First Things First – Memorandum of Understanding
By joining our team, you agree:
· To fulfill the Responsibilities listed below
· That you have read and agree to abide by PSM’s Guiding Values, including
- Principles of Non-Violent Communication Summary
- Anti-Oppression/Unlearning Colonization Summary
· That you will review and sign necessary volunteer and media contracts with your Team Leader upon orientation, or you will not be able to participate in the S4S program.
Each Media Piece Must:
- Show that climate change is real, now
- Give a face to the climate movement by focusing on people
- Inspire audiences into action, with information on how to get started implementing a given solution in their community
Videographer Job Description
Each team will have 2-3 Videographers. Alongside the Team Leader and Researcher, Videographers will help research, conceptualize, and story-map 4-10 minute video documentary shorts. Videographers will also be responsible for drafting interview questions, conducting interviews, shooting b roll, and editing footage into a film segment on a different solutions area every three months.
These videos must be situated in a solid knowledge of how climate change is impacting the region & how people are being affected, must tell moving personal stories by focusing on individuals, and must include tangible, replicable climate solutions.
Specific Responsibilities
· Participate in a story-mapping process at the beginning of each three-month media cycle on one of the following solutions: small-scale solar power, holistic agriculture, smart urban planning, sustainable transportation, women’s empowerment, and water.
· Every three months, you will bottom-line shooting interviews and b-roll for a short 5-10 minute video.
· Submit your each rough cut three weeks before the end of each three-month cycle to your Team Leader and Editor for feedback.
Photographer Job Description
As a PSM Global Team Photographer, you are responsible for the creation of strong visuals. These visuals should be a mix of climate change impacts on the region, portraits of interviewees, various stages of solutions implementation, and people who are impacted by the new solution. We are looking for someone who has a variety styles and a unique artistic eye that can capture the personal essence of a story.
Specifically, the Team Photographer is responsible for photographing your team in various stages of production, as well as climate movement leaders, innovators, and campaigners in action.
Specific Responsibilities
· Once your full team is together, be sure to take a team photo to post on the website!
· Participate in a story-mapping process at the beginning of each three-month media cycle on one of the following solutions-angles: small-scale solar power, holistic agriculture, smart urban planning, sustainable transportation, women’s empowerment, and water.
· Every three months, you will likely produce 2 photo-pieces — either an essay or a photo-audio slideshow.
· Check in monthly with your team’s Blogger, to coordinate use of images with their work. Submit dual blog/photo work whenever appropriate.
Blogger Job Description
S4S Global Bloggers’ primary purpose is to document their team’s process. Bloggers will post updates on the Project Survival Media website, partner organizations, youth climate blogs, and online networks. The Blogger will also work with the Photographer to provide “insider updates” to funders, supporters, or members who subscribe to receive updates from your team. This role is very important, as you are the ongoing link for supporters to the project as it develops.
Bloggers may also pitch a more in-depth climate impact or solution story to their Team Leader, and work with both the Team Leader, the Editor and the Community Outreach Coordinator to publish the story in a blog, print, or other online news outlet. This will, however, be decided on a case-by-case based on the story pitch, potential outlets, and team status.
Specific Responsibilities
· When your full team is assembled, work with your Team Leader to write a team introduction, including short bio’s of all team members, and links to any super-awesome work people have been involved with.
· Participate in a story-mapping process at the beginning of each three-month media cycle on one of the following solutions-angles: small-scale solar power, holistic agriculture, smart urban planning, sustainable transportation, women’s empowerment, and water.
· Every month, work with the Photographer to submit a team update to the PSM website.
· When appropriate, work with the Photographer to post on a youth or partner blog.
. With your Community Engagement Coordinator, write regular email updates to your Team’s newsletter, and update PSM social media with Team updates on media content, relevant regional news items pertaining to climate, how your Team’s media is being used, and the impact it is having.
Community Engagement Coordinator Job Description
Team Community Engagement Coordinators work to do just that: Engage communities around our media. First, you are responsible for making sure that your wonderful media is getting seen by people who need to see it. This includes finding and pitching relevant local, national, or international media outlets, developing relationships with NGO’s who might like to use our media in their work or campaigns, negotiating sales or other partnership contracts, and keeping partners and networks up-to-date.
