Bangkok-based Social Change Creative Agency to Research, Identify, Develop and Produce Short Public Service Announcement (PSA) Video(s) to Educate Young Gay Men in Thailand on How to Minimise the Harm when Engaging in Chemsex

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Organization : APCOM Foundation

BACKGROUND

1.1. ABOUT APCOM

Founded in 2007, APCOM is a coalition of members – governments, UN partners, non-profits and community based organisations – from Asia and the Pacific. APCOM represent a diverse range of interests working together to advocate on, highlight and prioritise HIV and human rights issues that affect the lives of gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and other communities affected by HIV in Asia and the Pacific. Our goals are to improve the well-being of the key affected communities in the region through increased investment, coverage and quality of sexual health services and human rights protection.

1.2. ABOUT TESTBKK

Started in 2014, TestBKK is a pilot and Bangkok-based campaign of TestXXX, APCOM’s flagship regional sexual health campaign targeting young gay men in Asia-Pacific cities with high HIV prevalence among gay men and other men who have sex men (MSM) demography. TestBKK aims to increase the HIV prevention, support and care service uptakes, while also empower young Thai gay men to exercise their sexual health and rights. By the end of 2017, TestBKK has contributed to more than 14,000 HIV service uptakes, such as HIV and STI testing, PrEP1 initiation, and ART2 retention, by young MSM in Bangkok. Currently funded by Elton John AIDS Foundation and LINKAGES Thailand led by FHI 360 Thailand funded by PEPFAR and USAID, TestBKK has more than 60,000 Facebook Page follower, 38,000 YouTube channel subscribers and 9,000 monthly website visitors.

1.3. ABOUT ILLICIT DRUG USE, CHEMSEX AND HIV SITUATION AMONG GAY MEN IN BANGKOK

While the emerging gay communities may potentially reduce gay-related social stigma and enhance health information sharing, they can also predispose gay men to certain risk behaviors. One such example is the consumption of illicit drugs such as ecstasy, crystal methamphetamine (meth) and GHB. Often times, these recreational drugs are consumed to enhance the pleasure of sexual activity, which is referred as chemsex.

A 2017 study3 reveals that dating apps among Thai gay men, as an instance, significantly increased motivational substance use through messaging from their counterparts. The same study concludes that Thai gay men who reported being involved in substance use also reported avoiding use of condoms during intercourse.

A 2018 study4 concludes that risk factors for both methamphetamine use and HIV incidence among gay men in Thailand were younger age, finding casual sex partners on the internet, and having attended a chemsex party.

A number of other studies have documented the risk of crystal meth use among gay men includes increased sexual risk taking, increased episodes of STI and three times increased risk for HIV infection. Gay men living with HIV who use crystal meth are at seven-fold higher risk for missing ART doses and 3.5 times higher risk for developing HIV resistance.

According to UNAIDS latest data, almost 1 out of 3 MSM in Bangkok is living with HIV, only 69% of Thai MSM reported consisted condom use during intercourse, and the national HIV testing coverage only reaches 23% of Thai MSM.

1.4. ABOUT HARM REDUCTION

Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs. Examples of harm reduction practice include provision of information relating to drug consumption, syringes and needle exchange program and drug replacement therapy.

APCOM believe the following principle central to harm reduction strategies:

accepts, for better and/or worse, that licit and illicit drug use is part of our world and chooses to work to minimise its harmful effects rather than simply ignore or condemn them;
understands drug use as a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that encompasses a continuum of behaviors from severe addiction to full abstinence, and acknowledged that some ways of using drugs are clearly safer than others;
calls for the non-judgmental, non-coercive delivery of services and resources to people who use drugs and the communities in which they live in order to assist them in reducing associated harm;
recognises that poverty, classism, racism, social isolation, past trauma, sex and/or gender-based discrimination and/or violence and other social inequalities affect both individuals’ vulnerability to and capacity for effectively coping with drug-related harm.

SERVICES REQUIRED

The consultant is expected to create a series of PSA videos that delivers relevant harm reduction messages on chemsex for young Thai urban gay men (age 18 to 29, low-to-medium income, low-tomedium education) audiences.

