Consultancy Service for Development of Documentary Film

Terms of Reference for the development of a documentary film on SNV’s Palm Oil project in Indonesia

Assignment:

SNV seeks proposal from professional video company/ies to produce a 2 min video on SNV’s palm oil project in Indonesia and related multimedia content (high quality pictures, footage) as listed below:

1. A short 2 min video on palm oil to showcase challenges in global palm oil cultivation and the link to deforestation and promote the efficacy of SNV solutions.
2. High quality pictures for use across various online and offline platforms

The selected company/ies will shoot footage in pre-selected location/s in Indonesia to produce a 2 min video on palm oil. The shooting will be done in close co-operation with the Global Project Co-ordinator, CSA Global Communication Officer, and SNV field staff.

The selected consultant/s should provide an inspiring overview of the successes of SNV’s palm oil programme; explain the deforestation free supply chain solution proposed under the global CSA programme and how is it applicable; include a call to action that prompts the viewer to further discover more about SNV’s intervention in deforestation through the SNV CSA site; and social media( Twitter, YouTube channel); include relevant SNV branding, photography, infographics, maps where appropriate; subtitles shall be in UK English and terminology as per SNV CSA usage.

Background
SNV is a not-for-profit international development organisation working in Agriculture, Renewable Energy, and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene. Founded in the Netherlands 50 years ago, we have built a long-term, local presence in 38 of the poorest countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

SNV Agriculture aims to improve the livelihoods of the 500 million smallholder farmers who produce the bulk of the world’s food. To do so we focus on key areas: Sustainable Markets, Food & Nutrition Security, Climate Smart Agriculture, Gender in Agriculture, and Youth in Agriculture. 

As Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil, SNV sees great potential in strategic development of the palm oil sector. More than 40% of the crop area is managed by thousands of smallholder farmers offering the opportunity to engage and assist the poor. As part of the global Climate Smart Agriculture programme, SNV is working together with Wageningen University in Jambi province, to increase yields and better manage smallholder oil palm fields. A key project challenge is to increase productivity without further fueling the destruction of high conservation value (HCV) forests.

SNV has developed siting tools to help government, companies and investors guide agricultural expansion to reduce the impact on forests. This is being trialed first with the palm oil sector in Indonesia and then for coffee and cocoa. We are also developing better management practice training for key sectors to support small holder farmers to produce more using less land. This training includes improved agricultural and environmental practices to reduce the impact on forests.

Objective

Oil palm expansion and deforestation are directly interlinked as increasing size of plantations is one of the drivers of tropical forest loss around the world, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia. As future demand for edible oils is expected to continue increasing, there are two ways to conserve remaining forest areas: to promote expansion on ‘degraded land’; and to increase yields from existing and future plantations.

The video is expected to demonstrate our interventions, share positive outcomes and reflect the experiences of the local people we work with. It should reflect on how the project will train and encourage farmers and local implementing partners to support improved environmental approaches and policies and introduce practices to increase yield on existing land to lessen the scale of further deforestation.

Target audiences

• Donors, foundations and MDB’s
• Development partners including funding organisations, NGOs, certification and sustainability organisations working in Agriculture.
• Private sector organisations including food manufacturing and supermarkets, logistics and agricultural supply companies.
• Government ministries and agencies regulating Agriculture policy and governance.

Methodology and scope:

The consultant is expected to work in close collaboration with SNV at all stages of planning and production to ensure video content and messaging is appropriate. The films will be produced in line with SNV corporate branding guidelines, include terminologies approved by the SNV CSA team, and other relevant standards and final decisions on content and format will be made by SNV.

The consultant shall follow the following timeline during the production of the palm oil video (indicative timelines, subject to change):

• 10-14 Sept: the consultant shall submit a draft storyboard with a detailed description of the flow/structure, production schedule including pre-production and post-production, total number of days required including external support for animation to the CSA team.
• 15-17 Sept: the consultant shall finalise the storyboard based on feedback from the global CSA team. The Indonesia CSA team to identify a field officer for the entire shoot, who will be the prime contact for the documentary shoot and make all logistics arrangements for the video team.
• 18-21 Sept: the consultant shall develop a pre-shoot script based on feedback on the storyboard from the CSA team. The script should consolidate research and outline the film’s story, providing a visual guideline for the shoot. The consultant should incorporate team feedback and  finalise the script by 26 Aug
• 27 Sept: Arrive on Jakarta, Indonesia. Fly to Jambi on 28 Sept for a 3 days shoot (29-1) at predetermined locations. Fly back to Jakarta on 2nd October. The consultant to submit a comprehensive post script including descriptions of shots and actions by 4 September.
• 8 Oct: submit first cut to SNV for comments, integrate feedback and submit second cut by 14 October, again incorporate feedback and submit a third cut by 21 October. The consultant shall submit the final video to SNV on 30 October.

Outputs

• A detailed script in English
• A selection of uncut masters of all interviews and other footage shot for archiving
• At least three cut of the video for comment/revisions from SNV staff.
• One full HD version, and a web version for the website.   

Key skills and experience required

• Professional media company with proven capacity in producing creative and compelling documentary videos for the development sector.
• Experience in working with international organisations, as well as local partners, government agencies and local authorities in developing countries will be an added advantage.
• Knowledge of the international development sector and the development context in the project countries. Experience in projects related to Agriculture is an asset.
• Proven high-level technical capacity. Consultants are expected to own or be able to provide documentary proof of all necessary production facilities and equipment.

Timeline

The assignment is expected to start from September 10, 2015 and be completed by October 30, 2015.

Ownership

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation has the exclusive rights to all materials—pictures, edited videos as well as original footage taken on site for this assignment. The consultant should seek written consent should any version of the product or part of it shall be used for purposes other than what was originally agreed upon with SNV. Consultant name/logo shall only be acknowledged in the closing credits.

Cost

The consultant should clearly include total professional days required for the assignment including time spent on pre and post production, food and accommodation, and costs related to translation and transcription. Visa should also be taken care of by the consultant, and later charged to SNV. Only international flights/transport, and accommodation will be directly arranged by SNV. 

Terms of payment
30% upon signing and remainder upon completion of the assignment.

Expressions of interest

Expressions of interest for this assignment should include the following:

• Work sample or link to current portfolio
• Description of relevant experience
• Detailed technical proposal with a section for financial expenses
• This should provide a draft plan for the assignment, including scheduling and breakdown of professional days. Note consultants may require government permission to film in some countries and this should be considered in planning.
• Indication of availability
• Relevant references and contact details

Contact details and submission deadline

Submissions for this assignment should be submitted no later than September 07, 2015

Interested consultants are invited to send expressions of interest to:

Monica Upadhyay, SNV Agriculture Communications Officer 
Email: [email protected]
SNV Netherlands Development Organization
Jawlakhel, Lallitpur, Nepal +977 (01)5523444