Freelance Cafe East

freelance filmmakers seek to share Office Space in Brooklyn

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Hey folks. An FC reader in NYC is looking to share his office space in Brooklyn with 1-2 like-minded freelancers. Craigslist posting and details below.
-mia
 

 

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We are 2 editors/filmmakers looking to share our space with 1 or 2 other freelancers (editors, photographers, graphic designers. . . anyone using a desk and a computer). We have tons of space and the studio is fully furnished with a conference table, a big comfy couch, a mini fridge, shelving/storage, and an HD PROJECTOR with surround sound (great for screenings). It’s a good place to bring clients or have a photo shoot. The 2 empty desks in the photos are the spots we’re looking to fill (obviously you could use your own desks) (also- if you’re 1 person looking for a bigger space for youself– you could take that whole wall for $750/m). As you can see from the pictures- we have dedicated about 200 sq ft as blank space– we use it for photo and video shoots, building things and it’s also the wall that we project onto.


Our building is right on the water next to Brooklyn Bridge park. 3 minutes from the F at York St. 8 minutes from the A, C at High St. Also really close to tons of restaurants, bars, great coffee or even China Town if you feel up for a Brooklyn Bridge stroll!


Heat and electric included. 24/7 access.

(and we are dog friendly)


Thanks!

Freelance Cafe East, Gigs

WBEZ’s Front and Center Literacy Series Call for Pitches, deadline Feb 29

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Hey audio folks. WBEZ has just put out this call for pitches for a new series on literacy. FYI, all pitches should have stories connected to the Great Lakes Region: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, or Quebec. Details HERE and below. 

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Front and Center: Literacy series

Call for Pitches – 2012

In 1990, then-President George H. W. Bush and the nation’s governors adopted the goal that all of America’s adults be literate by the year 2000. That goal was never met. Over 20 years later, literacy is still staggeringly low. In cities like Chicago and Detroit, it’s estimated nearly 50 percent of the adult population has trouble reading. And ironically, the last comprehensive and federally-funded assessment of adult literacy took place nearly a decade ago.

The issue is more important than ever in this changing economy. With a decline in manufacturing and a boom in technology, more jobs require strong reading and writing. And if you don’t have those skills, you may not earn a living wage.

The literacy series will examine the cost of low literacy and strategies to move forward. The series will air regionally in May of 2012.

We’re looking for pitches from station reporters and independent journalists throughout the region for radio stories, slide shows, photo essays, documentaries and other multi-platform components that can help us understand how important literacy is to our future and economy.

We imagine the literacy series as a richly-textured collection of special shows and compelling stories, including enterprise reports about the region’s literacy problems, as well as profiles and first-person narratives about the ways that reading and writing affects our lives.

Here are some statistics to help put the problem in context.

  • In Chicago, half a million adults can’t read, write, or speak English well enough to meet their own goals for education or employment

  • More than 60 % of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate

  • Experts estimate that nearly 40 % of adults in Chicago’s Lawndale community have less than a high school education and only 35% are employed

  • 54% of working age adults in extreme poverty have only a high school diploma or less

  • 84% of the need for English as a Second Language courses in Illinois is not being met

  • Over 40 million Americans age 16 and older have significant literacy needs.

  • 43% of people with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty

  • 70% of people with the lowest literacy skills have no full or part time job.

  • Workers who lack a high school diploma earn a mean monthly income of $452 compared to $1,829 for those with a college degree.

  • Misread or misunderstood prescription labels cause up to 7,000 deaths each year

  •  Low health literacy causes an additional $73 billion in health care costs

Among the questions we’re interested in answering are: How is federal education policy impacting literacy?

  • What’s the role of the library in affecting literacy?
  • How will changes in the GED change standards of literacy?
  • How will the Common Core initiative change the way we teach kids to read?
  • Has the quality of educational TV and/or textbooks affected kids reading experiences?
  • How has the economy affected family literacy, including bedtime reading?
  • What’s the cost of childhood literacy?