During the assignment, the consultant is expected to conduct at least three testing methodologies that encompasses the following outlines: • Concept testing with the cohort representing the target audience to conclude the relevant key messages and other creative components (creative brief) to be employed in the PSA videos • Stakeholder review with APCOM team (including a panel of harm reduction experts) to review the creative brief and videos’ storyboard based on the findings from Concept Testing • Pretesting with the cohort representing the target audience to seek if the produced videos convey the intended key messages

Three standalone videos are expected to be produced by the Consultant. Each should be approximately 2 minutes or less in length. These videos will be published on testBKK’s Facebook Page and YouTube channel.

The consultant is also expected to conduct a separate research to gauge the target audience’s knowledge and attitude in relation to the video’s key message, pre- and post-exposure to the video. The sample for this research should be different with that of the concept testing and pre-testing.

See Section 3. Expected Tasks and Deliverables for a detailed list of tasks and expected deliverables.

EXPECTED TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The consultant is expected to conduct tasks and provide deliverables that are grouped into three segments: (1) pre-production, (2), production and (3) post-production

PRE-PRODUCTION

TASKS

DELIVERABLES

1.1. propose the timeline of the submission of all of the expected deliverables, and estimated budget breakdown of the whole assignment

1.1.1 deliverables’ timeline

1.1.2 estimated budget breakdown

1.2 write the preliminary creative brief, including key messages, to be tested at the Concept Testing with the cohort representing target audience

see Annex A for list of prospective key messages

1.2.1 preliminary creative brief (so called Creative Brief 1.0)

1.3 conduct the Concept Testing with the cohort representing target audience

1.3.1 one-page brief⁺ to determine and scout the cohort

1.3.2 one/two-page brief explaining the methodology of Concept Testing, including the list of questions

1.3.3 one/two-page brief summarising the conducted Concept Testing

1.3.4 updated creative brief based on the Concept Testing’s findings (so called Creative Brief 1.1)

⁺) this brief should also be applicable for the Pretesting (see Task 3.2)

1.4 develop the storyboards and conduct Stakeholder review with APCOM team

1.4.1 approved storyboard for PSA video 1

1.4.2 approved storyboard for PSA video 2

1.4.3 approved storyboard for PSA video 3

1.5 update the final creative brief with filming plan (list of casts, list of filming locations, etc)

1.5.1 updated creative brief (creative brief 2.0)

1.5.2 consent forms signed by the casts acknowledging the use of post-edited video by APCOM for infinite time

1.5.3 cost breakdown for the filming/production

PRODUCTION

TASKS

DELIVERABLES

2.1 shoot the videos and take photographs of some of the scenes (still image) that can be used/edited by APCOM as the marketing collateral of the video, such as artwork for Facebook advertising)

2.1.1 3 to 5 high-res images from PSA video 1*

2.1.2 3 to 5 high-res images from PSA video 2*

2.1.3 3 to 5 high-res images from PSA video 2*

*) the minimum spec of the image:

2400 x 1256px at 300dpi, JPEG format

POST-PRODUCTION

TASKS	DELIVERABLES
3.1 Edit the rough-cut of each video into a polished product that’s less than 2 minutes, which will be tested on Pretesting with the cohort representing target	3.1.1 Post-edited PSA Video 1 (so called Post-Edited Video 1.0) 3.1.2 Post-edited PSA Video 2 (so called Post-Edited Video 2.0) 3.1.3 Post-edited PSA Video 3 (so called Post-Edited Video 3.0)
3.2 Conduct Pretesting with the cohort	3.2.1 one/two-page brief explaining the methodology of Pretesting, including the list of questions 3.2.2 one/two-page brief summarising the conducted Presting
3.3 Re-edit the post-edited videos (version 0) based on the findings from Pretesting	3.3.1 master clean file of the updated post-edited PSA Video 1 (so called Post-Edited Video 1.1) 3.3.2 master clean file of the updated post-edited PSA Video 2 (so called Post-Edited Video 2.1) 3.3.3 master clean file ** of the updated post-edited PSA Video 3 (so called Post-Edited Video 3.1) **) Master File Spec: The requested spec of the master file of the video of are the following: 1. no subtitle/closed-caption embedding 2. no embedding of watermark/logo or other visual attribute 3. without compression that stretches or flattens the video 4. minimum resolution (aspect ratio): 1080p (1920x1080) 5. video codec: mov (best), mp4 or mpg 6. video bitrate: 16-100 mbps 7. audio bitrate: 128 kbps or above 8. audio channels: stereo (2.0) 9. no copyrighted music/audio being used
3.4 If the post-edited videos (version 1) are approved by APCOM, provide the Thai closed caption file of each video	3.4.1 Thai closed-caption of post-edited PSA Video 1.1* 3.4.2 Thai closed-caption of post-edited PSA Video 2.1* 3.4.3 Thai closed-caption of post-edited PSA Video 3.1* *) Subtitle File Spec The requested spec of the subtitle file of the video of are the following: a) Thai subtitles with accurate timecodes b) Format: .srt c) Timecode’s format starts from Hour 0 (00:00:00:000) [hour:minute:sec:millisec)
3.5 Conduct research to assess pre- and post-exposure (of the video) knowledge and/or attitude of the target audience in relation to the final PSA videos	3.5.1 one-page brief to determine and scout the cohort (which should be different sample from that of concept testing and pre-testing in pre-production stage) 3.5.2 one/two-page brief explaining the methodology of the assessment 3.5.3 two-three page brief summarising the findings of the assessment

