Request for Quotation for a Documentary Film Production
For a Pilot Project Entitled : “Towards A New Generation of Social Scientists in the Arab Region”
Deadline for Submitting Quotations: June 15, 2015
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Introduction
The Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS) is conducting a pilot program targeting high school students and undergraduates in their first or second year of university across selected countries of the Arab region, to introduce them to the social sciences and to educate them about these fields and potential career options.
The Product
The film production company will work closely with the ACSS and the educational consultant it assigns on this project to produce a documentary film (up to 30 minutes long) on social science disciplines, important local, regional and international social scientists, pathways and careers in social sciences. The film should use Arabic, English and French with subtitles as needed.
Project timeline:
The proposed production would take place between July 15th, 2015 and December 30th, 2015 including testing the film on select audiences.
Rationale
The proposed project aims to address a fundamental obstacle to the development of social science capacity in the region: the conspicuous lack of incentive and encouragement for smart and ambitious students to enroll in social science degree programs at university, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The pilot program will design interventions at the high school level as well as the first two years of undergraduate study. It will focus on providing two resources to the participants: information (including counselling and mentorship) and opportunity to a select number of students. The documentary film will be both informational and motivational.
Aims of the Overall Project
- Fostering interest and aptitude for the social sciences among young students as they transition to College and begin their undergraduate careers.
- Working with selected, talented undergraduates (1st-2nd year students) to help them make the best out of the program in which they are enrolled through academic mentoring as well as providing them with additional training in the foundations of social science theory and methodology.
- The pilot phase of the project would be carried out in four countries of the Arab region, in partnership with 5-6 high schools and 1-2 universities in each country, providing a mix of public and private, metropolitan and provincial institutions.
- The pilot project will design, test and develop the various components of the program, a major component of which is the documentary film.
Target Group:
The target at this stage is the individual student in the last two-three years of high school and others immediately connected to them, mainly parents, family members and teachers as well as students in the undergraduate level in Arab universities. These could be among underprivileged families or highly educated middle class and elite families.
Message:
The message to be communicated should cover the below:
- The various disciplines of social sciences
- Social science careers – local, regional and global
- The potential for the social sciences in the region
Duties and Responsibilities of the Producing Company:
- Work closely with the ACSS and the educational consultant assigned to the project to better understand the project, the target group and the message to be communicated
- Prepare a story board to be approved by the ACSS
- Recommend the approach to be used for attracting the students;
- Write up the script to be approved by the ACSS;
- Handle all relevant translations and subtitling;
- Direct, produce, film and edit the documentary;
- Contract with the director, producer, script writer/s, translator/s, camera crew, editor and any other person needed for the production.
- Travel as needed to interview prominent social scientists. Travel will be fully covered by the ACSS.
Supervision:
The producing company will work under the overall guidance of the ACSS Director General and the ACSS educational consultant during this production, and, as relevant, will work collaboratively with ACSS staff and other consultants.
Required Qualifications:
- Experience in the production of documentaries
- Experience in outreach to youth
- Has a portfolio of successful documentaries
For those who are interested, please send a proposal to admin@theacss.org.
Deadline for receiving quotations is June 15th, 2015