Junction Arts: ‘Our Place’ Filmmaker Brief

Applications are invited for an exceptional and versatile Filmmaker for ‘Our Place’, a project led by Junction Arts and only made possible thanks to public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England. ‘Our Place’ will showcase the people and places of the East Midlands through the arts.

Location: Travel across the East Midlands will be required
Duration of freelance contract: June – August 2021
Fee: £3,900 (including VAT, see budget section below)
Application deadline: 10am Tuesday 1st June
Interviews over Zoom: Tuesday 8th June

Project Outline:

Junction Arts and six other arts organisations from the East Midlands are embarking on an ambitious, regional project called Our Place.

Our Place will commission 7 artist residencies in 7 communities across the region to co-create new work that is representative of place. This new work will be filmed by a commissioned filmmaker in a showcase feature of between 3-10 mins duration per community/residency and edited together for a final web broadcast of between 45-60 minutes long. The broadcast will be curated to showcase a diversity of artforms, content and communities that make up our diverse East Midlands, featuring each of the 7 individual pieces linked together by the theme ‘this is our place’. The new work will be premiered online on Thursday 26th August as well as through a series of celebration events delivered by partner organisations over summer 2021.

Background/context:

The project is inspired by ‘Our World’, the first live, global TV broadcast in June 1967 that connected five continents by satellite. The broadcast was conceived by the BBC and invited international artists to perform and represent their respective countries, culminating in a 2-and-a-half-hour celebratory broadcast involving 19 nations. Today, Our World is most famous for the segment from the UK, starring the Beatles who were asked to write an uplifting song to close the broadcast. The Beatles performed ‘All You Need is Love’ for the first time; an incredible response to the anti-war movement and ‘Summer of Love’.

The Brief:

We are looking for an exceptional and versatile filmmaker to work with Junction Arts and our six partners to produce two films for the project. One film will be the final showcase broadcast that will be premiered online on Thursday 26th August and will bring together seven individual artistic responses to the theme of ‘place’ from communities across the East Midlands. The second film will be a ‘making of Our Place’ documentary with interviews involving project partners, artists and participants.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. Please note that all filmmakers will require a DBS background check and to adhere to Junction Arts’ safeguarding policies and procedures.

The filmmaker will:

• Work with Junction Arts and the seven commissioned artists to realise how the new work created through the residencies can be captured as part of the broadcast (3-10 minutes in length per community/residency). The filmmaker will bring it all together in a final 45-60 minute showcase film/broadcast that will be premiered online on Thursday 26th August 2021 for national audiences.
• Embed the broadcast with various accessibility channels including subtitles, closed captions, BSL interpretation and audio description track (we have a separate accessibility budget allocated and we can discuss how this will need to be brought together at the interview process)
• Visit each of the seven arts organisations across the East Midlands (see partner list below) and their community groups to produce a short documentary film that represents the engagement process during the summer residencies (June-July 2021) and the ‘making of Our Place’.
• Show commitment to diversity and inclusion, working sensitively with young people and other participant groups to draw out their creativity, confidence and sense of ‘place’.
• Be willing to be interviewed/filmed as part of Junction Arts’ ‘In Conversation with’ programme
• Ensure that both films are available in all of the necessary formats for online distribution and DVD.
• Give weekly feedback and updates to the project coordinator
• Support Junction Arts and our web developer with the launch of the broadcast on 26th August 2021
• Contribute to the project marketing, promotion and evaluation as agreed
• Attend project steering group meetings virtually, if and when required
• Be willing to travel across the East Midlands and work in a covidsecure way (Government guidelines permitting)

Partner Arts organisations:

• Lead: Junction Arts – North Derbyshire
• People Express – South Derbyshire
• Surtal Arts – Derby
• The National Centre for Craft & Design – Sleaford
• Soft Touch Arts – Leicester
• High Peak Community Arts – High Peak
• City Arts – Nottingham

Project Timeline Overview:

• June-July: Artist Residencies with communities, Project Steering group meeting, Ensuring artistic content is ready by the end of July, for filming by a commissioned filmmaker (Filming of documentary & all showcase pieces to be filmed no later than 13th August)
• August: Final production/editing of showcase film, Promotion of broadcast
• 23rd Aug: Final broadcast to be sent to JA/web developer ready for broadcast
• 26th Aug: Broadcast of ‘Our Place’ film, time TBC
• Aug-Sept: Editing of secondary ‘making of Our Place’ documentary film
• Sept-Oct: Evaluation and documentary film disseminated to wider sector

Fees and expenses:

£3,900 inclusive of materials and VAT. Please note that there is a separate budget for travel and accessibility costs.

The Filmmaker will be responsible for their own Tax and NI contributions.

Application Process:

Please submit the following documents by email to Junction Arts: info@junctionarts.org

• A CV with details of two referees and evidence of previous filmography
• A covering letter stating your interest, a proposal for how you will approach this work and how your experience/previous film work will equip you to undertake the work (maximum 2 x A4 side)
• A budget breakdown detailing how you’d attribute your time for each film (eg time spent with partners and post production)
• Applicants will need to demonstrate a track record of working within participatory settings. We’d like to see applications that show commitment to diversity & inclusion.
• Enhanced DBS Check
• Copy of Public Liability insurance

Person Specification/Eligibility Our Place filmmaker:

Essential:

• Knowledge & Understanding: A sound knowledge of film making and editing processes including embedding subtitles and closed captions.
• Experience: Experience of engaging with a range of stakeholders including the public, artists, volunteers and staff. Experience of interviewing. Practical experience of making and editing short films. Ability to tell a story succinctly and accurately. Experience of working to deadlines.
• Personal Attributes & Skills: Self-motivated and able to work effectively to achieve the end product. A passion for the arts and creative practice. Excellent communication skills. The ability to engage with a wide range of people. An understanding of and commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Desirable:

• Knowledge & Understanding: A knowledge of the community and participatory arts sector.
• Personal Attributes & Skills: To have a full, clean driving licence and access to a car.

The deadline for applications is 10am Tuesday 1st June 2021. Please note that we will not consider late submissions. We expect to notify shortlisted applicants by 3rd June with an interview day of Tuesday 8th June, TBC.

If you’ve got any questions, please contact amy@junctionarts.org. Please note that it may take a couple of days to get back to you.

Junction Arts Background:

Junction Arts are one of the longest established participatory arts organisations in the country and our vision is to create a better future for everyone through the arts. Established in 1976 we have been at the forefront of participatory arts activity for over 40 years. We believe passionately in the positive impact that arts can have on people and places, especially during COVID restrictions where we have seen the arts used as a form of coping, resilience and vital mental wellbeing.