  • How does the brain work when we’re learning to read? How does that change as we age?

  • What sectors of the economy are most likely to get away with low literacy and why?

  • What’s the link between literacy and poverty?

  • How is the elderly population dealing with literacy problems?

  • How does literacy affect the deaf or disabled?

  • How is bilingualism affecting literacy?

  • How is the prison population dealing with concentrated low literacy?
  • How has slang, code-switching and vernacular changed the way we communicate?
  • How has word processing and diminished emphasis on penmanship affected literacy?
  • How has the internet changed the way we read?
  • How does low literacy affect your health and proper use of prescription drugs?
  • How is the adult literacy problem being addressed? What’s working? What’s not?
  • How is the literacy issue affecting the changing workforce?

 

What are the stories we should be telling in your community?

Our freelance rates range from $300 for a profile or audio postcard to $5000 for a half hour documentary with multi-media components.

You can pitch around these themes or propose your own.  We look forward to your submissions.  All pitches should include ideas for multi-platform treatments.

Pitches with literacy series pitch in the subject line should be submitted to:

Sally Eisele, managing editor

seiesele@wbez.org

Aurora Aguilar, project editor

aaguilar@wbez.org

Deadline: Call for pitches closes February 29, 2012

*statistics come from Literacy Works Chicago, Literacy Chicago, Begin to Read, Heartland Alliance, National Institute for Literacy, White House Conference on Aging

Freelance Cafe East, Gigs

BBC Commissioning new docs about America by Americans, first deadline March 2

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Interesting new partnership between the BBC and US-based indie radio supporters AIR and PRX (among others). Deadline for pitching your doc ideas is March 2. Details HERE and below.
-mia
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Real America
The BBC Public Radio Partnership
 

The aim of the scheme is to give a chance to any radio producer working in the USA – independent and those working at public radio stations – to make a documentary for the BBC World Service.

 

Editorial Brief

 

We are looking for documentaries that will show our global audience of 40 million (including millions in the USA) an America they didn’t know existed. We want to hear stories that are unexpected, that only radio producers living in the USA could unearth. The stories could be obscure or could be staring us in the face but will say something about the USA of 2012. If a listener was to hear all 4 documentaries they would come away with a deep understanding of American society and the direction its traveling in. The brief is deliberately vague as we don’t want to be prescriptive – I simply have no idea what we will commission. Just be aware that it has to appeal to an audience that could be listening in Atlanta, Bristol, Cairo, Delhi, or Hong Kong.
 

HOW IT WILL WORK

 

We will commission 4 documentaries (single or series). These will be made by producers working in the USA. We want to find and encourage new talent.

 

Stage 1.  A call out for ideas – at this stage we only want one paragraph on the idea and one on your talents/experience. Closing date for Stage 1 – 02.03.2012 (12noon EST)  All ideas should be submitted to wsprp@bbc.co.uk  
 

Stage 2.  The short list. A shortlist of 20 or so ideas will be drawn up with the help of the BBC Public Radio Partnership Committee. The shortlisted candidates will then draw up a fully budgeted proposal.  BBC World Service staff will be at the end of the phone and email to advise producers on their ideas. Closing date for Stage 2 – 26.03.2012 (12noon EST)

 

Stage 3. The BBC Public Radio Partnership Committee will meet to identify the successful candidates. The BBC will have final say on the successful ideas. Meetings to be held during week beginning 2nd April 2012.  

 

The BBC Public Radio Partnership Committee; Jeremy Skeet (Commissioning Editor, BBC World Service, Chair); Heather Maclean (Head of Business Development, Americas & Australasia, BBC World Service); Sue Schardt (Executive Director, Association of Independents in Radio (AIR)); John Barth (Managing Director, PRX.org); Steve Edwards (Content Development Director, WBEZ); Sam Fleming (Managing Director of News and Programming, WBUR); John Decker (Director of Programming, KPBS).