Community relationships are of the utmost important to Project Survival Media. All of our team members should have strong people skills and follow the guiding principles that PSM has linked to in all job descriptions. However, as the Community Engagement Coordinator, you are often the first representative of PSM to communities and to our partners.
Please ensure that all Team Members:
1) Show respect for all community members
2) Recognize the unique expertise and viewpoints that community leaders bring to your stories
3) Are conscientious of people’s time and effort they are donating to us.
Specific Responsibilities
· Participate in a story-mapping process at the beginning of each three-month media cycle on one of the following solutions-angles: small-scale solar power, holistic agriculture, smart urban planning, sustainable transportation, women’s empowerment, and water.
· Research and ascertain the needs and interests of local, national, regional on- and off-line media outlets, and NGO’s to find likely platforms to host your PSM Team’s media pieces.
· Pitch media outlets and potential organizational partners on upcoming and developing stories based on location and solutions topic, and work with the Team Leader to develop appropriate media sales and/or use licensing contracts.
· Create and manage a database of your Team’s media and organizational contacts and partners; Maintain positive relationships with those partners
· With your Team Blogger, write regular email updates to your Team’s newsletter, and update PSM social media with Team updates on media content, relevant regional news items pertaining to climate, how your Team’s media is being used, and the impact it is having.
Researcher Job Description
As a PSM Global Team Researcher, you are responsible for making sure, along with your Team Leader, that everything your team publishes is factually accurate. You also play a critical role in deepening your team’s understanding of the issue being addressed in each media cycle, accomplishing this by uncovering information on the issue and key people involved.
More specifically, you are responsible for using scientific, public policy, and news items, along with local knowledge and information gleaned from interviews, to inform your team and make sure that each media cycle’s material is rooted in fact, accessible to a wide audience, and conscientious of the expertise already available on the subject. Therefore, the Researcher is the most academically-minded of all Team positions, and should be familiar with many sources of information and research techniques.
Specific Responsibilities
· Participate in a story-mapping process at the beginning of each three-month media cycle on one of the following solutions-angles: small-scale solar power, holistic agriculture, smart urban planning, sustainable transportation, women’s empowerment, and water.
· Complete research assignments, as assigned by your Team Leader and full team.
· Work continually with Photographers and Bloggers to fact-check each statement made in written work and photography essays that PSM publishes, and also statements made by any interviewee’s that are featured in PSM’s media. (If the statement made is debatable or an opinion, just make sure it is explained or supported reasonably and that this shows in the media.)
· Every three months, meet with the Editor to review the team’s documentary short, adding your input to what needs to be changed in order to be factual and high-quality work.
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Editor Job Description
The position of Team Editor is the most flexible of all the Team Member positions, but also requires the most experience: Team Editors must be able to review work across all three mediums, including Blogging/writing, Photography, and Videography. This does not mean that all Editors need extensive experience in the mechanics of photography or videography production, although this is certainly a plus. Rather, it is critical that you have the ability to review each piece your team produces for narrative cohesion, for accuracy, for successful fulfillment of the Solutions for Survival program goals, and for overall quality.
In addition, the Team Editor will be chosen to compliment the strengths and experience of Team Leaders. For example, if Team Leaders have extensive experience in video production and editing, then they may choose a Team Editor who has much more experience in writing. Team Leaders will therefore select Team Editors largely on the basis of three criteria:
1. To compliment their own skills sets in editing across the three mediums
2. According to amount of experience Editors have in their field and in New Media more generally, and
3. The strength of the Editor’s responses to the essay questions in the Application, making sure that the Editor has an exceptional grasp of PSM and S4S mission and goals.
Specific Responsibilities
· Every month, check in with team Bloggers and Photographers on the status of their work, and edit any drafts that need it;
· Edit each Photo essay / photo audio slideshow for clarity, quality, and accuracy;
· Three weeks before the end of each media cycle, review the rough cut of the short documentary video, and give feedback by evaluating the film using the following criteria: Videos should be situated in a solid knowledge of how climate change is impacting a region & how people are being affected, tell moving personal stories by focusing on individuals, and include tangible, replicable climate solutions.