As a seasoned reporter who has covered different beats over the years, I understand the elements that need to be in a story to complete it, and chase those elements down, writing up the story in news style or as a script.
In addition production services are available for television that include, lighting and shooting the necessary interviews, editing it, shooting B-roll and uploading it via FTP to your servers as per your instructions in HD / XD / 4K, with professional audio.
Fees vary according to the scale of the production.
I shoot with a Canon 5D and have a variety of lenses and am available for all kinds of photography with no project too small or too big. I'm happy to photograph your wedding and happy to work in hostile environments.
I'm available to shoot whatever you need. Just let me know. No project is too big or too smalI. I collaborate with a number of local cameramen, journalists and film makers that can be called on when needed.
I serve as a fixer and field producer, for visiting foreign news and documentary production teams here on the ground in Saudi Arabia. Being a local journalist I know what a good story is, and will pitch different story ideas we can produce.
With a database of over 1,000 contacts from all levels of society and government in the Kingdom, I am able to secure the best possible candidate to interview about the topic at hand. In general, I attempt to find the most knowledgable person on the subject, someone who is balanced and represents the opinion of the vast majority of Saudi society but with an edge above most others, or just the regular Mo, depending on your needs. Of course the interview subjects I propose to you, the client, are simply suggestions and the final decision on who gets interviewed is up to you.
Should you hire my services as a fixer / field producer to assist your team while in Saudi Arabia, I do whatever it is your team requires to make the production a successful one, including secure shoot locations and subjects, locate replacement equipment quickly should a piece of yours fail. I also translate Arabic to English and vice-versa, and so on.
In addition to that, I can arrange for live feed trucks and high-speed data transfer points if necessary.
Anything that your production requires, I will do my best to provide, and I make a good cup of coffee.
Where other fixers may tell you a certain project can't be done, I tell you 'Let's try it'.
Your journalist visa, is your accreditation.
Your visa must be applied for at the Saudi Embassy or Consulate nearest to you. You will be required to submit a letter on your network’s letterhead detailing the subject of your intended production, those who you wish to interview here in Saudi, the CVs of all members of the team as well as their social media accounts, passports and pictures. There will be an interview as well.
All documentation you submit will be transmitted electronically by the Saudi Embassy or Consulate to both the Ministry of Culture and Information and to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Expect that previous productions your network or correspondents have done about Saudi Arabia will be reviewed.
Your application in general can take anything from four to six weeks to be processed on average or it could take as long as a year depending on various factors.
From time to time, Saudi Arabia facilitates and quickly processes journalism visas within days (even hours) under certain circumstances, for certain summits, conferences, foreign dignitary visits and events of national significance. However visa processing times for the most part can take weeks and months. Sometimes, they are not issued at all and no explanation is given.
Should your application run into problems or be delayed, please let me know and I can suggest the right person for you to contact.
A common misunderstanding that occurs at various Saudi embassies and consulates is that the representative may not have processed a journalism visa before or may not be aware that a journalism visa process exists. He will think you just need a business visa . If you are told that someone from Saudi Arabia must invite you to come, it is incorrect and indicates that the person taking your application does not understand exactly what you need. No one needs to invite you. Only those applying for a business visa need to be invited.
Please understand I do not get involved in the visa process at all.
OH YES, ONE LAST THING.
There are only really two fixers in Saudi Arabia with a journalism background. They are myself and Lubna Hussain who works out of Riyadh.
Some travel agents and tour operators claim to be able to serve as fixers and promise you the world, but in reality, they know nothing about journalism, and will likely try to take advantage of you or abandon you once you arrive. They promise the world but never deliver.
Please note that depending on what organization you are with, the Ministry of Culture and Information may provide a car with a driver and a representative to assist you while out filming. The representatives are very helpful in dealing with filming situations that require a permit and with dealing with curious police and other officials that may question what you are doing. They do their best to facilitate requests you may have, especially securing interviews for you with Ministry approved individuals......but they do not make coffee like I do.
1) There are certain productions I can't be involved with. I am ok with pushing the 'limits' but there are 'red lines' that are just not worth crossing, especially without knowing about it. So, please be completely candid with me about your project. I had a bad experience once which resulted in me getting blacklisted from any media involvement. You can read about that here.
I have a very good and clear idea of what the redlines are.
2) I can only work with you if you have come to Saudi Arabia on a media / journalism visa and have been accredited by the Saudi government. You must be properly accredited by the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Your journalism visa is your accreditation and will open many doors for you.
3) I do not pay anyone to be interviewed nor do I accept any kind of compensation or cash payment from anyone wanting to be interviewed. I have been offered cash payments to promote certain individuals and companies in the past and have always declined without exception as, in my opinion, paying for interviews takes away from the integrity of the production and accepting payment to promote a certain person is unethical.
4) I do not charge or accept payment of any commissions from anyone whose services you may need to hire, that I introduce to you. I will suggest to you, the client, what the rate should be for that particular service then introduce you to the person or company providing that service if I do not or cannot provide that service myself, and leave it to you to negotiate with them and pay them directly.
5) The only compensation I receive as your field producer / fixer is my day or project rate as we agree upon.
That is pretty much all of it in a nutshell. if there is anything here that I did not cover or you have any particular concerns, I am more than happy to discuss them with you. All you have to do is ask.
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