Stage 4. Production. Each commissioned producer will come up with a production timetable.  If the producers are station based we would hope the station would help find an executive producer. If an independent producer is commissioned we will work with AIR to find an executive producer/mentor.
 

Stage 5. Broadcast. We will broadcast the documentaries on the World Service, and they would also be available to any Public Radio Station for broadcast. They will live online at www.bbcworldservice.com/documentaryarchive and prx.org (tbc).

Freelance Cafe East

IFP Independent Filmmaker Labs Open for Submissions, deadlines March 9 and April 6

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Hey first-time filmmakers. The Independent Filmmaker Project is taking submissions for their 2012 labs. Details HERE and below.
-mia

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IFP Independent Filmmaker Labs Open for Submissions

 
Deadlines to Apply: March 9 (Documentary) / April 6 (Narrative)
IFP's Independent Filmmaker Labs are a year-long fellowship supporting

independent filmmakers when they need it most: through the completion,
marketing, and distribution of their first features. Lab submission is open
to all first-time documentary and narrative feature directors with films in

post-production. Structured in three week-long components held over the
year, the Labs offer personalized attention on post-production, audience
building, and distribution strategies in the digital age, followed by

continued support from IFP as the project premieres in the marketplace.

Recent Lab Project alumni now in theaters include Dee Rees' Pariah (Focus
Features), Alrick Brown's Kinyarwanda (AFFRM), and Victoria Mahoney's

Yelling to the Sky (MPI), being released this spring. Premieres at 2012
festivals have included An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (Sundance),
Welcome to Pine Hill (Slamdance, Grand Jury Award), Una Noche (Berlin), and

The Light in Her Eyes and Smokin' Fish (IDFA 2011) – with more Lab alumni
set for upcoming festivals and broadcast. To apply or for more information,
please visit http://www.ifp.org/programs/labs . 

Freelance Cafe West

seminar on Structuring the Character-Driven Documentary at the San Francisco Film Society, Feb 25-26

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Hey folks. Veteran doc film editor Karen Everett is offering a seminar on Structuring the Character-Driven Documentary at the San Francisco Film Society, Feb. 25-26. Details HERE and below. -mia

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Structuring the Character-Driven Documentary

Saturday–Sunday, February 25–26, 9:00am–5:00 pm
Ninth Street Independent Film Center

145 Ninth Street, SF
Instructor: Karen Everett
$190 SFFS member
$220 general

Acquisition executives from HBO, PBS and Sundance want story-driven films that deliver an engaging narrative. Whether you are a novice making your first nonfiction film or a seasoned veteran, this two-day seminar will reveal the essential narrative building blocks that will attract funders, entice television execs and keep viewers glued to the screen. Learn how to adapt screenwriting devices and solve structural problems so that your documentary will be as engaging as a narrative film.

http://www.sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=927,1032&pageid=2635

Karen Everett
Documentary Story Consultant
Get "The Ultimate Guide to Structuring Your Documentary"

http://newdocediting.com/land/ultimate_documentary_guide/

Freelance Cafe West, Workshops

Soup to Nuts documentary radio workshop, March 3-4, Berkeley

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Hello friends and colleagues. The fabulous Claire Schoen is offering her Soup to Nuts radio documentary workshop March 3-4 in Berkeley, CA. It might be the last workshop for awhile, so jump in while you can! Details below.

-mia


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Dear Radio People,

 

I am offering "Soup-to-Nuts," my weekend class on documentary radio in the San Francisco Bay Area on:

March 3 & 4, 2012.

 

If you are interested in attending, please let me know asap, as the class sometimes fills quickly.

 

1.) Email me to let me know you would like to sign up.

2.) I'll write back and let you know if there is still space. If so, I'll hold a place for you.

3.) Then please send me a check at your earliest convenience.

4.) Receiving your check will guarantee your spot. If you have to cancel after that I will return your check if I can fill your slot.