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

The payment will be delivered in the following batches and milestones, but they are all negotiables.

First payment: 30% of the total budget shall be paid to the Consultant when the contract is signed by both parties

Second payment: 20% of the total budget shall be paid to the Consultant when APCOM receives and approves the Pre-Production deliverables
Third payment: 20% of the total budget shall be paid to the Consultant when APCOM receives and approves the Production deliverables
Fourth (last) payment: 30% of the total budget shall be paid to the Consultant when APCOM and approves the Post-Production deliverables

DESIRED BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE

The followings are the desired background and experience for candidate who would like to take on the assignment – as individual or as a team:

3- to 5-year experience in film making/videography
high level of creativity and initiative
has proven to have conducted (or worked with individual/team to conduct) pretesting/focus group discussion forsocial behavior change communication (SBCC) materials
previous experience in PSA videos (in Thai language) is an asset
previous experience in creating videos for gay audience is an asset
strong communication skills with at least moderate level in written and spoken Thai
strong communication skills with at least moderate level in written and spoken English

PREPARING APPLICATION

To apply for this position, the candidate should submit the following documents to APCOM at JoinUs@apcom.org

a) CV (for individual applicant) or company resume (for team/firm applicant)
b) web/URL address showing previous three (3) relevant videography works samples
c) proposal stating how many days needed to finish the assignment from the start until the submission of all of the deliverables (no need for breakdown)
d) proposal stating the total budget to cover the whole assignment (no need for breakdown)

For questions or enquiries for the position, please contact APCOM’s HR Officer Rangsit Sanguansak at RangsitS@apcom.org

ANNEX A. POTENTIAL KEY MESSAGES FOR THE PSA VIDEOS

The table below enlists potential key messages that may be used by the consultant as the guidance f to develop the creative brief and preliminary script of the PSA videos that will be tested in Concept Testing.

#	Key Messages for the Audiences
1	There is no such thing as a safe level of drug use, but I know how to minimise the harm when I engage in a chemsex party, such as:
1	· eat before the party and stay hydrated with water · having enough condom and water-based lubes · not doing it with a group of stranger I just met · ensuring the needle is new and sterile · not sharing the needle · not mixing my drug with alcohol and/or other drugs · seting a limit to a dosage I take · setting a time limit on how long I'd be partying · telling my close friends about the venue of the party and asking them to check on me on the next day or at certain point of time · when I commute to the place hosting chemsex, I'd just bring enough cash and leave credit/debit card at home
2	I understand the short term negative effect of frequent chemsex.
3	I understand the long term negative effect of frequent chemsex.
4	I'm not on PrEP and I was a bottom in last night's chemsex party and I let people ejaculated inside my ass. I'm worried that I may catch HIV infection. I should take PEP as soon as possible to reduce my chance of getting infected.
5	I've engaged in multiple chemsex in the past and I'm likely to do it again in the future, and thus, it's important for me to be on PrEP .
6	I'm HIV+ and I'm a recreational drug user. I have to check in regularly with my doctor and be honest about my drug use. I'm aware that the interaction between the drug I use with my HIV medication may or may not lead to treatment failure and toxicity.
7	I'm addicted to chemsex and I need to get support and help - OR - I know someone who needs help and I'll refer him to the support he needs.