Grants talk:Project/Rapid/Zblace/onQueeringWIKIMEDIA

Approved

Hello Zblace, thanks for submitting this Rapid Grant request. We have reviewed and approved it! Best regards, DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 16:36, 12 May 2020 (UTC)

• Thank you very much! --Zblace (talk) 16:56, 14 May 2020 (UTC)

Request to extend the report due date

• Dear Davit and rapid grants team - I am having some delays in sourcing media, its production and promotion since the start...so now it has accumulated to not days but weeks. Now I am also trying to make use of June as Pride month to advance the project. I hope you do not mind that I also delay reporting a bit more. Would that be OK for you? Zblace (talk) 10:14, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

@Zblace: Thanks for letting us know about delays on your end around sourcing media. You can request an extension, but we would need to know a new date for the end of your grant activities. Would 31 June be acceptable? This would mean that your final report would be due one month later, on 31 July 2020. I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 20:34, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

I think yes. Final reporting anytime past 6th of July is OK. Thank you! Zblace (talk) 07:49, 23 June 2020 (UTC)

Hello Zblace, thanks for posting your request. I am approving it and granting a grant end date extension until 15 July 2020 to allow time for processing your grant documents. The new report due date is 15 August 2020. Best regards, DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 07:52, 24 June 2020 (UTC)

I just sent in my document scan and info, please check if all OK and return for signature (might still be able to sort all before end of month) --Zblace (talk) 18:33, 26 June 2020 (UTC) I am still a bit confused if I have to wait for final signing of all papers before doing publishing?--Zblace (talk) 19:48, 26 June 2020 (UTC)

Request for extension and additional resources

Dear Rapid grants team -

As the project changed quite a bit since I started writing the proposal, also conditions have been much worse than I expected and collaborations were sub-optimal - need for resources increased.
Due to multiple delays in sourcing, production and change of approach (dropping the talking-head video style for animated text) the whole animated video work was much costlier and more complex to produce than I initially hoped and my closest collaborators did more work than initially planned.
Due to COVID-19 and global changes in availability of members and amount of focused work in LGBT User Group reduced to the point that there were no dedicated live video public events (there was discussion of one in June by NYC affiliate), so opportunities to showcase and use videos were minimal.

However there was much individual enthusiasm among people involved and support increasing (after first previews) and recently also among affiliates (which will help promote it). There was much learning during the planning and implementation that I think should be documented and used for future work as a reference.
I propose to continue working on these videos and adapt them to different formats for social media use, as well as to produce documentation on how they were and could be done in the future. I would also propose to have development work of media-plan that is now missing for dissemination. I can project now realistic and sustainable numbers for Video_campaigns work. I can imagine that future work on new videos would fill some of the gaps in representation, content and language-cultural diversity.

Therefore I would like to extend, (re)source, self-document, network, promote and propagate the project better beyond current resources. I would like to have you support:

• Time extension for at least 3 months
  • to be able to use online events and opportunities to showcase videos
  • to be able to collect inputs for possible follow-ups
• Budget expansion from initial 800 USD for 1.200 USD to the total 2.000 USD

1. to cover extra cost of production of videos after we switched from just video cuts to animation.
2. to cover self-documentation (as project proved significantly more complex)
3. to do media plan work and adapting to different channels (which is more complex now)

In case either of these points are problematic or need more clarification please let me know. --Zblace (talk) 06:06, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

@Zblace: Hi Željko, thanks for this request. I have a few questions I'd like you to respond to in order to help us better understand these new needs:

• Can you explain what prompted the change in approach in producing these videos from a simpler style to a more complex one? *Are these changes due to the pandemic, or some other set of factors?
• Can you also discuss what affiliates or specific feedback the previews have received so far? I am a little concerned that more complex modes of production (such as text animation) may take longer or be more costly than other approaches.
• Finally, can you provide more detail over your media plan and what channels or opportunities you are considering to distribute or share your work?

Let me know if you need more clarity over these questions. Thanks, I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 02:01, 12 August 2020 (UTC)

Dear Rapid Grants team - please pardon my delay in answering you. I will answer you with what I can right now.

In the past months it became obvious that no major decisions will made inside of LGBT+ User Group and QueeringWikipedia conference organizers as long as the pandemic situation keeps escalating and tentative vaccine solutions are within reach of application. Issues around USA elections, terrorist attacks in Vienna also did not help for me to push activity predominantly US-based LGBT+ User Group and WM Austria. My closest collaborator on this (checked in endorsements) also had family issues and was relocating in mid of pandemic from a decade of life in India back to Croatia, but we are as of week finally within 100km distance. I also kept busy with urgencies of Croatian, regional and CEE Wikimedia work that felt more adequate than LGBTIQ+ campaigning. Those are some excuses, circumstances and updates...However in past week due to advancements on multiple fronts it appears that maybe we will be able to (media) plan and be (video) produce again. Also both Queering Wikipedia conference initiators and few other people confirmed to be able to reconnect and re-evaluate plans very soon (with finalizing urgent LGBT+ UG admin work, incidents reporting and Strategic conversation). I hope this conversation to be December 12th, but for sure before winter vacations.