5.) A couple of weeks before March 3/4, I'll send out a Welcome Letter with logistical details and some suggestions for ways you might want to prepare for the weekend.

 

Checks can be written to:

Claire Schoen

Amount: $250

and mailed to:

1815 Grant Street, Berkeley, CA 94703

 

I’ve attached a pdf of the flier for this class.

 

AND… check out my website!

<<claireschoenmedia.com>>

Under “Teaching” you can find feedback from previous “Soup-to-Nuts” students.

Under “Biography” you can find out more than you’d ever want to know about me.

Under “Productions” you can listen to the past 25 years of my audio work.

 

I hope you can join us in March.

Best, Claire Schoen

 

Claire Schoen Media

claireschoenmedia.com

cschoen@earthlink.net

510-540-5106

 

=========================

 

"From Soup to Nuts"

A 2-day intensive

on documentary radio production

offered in the San Francisco Bay Area


Logistics:

This seminar will be held March 3 and 4, 2012.

Each day's class will run from 10 am to 5:30 pm,

including 6 hours of class work, plus lunch and breaks.

 

It will be held at Claire’s studio in Berkeley, California

Class will be limited to 8 students.

The cost of the 2-day seminar is $250.


The Course:

Through lectures, group discussion, Q & A, written handouts, and lots of audio demos, this two-day class will explore the ins and outs of creating a long-form radio documentary. Designed to meet the needs of mid-level producers, this seminar will also be accessible to individuals who have little or no experience in radio production.

 

Compelling audio documentary incorporates a creative weave of elements including narration, interviews, music, vérité scenes, character portraits, dramatizations, performances, archival tape and ambience beds. Students learn how these elements serve to paint a picture in sound.

 

Emphasis will be put on the production process. To this end, the class will examine the steps of concept development, research, pre-production, recording techniques, interviewing, writing, organizing tape, scripting, editing and mixing required to create an audio documentary.

 

Most importantly, we will focus on the art of storytelling. We will discuss dramatic structure, taking the listener through introduction, development and resolution of a story. And we will explore how character development brings the listener to the heart of the story.

 

The Teacher:

Claire Schoen is a media producer, with a special focus on documentary radio. As a producer/director, she has created over 20 long-form radio documentaries and several documentary films, as well as numerous short works. As a sound designer she has recorded, edited and mixed sound for film, video, radio, webstory, museums and theater productions. Her radio documentaries have garnered numerous awards including NFCB Golden and Silver Reels, two Gracies, two Clarion awards, a PASS and a New York International Festival Silver. She has also shared in both a Peabody and a DuPont-Columbia.

 

Claire has taught documentary radio scriptwriting and production at numerous venues including U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies, Third Coast Audio Festival Conferences and AIR's mentorship program.

 

To Register:

Contact Claire Schoen

cschoen@earthlink.net  •  510-540-5106  •   www.claireschoenmedia.com

 

 

pdf iconStoN’s Flier 2012 March.pdf

Freelance Cafe East

Fellowships available for the Association of Health Care Journalists annual conference, April 19-22, Atlanta, GA

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Hey folks. The Association of Health Care Journalists has fellowships available for their upcoming conference. See below for details and a note about their ** Freelance PitchFest.**
-mia

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The Association of Health Care Journalists is offering a number of fellowships to enable journalists to attend our annual conference, which will be in Atlanta in April.

 

We have fellowships available for journalists in Missouri, California, New York and Oregon, as well as fellowships for those covering health in rural areas and for journalists who cover beats other than health. We hope to announce one more fellowship in the coming days. More information and a fellowship application is available at http://www.healthjournalism.org/secondarypage-details.php?id=1009.

 

At the conference, award-winning reporters, medical experts and policy specialists will take part in sessions on medical research, public health, the business of health care and consumer health. The preliminary schedule is at http://www.healthjournalism.org/secondarypage-details.php?id=1010.

