MS 895: Management of Audiovisual Activities

Date: 9/24/87
Office: D/PA
Supersedes: New

Table of Contents
Attachments
Printer Friendly Version (PDF)


1.0	Purpose
2.0	Background
3.0	Scope
4.0	Definitions
	4.1	Audiovisual Productions
	4.2	Audiovisual Services
	4.3	Audiovisual Activity
	4.4	Audiovisual Equipment
5.0	Policy
6.0	Exclusions
7.0	Responsibilities
	7.1	Management Oversight
	7.2	Federal Audiovisual Committee
	7.3	Operational Responsibility
	7.4	Authorization for Production or Procurement
		7.4.1	Authorization Authority
		7.4.2	Request for Authorization
		7.4.3	Authorization Regulations
		7.4.4	Authorization of Productions Costing More Than $50,000
	7.5	Pre-authorization Search
	7.6	Federal Audiovisual Production Report (sf 202) (Attachment B)
		7.6.1	Exclusions from FAPR
	7.7	Government Employees as Actors
	7.8	Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees as Actors
	7.9	Stock Footage
	7.10	Other Federal Audiovisual Activities
		7.10.1	Internal Audiovisual Files
		7.10.2	Inventory
	7.11	Distribution and Evaluation of Audiovisual Productions
		7.11.1	Services Provided by the National Audiovisual Center (NAC)
		7.11.2	Policy Regarding NAC
		7.11.3	Distribution
			7.11.3.1	Duplication Materials
			7.11.3.2	Original Materials
			7.11.3.3	Transfer of Materials
			7.11.3.4	Sale and Rent of Materials
		7.11.4	Loan Programs
		7.11.5	Exclusions From NAC Submissions
		7.11.6	Evaluation
			7.11.6.1	Evaluation of Audiovisual Productions
			7.11.6.2	Evaluation of Distribution
	7.12	Fiscal Year Report
8.0	Effective Date

Attachments

Attachment A	Standard Form 282, Mandatory Title Check
Attachment B	Federal Audiovisual Production Report
Attachment C	Annual Audiovisual Report
Attachment D	Form PC-1600 Peace Corp Questionnaire

1.0 Purpose

This Manual Section establishes the Peace Corps' policy and procedures to comply with the requirements of OMB Circular No. A-114, "Management of Audiovisual Activities."

2.0 Background

The purpose of OMB Circular A-114 is to improve Federal audiovisual management.

3.0 Scope

This Manual Section applies to all Peace Corps domestic and overseas offices in the development, use, maintenance and distribution of audiovisual productions as defined in paragraph 4, below.

4.0 Definitions

4.1 Audiovisual Productions

A unified presentation, developed according to a plan or script, containing visual imagery, sound, or both, and used to convey information. Audiovisual productions include slide sets, film strips, motion pictures, television (videotape and disc), audio recordings (tape and disc) and multi-media (any combination of two of more media) productions.

4.2 Audiovisual Services

Individual functions such as scripting; pho- tography, sound and video recording; photo instrumentation; film processing; broadcasting; film-to-video and video-to-film transfers; video, film and sound editing; video, film and sound duplication; audiovisual media depository and records center operations; distribution; audiovisual production evaluation programs; and support and maintenance of audiovisual equipment and facilities.

4.3 Audiovisual Activity

An organization or function within an organization employing one or more individuals whose principal job is to provide an audiovisual service, produce or acquire audiovisual productions, or manage audiovisual resources. Resources include equipment, budgets, facilities, personnel, supplies and accessories.

4.4 Audiovisual Equipment

Equipment used for the recording, production, reproduction, processing, broadcasting, distribution, storage or exhibiting of audiovisual products.

5.0 Policy

To comply with the requirements of OMB Circular A-114, it is the Peace Corps' policy to limit its development and purchase of audiovisual productions to those necessary for: the training of Volunteers and staff, public awareness of the Agency and its programs, and recruitment of Volunteers; and not to duplicate productions already in the Agency's or another Federal Agency's possession.

