Assistant Producer / Director: self-shooting and editing

Content at Unifrog

Whether we are communicating through images, video or text, we always try to be straightforward, honest, and to show respect for the people with whom we are communicating.

Clear communication is particularly important for us because our mission is to level the playing field when it comes to access to opportunities, and a big part of this effort is fair and straightforward access to information. It's also important for us to be fun, while not talking down to young people.

Over the last few years, with only a small and mostly non-specialist team, we have created hundreds of videos aimed at students and teachers.

We now have an exciting slate of new video projects that we want to produce. We want to use video:

To develop some of the most popular parts of the Unifrog platform, currently used by hundreds of thousands of young people every week to explore different careers, different subjects at university, and topics that matter to them like Climate Change and Wellbeing.

To help us create brand new tools within the platform, expanding what Unifrog offers to young people, and how we interact with external partners like employers and universities.

We also want to improve the quality of the videos we create, making them slicker and more useful to our users.

The role

We are looking for a skilled and creative Assistant Producer/Director who will shoot and edit 3-6 minute videos aimed at young people, which will be hosted on different parts of the Unifrog platform. You'll also create some short videos for our marketing and sales teams to use. As well as creating the videos you will work with others to arrange the shoots.

Shoots can happen in person with professional equipment, in which case you'll be the sole person shooting, including controlling lighting and sound, and then editing. They can also happen as interviews on Zoom; for these you'll conduct and record the interview, then edit them.

In the last year we've made videos like:

- A maths professor speaking about her day-to-day job, and giving advice to young people considering becoming an academic (shot in person);
- An art history undergraduate speaking about the best and worst aspects of their course (shot on Zoom);
- A recent graduate giving young people tips on moving out of the family home for the first time (shot in person);
- A case study of a Unifrog partner school in Germany (shot in person).

You'll create videos like these, and you'll also help us with our ambitious plans for creating completely new types of videos which will allow us to develop new parts of the Unifrog platform.

Working together

You'll work in our existing Content team, which consists of experienced writers, teaching resource creators, a former TV producer, and a graphic and motion designer (whose work you'll use in your video edits). You'll also work with people on our marketing, sales, account management, and strategy teams.

In the Content Team we commonly brainstorm new ideas as a group, provide feedback on each other's work, and get feedback from teachers and students at our partner schools. We promote good ideas regardless of where they come from.

You'll be line-managed by our Video Lead.

Key skills

- Dealing with contributors

You'll work with other people on the Unifrog team to organise shoots with external contributors, either on location or via Zoom. You need to be good at getting on with people, and persistent so that you can make things happen.

- Script writing

To be efficient before any shoot, you'll need to have discussed your questions with the contributor/s and have a good idea of the answers you're looking for. You need to be a strong writer, able to create a script from scratch, or improve an existing one.

- Directing shoots

Sometimes you'll be working on your own with the contributor/s, and sometimes with one or two other non-technical people in the Unifrog team who'll be taking direction from you. You need to be confident and talented at directing shoots both in person and on Zoom, where you might have to advise your interviewee on background and lighting.

- Technical skills

When on location, you'll be the sole person shooting, including operating lighting and sound, and then editing. This means you need to be able to operate cameras such as the C300 and the A7S, to be at least competent with lights and sound, and to be highly proficient at using the Adobe suite, in particular Premiere and After Effects.

When conducting an interview on Zoom, you'll need to be able to trouble-shoot and get the quality of the video as good as it can be.

- Editorial judgment

You'll edit both footage that you've shot yourself, and footage that other people have shot, including content we get directly from contributors. From this you need to be able to create compelling, useful videos. We have a house style that you'll need to be able to stick to, and we also want you to help us develop our house style.

- Juggling projects and meeting deadlines

We always have a lot to do, and we have very high standards for the end-product. You need to be organised, a perfectionist, and determined to get things done on time.

Key benefits

Play a role in democratising access to learning: Unifrog makes a difference in young people's lives. Every week you'll have your work in front of hundreds of thousands of students, and tens of thousands of teachers.

You'll work to tight deadlines, but you'll enjoy a significant degree of autonomy to be creative and deliver high-end videos. Because you'll be arriving at a time of change and development, you'll have a particular opportunity to influence the work of the rest of the content team.

Become part of a committed, dynamic, and growing company. We want to build our team for the long term: if you do well, we will do our best to make sure you want to stay at the company for a long time.

Professional development is important at Unifrog:

- You will define your 6-month objectives and will be supported by your line manager and the rest of the team to achieve them.

- You will have an annual training allowance to spend on what you need to grow and progress. As long as you are doing well in the role, and your line-manager thinks the training makes sense for both you and the company, they'll be opportunities to fund the training that you want.

- Influence the company's direction: we love to promote great ideas, wherever they come from.

- We encourage good mental health and work life balance.

- For details of further benefits, please see the jobs page of our website.