicant also guarantees that all such materials are not defamatory and do not infringe upon or violate the privacy rights, copyrights, or other proprietary rights of any third party. There shall be no express or implied commitment by GBH to compensate an applicant for any work performed in preparing and submitting a proposal, all of which shall be at applicant’s own expense.
- Costs. GBH will not be responsible for the costs of preparing and submitting proposals or any other activities related to this solicitation.
- Further Agreement. If a proposal is selected by GBH, the project is funded, and GBH elects to move forward to produce the project, it is anticipated that the successful applicant and GBH will subsequently enter into a binding Production Services Agreement regarding production of the program.