TISS Fellowship for film makers and media practitioners

Early Career Fellowships

The School of Media and Cultural Studies , Tata Institute of Social Sciences announces two fellowships for film-makers and media practitioners at an early stage of their career. The fellowships are designed to provide the resources and environment for films, websites, multi-media artefacts and other audio-visual media documentation projects that are innovative, relevant and contribute to the growing body of documentary, audio-visual and new media work in India. The fellowships are supported by a grant from the Jamsetji Tata Trust.

Each fellowship consists of:

* A stipend of Rs. 25,000 per month for a maximum period of eight months.
* The provision of in-house HDV video editing facilities on the Mumbai campus  if required.
* Reimbursement of actuals of production expenses on the basis of a pre-approved budget. Maximum budgetary allotment for production is Rs. 2.50 lakhs.

In order to be considered for the fellowship applicants are required to provide:

• A detailed curriculum vitae.
• Up to two non-returnable samples of work on DVDs.
• An essay outlining the media proposal in not more than 2000 words. This essay should include: a working title for the media project, language, the central theme of the media project, approach to the content and structure, possible visual segments/ treatment and plan for dissemination/synergy with ongoing work being done by others in the area.
• A production schedule with a detailed time frame for: research and script/concept,  documentation, first cut/ version,  final product and submission of all deliverables.
• A budget for other production expenses (e.g. travel, field expenses, payments to other professionals etc.). Please note that the fellowship does not support any infrastructural costs such as setting up of an office, buying of equipment, or per diem costs.
• Names and contact details of two referees, preferably from the field of media, whom we will contact for a reference if needed.

The fellowship is open to all Indian nationals. An early career media practitioner  is defined as someone who has completed her/his media education not more than 5 years ago. In case of applicants without a media degree, they should have executed not more than 5 projects.
Two fellowships are available based on the quality of applications. One fellowship is open and the other fellowship will be based in the North-East Region of India.
Interviews for both the fellowships will be held on the Mumbai campus of TISS. Short-listed candidates will  have to come for an interview on  July 15, 2013.

Applicants will be notified of selection two to three weeks after the interviews. The fellowship period is between December 1, 2013 and July 31, 2014.

Travel will be reimbursed for three tier non-AC train fare against production of valid tickets.
All proposals must be submitted as hard copies and signed by the media practitioner. All envelopes should be labelled Early Career Fellowship- Open or North-East, as relevant.

Each applicant may send in one proposal only.
For any queries please contact:  smcs.fellowship@gmail.com

Last date for receipt of applications is June 25, 2013. Short-listed candidates called for interview will be notified of their selection by July 1, 2013.

Terms of the fellowship

1.         Selected fellows will be paid their fellowship amount on a monthly basis and for production expenses in instalments as per the timeline and production of the deliverables at each stage. The proposed time-line is indicated below:

• December 2013– January 2014: Release of initial installment of 20% of the budget for research and reccee. Submission of shooting script/detailed concept by last week of January 2014.
• February- April 2014: Release of second installment of 30% on approval of shooting script/detailed concept. Documentation, design and work on first draft. Submission of first draft at the end of April 2014.
• May- July 2014: Release of third installment of 30% after approval of first draft, Finalisation of project.
• Release of fourth and final installment of 20% on approval of final cut of the project and submission of final deliverables by July 31, 2014.

2.        The material generated and final product will have to be archived adequately by the fellow in the Digital Archive of the School. However, the fellow is free to use the material generated for other purposes, keeping the School informed of the same. The copyright will be held jointly by the fellow and the School. The film/ website/ new media artefact will be disseminated/hosted by the School. In the case of a film, the fellow may also distribute the film. The School will be cited in the credits as the Producer of the film and the fellow will be cited as Director of the said film.

3.        The fellow is expected to adhere to the time schedule s/he proposes. Any changes should be notified and approved in advance.

4.        There will be a commissioning editor and an advisory committee for each project. S/he is expected to keep in touch with the commissioning editor(s)/ advisory committee on a regular basis and discuss and share her/his work at every stage, as indicated in the timeline above.

5.        Fellows are expected to begin work by December 2013 and complete their work by the end of July 2014.

School of Media and Cultural Studies
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
VN Purav Marg, Deonar, Mumbai 400 088, India
Phone: +91 22 2552 5660 and 5661
Website: www.smcs.tiss.edu