As for production changes and feedback from affiliates, it is actually through the feedback that use of 'talking heads' was dropped as it would discriminate those who can not or would not show their face. Production of these videos is more costly indeed, but primarily because we were developing method and doing it for the first time. Now that we produced first 3 it is less so and difference is shrinking with each new production. We also felt strongly that after almost a year in pandemic many of us would feel anxious over close-up portraits. Additionally with all the online videoconferencing work, producing yet another video in the format of 'talking heads' would not create add value, but rather add to saturation.

To close this I would update the timeline extension request for the maximum allowed under current regulation, which appears to be May 14th 2021. I still hope that we would finish the productions soon and use it in social media much before (for sure some in Wikipedia @20 events).

Thank you for your patience! -- Zblace (talk) 10:25, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

Hello Zblace, thanks for your request. I am approving the end date extension request, and offering an extension until May 14, 2021. Please note that we cannot provide any additional extension after May 14, 2021. The reporting due date for this project is now June 14, 2021. Thank you, DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 08:07, 25 November 2020 (UTC)

Hi I JethroBT (WMF) and DSaroyan (WMF), please take note of the updates on my side:

• On the advancement of media planning: This was tied to QueeringWikipedia conf. organizers meeting planned on December 12th, which did not happen. 4 people expressing interest in advance, one confirming time availability and 3 excusing themselves. On the monthly meeting of LGBT+ User Group 2 days before that Thomas, briefed us that he, WikimediaAustria and WMF were in touch about prospects for QueeringWikipedia conf. 2021 to be held online, with no fixed date or format but with focus on internal meeting of the LGBT+ User Group. In regards to this Thomas took on responsibility as grant lead to also organize this meeting sometimes soon *(date not projected). Considering the change of circumstances and focus I can not predict and make elaborate media plan for use of video produced beyond sporadic and limited use at least until there is some decision made by LGBT+ User Group, QueeringWikipedia conf. organizers and Wikimedia Austria.
• On the production of videos: 3 Videos (+1 extra version) as have been published this summer are next to finished (they are only missing intro screens which were planned as context specific). Production took much more than initially planned on both my part and animation-maker as was reported previously both in conversation with your grant officer (with first extension) and with request for expansion of budget and project (above). 800 USD was split equally between us and if the Request for extension and additional resources made on August 9th can not be approved I we would proceed with closing the project as is and doing minimum required reporting. This would leave us feeling that project work was undervalued, under resourced and unaccounted for in labor, but it would at least not formally remain open and therefore administratively added to my 'open project' count which seems to be problematic for all involved.

Please consider to see videos:Rachel John Thomas TikTok.com/@queeringw version of Thomas ...and ideally respond as soon as possible. Thank you very much --Zblace (talk) 07:01, 14 December 2020 (UTC)

@Zblace: Thanks for this request. We have approved your request for $1200 additional funding to support the costs of production and documentation work so that videos like the ones you have produced can be more easily developed by other community members in the future. We'll be contacting you over e-mail to complete the next steps to receive this additional funds. Thanks very much, I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 05:11, 30 January 2021 (UTC)

Thank you @I JethroBT (WMF):! Should I update the rest of the main proposal page (aside from amount) or just leave it as is, with request here and then report the changes in the project report page? Zblace (talk) 15:35, 30 January 2021 (UTC)

":::::::@Zblace: Sorry for the late reply here-- no need to change the proposal page, as you've described the changes here on the talk page sufficiently. Any new materials can simply be added to the report page when they are ready. Thanks, I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 04:08, 1 March 2021 (UTC)

@I JethroBT (WMF)@DSaroyan (WMF) I know this is after the fact but today the account of this awardee got locked due cross wiki abuse, sock puppetry and COI editing. If you get similar requests in the future, ask stewards/CUs to double check if possible. Thanks! Amir (talk) 06:52, 31 July 2021 (UTC)

Request for extending the finalizing of report

Hi! As you know from email correspondance I had multiple issues preventing me in finalizing this half-done report. Here is official request to extend this reporting at least until end of the month. I could finish it earlier, but there are few inputs I wanna have added on potential follow-up that need a bit more time. Thank you. --Zblace (talk) 08:25, 12 February 2022 (UTC)