 

One highlight of our conference, especially for freelancers, is the Freelance PitchFest:

This gives freelancers an opportunity to sit down and discuss your ideas one-on-one with editors from some of the top magazines, newspapers and websites. In the coming weeks, we'll post information about the editors taking part. In March, you'll have the chance to sign up for quick appointments with the editors you're interested in working with. On Friday, April 20, writers will have a limited amount of time with each editor, so come prepared to sell your work. That means you need to arrive with specific pitches for the editors, as well as clips, resume, etc. This has been called AHCJ's version of “speed dating for writers” and we keep things moving to make many matches with editors and writers possible.

 

We are still getting commitments from editors to participate but for an idea of the caliber of publications that take part, see last year’s lineup: http://www.healthjournalism.org/secondarypage-details.php?id=931

 

I’m happy to answer any questions.

 

Thank you,

 

Pia Christensen

Managing Editor/Online Services

Association of Health Care Journalists

www.healthjournalism.org

pia@healthjournalism.org

405-707-7300

 

Have you seen Covering Health, AHCJ's blog?

Follow me on Twitter: AHCJ_Pia

"Like" us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/healthjournalists

 

Freelance Cafe East

KUOW Program Venture Fund announces new round of grants, deadline March 16

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Hey Washington State folks (or folks who want to spend time in Washington State). The yearly grants from awesome station KUOW have just been announced. Details below.

-mia

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KUOW PROGRAM VENTURE FUND ANNOUNCES NEW ROUND OF GRANTS

KUOW is launching an accelerated application schedule for KUOW Program Venture Fund (PVF) projects. In the future we will have more grant rounds per year but with shorter application deadlines.

Beginning Monday, February 6, we will start accepting project proposals for Round 20 of PVF. The PVF provides special support for staff and independent producers to develop new programming focused on the Puget Sound region in Washington state.

Programs funded by the PVF can be a series of features, a long form documentary or a variety of short audio pieces. There is no set format. Be creative. Think of a PVF grant as seed money for that radio project you’ve always dreamed of doing. This is your opportunity to dig into a subject, bring new voices to the air and share the history, culture and issues that impact the Puget Sound region.

Important: Before submitting a full application you need to send me a short description of your project, no longer than a page. Once the preliminary idea is approved then you can officially submit the full application. All instructions are at our website (see below).

The application deadline is Friday, March 16, 2012 at 5:00 pm (PT)
For application information go to www.kuow.org/pvf
Contact: Jim Gates – jgates@kuow.org

We look forward to hearing your radio ideas! Below are links to past PVF projects.

Jim Gates

Senior Editor

KUOW 94.9 – Puget Sound Public Radio
206.221.0747
www.kuow.org

Check out our most recent PVF projects:

Refugees In Puget Sound: Navigating A New Home In The Northwest
Reporter: Jessica Partnow
http://kuow.org/specials/refugees-in-puget-sound.php

4-Part series examining the relationship between eastern and western Washington

Reporter: Dominic Black
http://kuow.org/specials/cascade-curtain.php

This Not Just In: Audible Moments from Pacific Northwest History
Reporter: Feliks Banel
http://kuow.org/specials/thisnotjustin.php

Freelance Cafe East

WGBH/WORLD TV seeks independent long-form documentary film pitches, deadline March 1

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Awesome news from WGBH's WORLDcompass – now accepting pitches from indie doc filmmakers. Details HERE and below. Deadline March 1.

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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES  | SUBMISSION APPLICATION  | ABOUT WORLD

SUBMIT YOUR DOCUMENTARY TO WORLD! 

WORLD TV will premiere a new long-form documentary program in the spring of 2012 that will feature documentaries you won’t see any place else on broadcast television.

Here’s your chance to be a part of it.

If you’re an accomplished filmmaker with a completed documentary and you think it has a compelling story– we want to hear about it! Submit your doc!

What we are looking for?

