Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund -
Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund -
Proposal by Mansour AlHeera
What am I proposing?
My proposal consists of two main parts:
The temporary producer role
&
The creation of a short film for the projects you are funding in collaboration with Mubadala.
Photo by Mansour AlHeera
Temporary Producer role
Part-time consultation/strategizing of the media work
The style of work I'll be doing can be creative/technical in practice when needed, but for the most part, this role is curatorial.
Firstly, I will be working on preparing the short films, i.e., the pre-production process such as planning a narrative, creating schedules, studying locations, and communicating with parties involved in the film. Additionally, I will be providing recommendations on the most cost/time-effective way to accomplish your media-related work (whether related to those films I'm making or not).
Contract period: 9 months (until December 2023)
Work duration: Not exceeding one full week every month, but the time can be spread out over the month based on when the work is needed.
Compensation: 12,500 AED/month.
The Creation of the Short Film
This part of the proposal will be divided into A and B, which are my two propositions that I'm asking you to choose from if we were to move forward with this.
A/أ
This option is more suitable for this project, in my opinion, because it tends to make the process much more flexible than if it were a team. Also, this option tends to be more economical, especially since the project is not confined to one location.
That being said, the simplification of the team comes at the cost of time during filming, as it forces me to ensure different sections of the work are in check, such as checking the state of sound and lighting before every shot. I don't think that would be much of a problem, given the fact that during our meeting, you mentioned that this film is more focused on the people involved, rather than the animals like what you see in a nature show.
Also, this method of filming means I'll be using more portable equipment that is designed for a one-man-show type of filming. But, of course, I won't let that affect the quality of the outcome; I am very familiar with this style of work that requires the filmmaker to multitask.
Outcome: A professional short film (up to 30 mins) that will also be segmented into smaller films depending on the location/project. I will be handling everything from acquiring equipment, filming, and editing.
Cost: Around 60K AED, excluding the cost of transport and accommodation (exact cost would be presented when we have the exact needs)
One Man Show
and/or
B/ب
Option B represents a more typical professional filmmaking team. Keep in mind, I understand that this isn’t a huge budget film project, so I’m not going to waste either of our time with that option.
This option does require a team of people, yet it is true to the minimalist approach I’m going for. This team consists of myself, a sound person, and a second camera person who also helps out with lighting. It also includes a second person, apart from myself, who will work on the film's edit during the post-production stage.
A big advantage to this approach is that the film benefits from multiple minds, eyes, and hands that work together to create it. The cost of that safety net, apart from a higher expense, is the loss of flexibility given that all shoots need to be scheduled a sufficient period of time before the actual shoot to accommodate everyone’s schedule. It also creates a need for more permits and planning because this team comes with a number of tools/equipment that tend to be big and “visually loud” in a public area.
All that being said, I do want to point out that we (you & I) should be able to create a situation that is more flexible than the “typical approach”. For instance, instead of it being a decision between a one-person vs team for the entire project, we can rely on a team structure for some parts that are done locally, and then use the one-person structure for the abroad parts to lower the logistical complexity. This flexible approach is something that we need to discuss further together, and therefore my suggested cost will be a rough estimate.
Outcome: Same as A
Cost: Around 100K-150K AED (excluding the cost of transport and accommodation).
Small Team
This is the end of my initial proposal.
This is all open to negotiation, of course. The purpose of this proposal is merely to share with you what I can bring to the table, given my understanding of your needs based on our meeting.
Hope we can work together.
- Mansour AlHeera.