Media Professionals Needed to Work on Church Projects
Contributed By By Ryan Morgenegg, Church News staff writer
With the Media Professionals Database, the Church will be able to use international teams of media professionals to shoot video around the world more quickly and economically.
Article Highlights
- The Church is looking for experienced candidates to add to its new database of media professionals around the world.
- Media professionals who would like to be considered for projects should send their information to mediapro@ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- On a project, the media professional will work with a producer or project manager located locally or at Church headquarters.
“For the Church to fully utilize the MediaPro database effectively, more professionals from all over the world will need to populate it … so when a project arises in any part of the world, we can reach out to them and hit the ground running.” —Scott Olson, project manager for the Media Professional Database
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The Media Professional Database (Mediapro) is a new, free service provided by the Publishing Services Department at the Church to assist in the creation and production of film, video, broadcast events, and digital media projects for the Church. This invitation-only worldwide database of media professionals will be easily accessible to all those involved in putting together Church media projects.
The primary purpose of the database is to identify talented media professionals around the world who can help tell the Church’s story, and the Church wants to include as many “vetted” professionals, individuals, and companies as possible. Scott Olson, project manager for the database, said, “The Church is looking for experienced professionals with several years of experience. This is not a database for hobbyists.”
In the past when a media project needed to be done, local contractors in Utah would be hired and flown to a location to shoot a video or accomplish a project and then return and finish the project at Church headquarters. The Church does have audiovisual professionals who work on projects, but there are so many media projects that need to be done that it is not feasible for internal teams to complete all of them. A database of talented professionals around the world is important to the future of the Church’s media efforts.
For example, if a video needed to be shot in London and then used as part of a website about the history of the Church, the project manager might take a week putting together a film crew and digital designers. Using Mediapro, a project manager could go right to the database of trusted professionals and define who is available at the location desired and put together a team in much less time.
A media professional who would like to be considered for projects should send his or her name, email address, and a brief biography to mediapro@ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Part of the information that media professionals fill out will be a detailed history of their work, along with examples of prior work, skill sets, and availability. Brother Olson said, “It’s important to be specific about your skills because some skill sets are common across video, film, and the web.”
Just registering with Mediapro doesn’t guarantee an opportunity to work for the Church, but if professionals don’t register, they might never get the chance. Registering their information and skills allows the Church to identify them and what they can do.
Being a member of the Church is not a requirement. On a project, the media professional will work with a producer or project manager located at Church headquarters. Another option is working with a local producer or director who then puts together a crew from approved media professionals in Mediapro. Producers assigned to work on the project will work out payment with those they hire for the project. Any negotiation is done between the media professional and the producer. Payment is determined by type of project. Those who would like to donate their time or talents as a charitable act or service are also welcome.
Brother Olson said, “When a project needs to be accomplished at a specific location, it is very helpful to know that people are already there to help.”
Brother Olson said, “For the Church to fully utilize the MediaPro database effectively, more professionals from all over the world will need to populate it. Our goal of the site is to get experienced media professionals associated with the Church’s database so when a project arises in any part of the world, we can reach out to them and hit the ground running.”
