Positions Open - 2024 to 2025

Short-term Contract Positions:

Request for Qualifications:

Minnesota Media Arts is seeking qualified subcontractors to work together on a Moving Image Archive Collection Preservation project featuring an Archive Coordinator 11/1 to 6/15/2025 (in person), a Video Encoding Specialist, (in person) 11/1/2024 to 1/1/2025 and a Collection Cataloger, (possible remote access) 2/15 to 4/15/2025. Applicants can bid on either or all contractor positions.

No funds are available for responding to our "Request for Qualifications" Please send email inquiries to Projects@mnmediarts.org

Project summary:
Video Artist Melisande Charles (1931-2017) Media Collection Preservation project will continue to preserve and catalog both analog and digital materials. This project will identify instantiations of media content, determine any variations or elements of her creative workflow, compare multimedia formats and evaluate the previously converted media file validity and accuracy. The preservation project will continue to improve the Master Record and project’s published finding aid. Based on a previous collection assessment, a list of sixty (60) analog assets have been identified for continued preservation efforts and Master Record integration.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: For the Archive Coordinator and Collection Cataloger, successful applicants should have archive management experience in moving image collection care projects, Digital Asset Management plan development and coordination, digital photo skills, document scanning, online photo gallery creation, working with G-suite tools, Excel .XLSX Excel files, Open Office .ODT and .CSV text files. Preferred experience with multi-drive directory cataloging applications like NeoFinder search tool, Media-Info application, VLC and Quicktime video player apps. Cataloging roles should include expertise in moving images collection assessment, item level cataloging and inventory. The Video Encoding Specialist will be proficient in both media encoding and digital conversion principles and activities. Prior media collection encoding and file management expertise is preferred.

Education & Experience: Advanced Degree in Library Science or a relevant academic discipline with demonstrated understanding of archives and libraries, or a combination of education and relevant experience in media collection archiving. Previous experience desirable in document scanning, cataloging moving image media and knowledge of videotape or film digital conversion.

RFQ schedule:
Upon email inquiry receipt, MNMA will provide a more in-depth task schedule and deliverables. Questions will be answered via email 10/1-3/2024 Final Responses due 10/15/24. (Resume credentials. experience, expertise, timeframe compatibility, costs estimates and hourly rates) We will be making vendor selections October 21-24, 2024.

Video Artist Melisande Charles Collection Preservation Project
Project Plan and Schedule: November 1- June 15, 2025

Archive Coordinator , Collection Cataloger and Video Encoding Specialist roles, responsibilities and collaborations.

1. Archive Coordinator (AC) will follow project’s the current Digital Asset Management Plan, including reviewing the existing archive “Master Record” document to identify & confirm the asset ID numbers for previous analog media conversions. Identify the current Access Master (AM) files that need aspect ratio correction. Identify remaining analog assets that need to be digitized.
   
   
2. Project Director (PD) and Archive Coordinator (AC), based on the Master Record, will pull the remaining approximately sixty (60) undigitized media assets to be handed off to the Video Encoding Specialist (VES) for tape preparation, digital media conversion, and export of Access Master files. AC will confirm the media conversion specifications: frame resolution size and ratios, codecs, video bitrates, frame rates, progressive vs interlaced frames, and audio specs for the PM files as well as exported AM derivative files. AC will provide VES with an Encoding Log to update descriptive metadata .
   
   
3. Archive Coordinator based on the Master Record, will extract the sixty-three (63) Preservation Master files that require re-transcoding to the correct frame ratio. AC will transcode those 16:9 files to the correct 4:3 aspect ratios based on the previously approved Access Master specifications. Updated file metadata will be entered back into the Master Record and added to the project’s Digital Archive storage system.
   
   
4. Video Encoding Specialist (VES) will digitally convert approximately sixty (60) videotapes. VES, will prepare and oversee the de-hydrolysis process, fluff, clean tapes and repair cassettes when required. VES will operate MNMA’s encoding workstation to computer encode these tape formats: ¾” U-matic video cassette, 1” Reel to Reel type-C tape, and S-VHS/VHS videocassette. VES will update the Encoding Log with any new descriptive metadata and track progress.
   
   
5. The AC will merge that data into the Master Record and review the new data to further identify and re-match any collection assets. Any results will be added to the updated Master Record. PD and AC will migrate the digital collection to the archives new NAS System and Streaming Platform.
   
   
6. Archive Coordinator will supervise the 2-D document scanning/photography and will inventory and create new catalog ID# for original analog assets, plus the digital scans & archival photography for inclusion in the Master Record and updated Finding Aid.
   
   
7. Collection Cataloger will review the digital PM/AM Masters, scans, photos and updated inventory in the Master Record. CC will verify asset ID numbers, codecs, resolutions and data rates for the 60 new digitally converted physical media assets. This includes verifying descriptive and technical metadata of the digital file instantiations to their source analog asset IDs. Create an updated Finding Aid for publication.
   
   
8. Archive Coordinator will do a final review of the visual inventory spreadsheet data to verify descriptive metadata for each asset, verify key words and controlled vocabularies.
   
   

Please provide a separate bid for each position; Archive Coordinator, Video Encoding Specialist , or Collection Cataloger .

Successful applicants would be determined upon review of the Request for Qualifications, experiences, expertise, education background, project time frame compliance, 11/1/24 - 6/15/2025 and would need, if selected, to complete an Independent contractor (IC) agreement with MNMA. IC payments will be reported on a 1099 for taxes are IC’s responsibilities.

All RFQ Final Responses due by October 15, 2024

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Contact information:
Minnesota Media Arts
Ron McCoy, Project Director, TCART member.
projects@mnmediaarts.org
612-627-9253

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Minnesota Media Arts
Our mission is to help artists and arts/community media organizations preserve their cultural heritage as recorded on magnetic media, through legacy media collection management, digitization and media production services that can stream, document and archive events.