This new program looks to showcase films that explore domestic issues and which feature diverse voices from communities all over the United States.

While the show will be inclusive of all makers, WORLD TV’s goal is to highlight those films that give our viewers a “snapshot” of the transforming American life —the glamour, the grit and the hope of a new and changing American demographic.

From contemporary life on Native reservations, to stories of recovery on the Gulf — to hardships and revitalization in the mountains of Appalachia — the transformation of emerging urban centers like Brooklyn and St Louis, WORLD is looking for stories that document the times in which we we live. 

If your film strikes these chords, we want to consider it for broadcast and web distribution. Submit your doc!

How to submit?

To have your film considered for this new collection- you must do the following :

Submission deadline for season 1 is March 1st 2012  

Be sure to folow WORLD on Facebook or Twitter for updates ! 

Freelance Cafe East

NPR and Washington post Stone & Holt Weeks Fellowship, deadline April 30

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This radio/print/web fellowship involves 12 weeks at the Washington Post followed by 12 weeks at NPR. Details HERE and below.
-mia

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What Is The Stone & Holt Weeks Fellowship?
The Fellowship was created in memory of Stone and Holt Weeks by NPR and The Washington Post following their tragic deaths. Designed to give a promising individual the opportunity to launch a career in journalism, the fellowship consists of two sessions: 12 weeks atThe Washington Post followed by 12 weeks at NPR in Washington, to learn how to report for print, web and radio.

What Will I Learn?
The Fellow will learn about the role of journalism in "making the world a better place." He or she will get broad exposure to the relationship between journalism and public education, citizenship, social change and democracy, and will learn that a major aim of journalism, as expressed a century ago by author Finley Peter Dunne, is "to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." The intent is to be educational and experiential, with the Fellow publishing original stories and other news content at The Washington Post, and then learning the craft of journalism NPR-style, getting on the air, online and out in the field. The Fellow will learn the skills and the craft of reporting from the very best at both institutions.

Who Is Eligible For The Fellowship?
Anyone who will have received a bachelor's degree by July 15, 2012, is eligible to apply for the fellowship. Individuals with additional education and experience are of course also welcome to apply. While a demonstrated appetite for journalism is desired, there is no specific requirement for a journalism degree or experience as a journalist.

How Do I Apply?
Download and complete the application form. Be sure to read this document carefully and include all required materials with your application.

What Are The Deadlines?
Applications must be postmarked on or before April 30, 2012. Finalists will be notified in early June and invited to travel to Washington for an interview with the fellowship committee. (Travel costs for the interview will be paid by NPR and The Washington Post.) The selected candidate will be notified by the end of June and asked to confirm his or her commitment early in July. The fellowship begins after Labor Day.

What If I Have More Questions?
More information about the Stone & Holt Weeks Fellowship can be found in this FAQ.

Who Are Stone & Holt Weeks?

HoltandStoneWeeks

Stone and Holt Weeks were brothers and best friends. They were victims in a tragic highway crash in the summer of 2009. Stone was 24. Holt was 20.

They were extraordinary, focused young men committed to doing great work – in history, public policy and environmental issues. They were insatiably curious, ambitious, wildly fun-loving and dedicated to making the world a better place. They had a keen social conscience and were enthusiastic volunteers for good causes. They were, as the National Journal said, "devoted to helping less fortunate people and fixing our troubled world." Their passion for up-to-the-minute news was inspired and informed by an equal passion for history and politics. This fellowship is to celebrate their brief, brilliant lives – and to honor what might have been – by giving someone this enormous opportunity to launch a career in journalism.

Their father, Linton Weeks, is a reporter at NPR and spent nearly two decades at The Washington Post. Their mother, Jan Taylor Weeks, is an artist, teacher, and volunteer. In recognition of Stone and Holt, and of Linton's lifelong service as a journalist and storyteller, NPR and The Washington Post joined together to create this unique fellowship.

Learn more about The Stone & Holt Weeks Foundation.