The Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, launched by BAVC in 2007, is a week-long social impact laboratory that connects the world’s best social issue documentary filmmakers and partner nonprofit organizations with leading technologists and mentors to develop transmedia tools and story assets to advance shared social change agendas. For an application, click here and to learn more, please contact Director of Independent Media Jen Gilomen at jennifer@bavc.org.
Through a competitive application process, BAVC will engage media partners to select six of the world’s most promising and important social issue documentary projects for Producers Institute 2012. Selection will focus on documentary films and transmedia projects that have the greatest potential to catalyze action around contemporary social justice issues, with an emphasis on projects that highlight themes of economic justice, educational opportunity and human rights. Filmmakers will apply with partner organizationsthat already work with the communities they mutually seek to reach, educate, inspire and move to action. The partner organization will commit to participate alongside the producer at the Institute and to use the resulting project to affect social change. Also new this year, BAVC will be working with impact mentors who will help the participating teams to establish mutual goals and outreach strategies and who will track the resulting projects over the course of the year as the projects are implemented; the results of this impact evaluation will be shared with our field at the following year’s Producers Institute program so mediamakers, organizations, funders, and partners will learn from the results of our collaboration, experimentation, and research.
The 2012 program and building your team
Program:
Institute dates are Saturday, October 13 – Friday, October 19, 2012. The Institute will be led by BAVC Director of Independent Media and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Jen Gilomen. The program consists of a welcome reception, a public conference day, a five-day development laboratory where project teams receive training and support from BAVC mentors to develop and prototype their strategies, projects, prototypes, and pitches, and a final presentation event attended by industry stakeholders, programmers, and funders.
Teams:
Teams may consist of two or three individuals — at least one producer/director and one partner organization representative — and teams may also consist of a second project lead (producer, director, associate producer, outreach coordinator, designer, developer, or transmedia specialist). Project leads (director and/or producer) must be available to attend the entire program in San Francisco. A representative from a key partner organization must also commit to attend from at least Sunday, October 15 to Tuesday, October 17, but we prefer that the partner organization commit to attend the entire Institute. Travel stipends of up to $2,000 per project team are available for those who are traveling to San Francisco for the Institute. The application form allots a space for you to describe up to three such individuals, and to upload a letter of support and commitment from a partner organization.
Criteria for Selection
- Strength of story and overall project strategy
- Alignment of media project’s subject matter and partner organization’s social justice issue(s)
- Ambition of social change goals and potential to achieve real-world social impact
- Potential for teams to carry work forward beyond the Institute
- Timing of project’s release and outreach plans
- Suitability of project for cross-platform deployment
- Potential for transmedia projects to significantly broaden and/or engage audiences
- Existing audience interaction and level of involvement
- Mix and experience of the project teams
- Team’s willingness to participate in impact study for at least one year
Deadline and how to apply
Early deadline: 5:00pm PST on Friday, June 15 (no application fee for BAVC members, $40 application fee for all others).
Late deadline: 5:00pm PST Friday, July 6 ($40 fee for BAVC members, $80 fee for all others).
During the process of submitting the application form, you will have the opportunity to become a BAVC member to reduce your fee and obtain the other benefits of membership. If you are unsure about your membership status or have other questions about membership, please contact membership[at]bavc[dot]org.
