A twist on a reality series from Vancouver-based Switch United has landed the $2,000 cash prize at the Merging Media pitch session at the Whistler Film Festival’s Summit.

Five convergent pitch projects were selected from last month’s Merging Media Conference in Vancouver, competing for the development money from the NFB. And it was Catherine Winckler who drew the most positive response from the pitch jury for her polished pitch for Measure of A Man.

The cross-platform project centers around a 13-ep reality series that revolves around the transformation of 12 men as they adopt the attributes that will ultimately make them the true measure of a man.

Winckler pitched with a number of various entry points, from a Facebook strategy to playing up the music and soundtrack exploitations, to real world extensions (meet and greets with the cast). Jury member Peter Cowley, founder/CEO of Spirit Digital and former Endemol exec said it was very “kitchen sink” but that it “feels like a TV show with great digital extensions.”

Winckler admitted she wasn’t clear on the end product of the TV component, coming from the interactive side of things, but that she was actively seeking a TV prodco to help narrow the focus.

When asked about the core demo for the show that combines “eye candy and brain candy,” she laughed and responded, “Truthfully? Old women like me.”

Other pitches included Eat St. Tweet from Audrey Mehler, founding partner of Paperny Films, which also drew positive jury response.

The 13 x 30 minute series centers on gourmet street food and was described at one point as “Urbanspoon meets Yelp meets Foursquare.”

Jury member Jesse Albert, L.A.-based digital consultant, however, said he’d already heard three pitches of similar projects this year and asked about how Mehler would stand out in the competitive space.

She replied that the series has already been sold to Food Network Canada and has already received money from the Bell Fund. She is currently working with Invoke Media, creators of popular Twitter app HootSuite, on the project.

Other jury members included Kristin Jones, chief creative officer of Vuguru, and NFB executive producer Tracey Friesen, who awarded the pitch prize to Winckler. The session was moderated by Matthew Toner, president and founder of Z2H Media.

The Whistler Film Festival runs until December 5.