Audiovisual activities and related functions, such as graphic arts and still photographic activities, which can be obtained from commercial sources will not be initiated or continued with Peace Corps resources unless justified under the provisions of OMB Circular A-76.

6.0 Exclusions

Excluded from the requirement of OMB Circular A-114 and this Manual Section are: (a) photo-mechanical reproduction, cartography, X-rays, and microfilm/fiche productions; and (b) graphic arts and still photographic activities except when their products are used in audiovisual productions.

7.0 Responsibilities

7.1 Management Oversight

The Director of Public Affairs is responsible for management oversight of the Peace Corps' audiovisual activities.

7.2 Federal Audiovisual Committee

The Director of Public Affairs or his/her designee will represent the Agency on the Federal Audiovisual Committee (FAC). This interagency committee advises OMB on government-wide Agency policies. It is chaired by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, OMB, and meets at the call of the chair.

7.3 Operational Responsibility

All audiovisual activities will be overseen by the Office of Public Affairs who will provide production assistance or expert consultation as appropriate to each initiative. Overseas offices will coordinate audiovisual activities through the Country Director with the Director of Public Affairs being kept informed of all activities.

7.4 Authorization for Production or Procurement

7.4.1 Authorization Authority

Authorization can be given only by the Director of Public Affairs for domestic offices. Authorization for production by overseas offices will be granted by the Country Director with the Office of Public Affairs acting as consultant on the actual operations. A copy of any and all authorizing, planning and appropriating paperwork sent to the Director of Public Affairs for central record keeping.

7.4.2 Request for Authorization

A request for authorization must be provided to the Director of Public Affairs or Country Director as appropriate in writing and document all relevant factors, including but not limited to: communication objective; target audience; production costs; user costs; how long the product could be used; frequency of use; immediacy of requirement; necessity for periodic updating; level and cost of distribution; and compatibility with other existing communication programs.

7.4.3 Authorization Regulations

Authorization for the production or procurement of audiovisual productions may be given only where the Agency has determined that the products are the most effective means of communicating the required message to the intended audience, being cost- effective and determined as essential to the Agency's mission. Upon completion a duplicate of any and all audiovisual productions will be provided to the Office of Public Affairs for inclusion in the Agency's Audiovisual Library.

7.4.4 Authorization of Productions Costing More Than $50,000

All requests for authorization of productions estimated to cost more than $50,000 must include a specific written distribution plan, including reference to the program the production will support and a cost- effectiveness analysis of the proposed production comparing the size of the potential audience to the total production cost. All paperwork authorizing the procurement of audiovisual services in excess of $50,000 must be approved by the Chief of Staff.

7.5 Pre-Authorization Search

Prior to requesting any type of audiovisual production, an office must attempt to determine if existing productions are available to satisfy needs. This can be done by contacting the National Audiovisual Center (MAC) to determine what Federal productions exist by requesting subject searches -- Standard Form 282 (Attachment A) shall be used for this purpose; and commercial media collections, either through catalogs or computer-based resources. The Office of Public Affairs is available to assist in these procedures.

7.6 Federal Audiovisual Production Report (SF 202) (Attachment B)

After authorization of an audiovisual production except those excluded in Section 7.6.1, the originating office must prepare and submit SF 202 to NAC, with a copy to the Director of Public Affairs. The FAPR assists Federal agencies in learning about similar products existing or planned in other agencies, and helps reduce duplication of effort. Preproduction sections of the report will be completed and sent by the originating office to NAC with a copy to the Director of Public Affairs. Upon completion of an audiovisual production, the postproduction sections of the FAPR must be completed by the originating office and forwarded to NAC with a copy to the Director of Public Affairs. This information will become part of the NAC's data base. Information from the data base is provided to other Federal agencies and the public. Copies of Standard Form 202 may be obtained from GSA or from the Peace Corps' Office of Public Affairs.

7.6.1 Exclusions from FAPR

The following Agency productions are excluded from pre-production and Post-production reporting requirements. However, with the exception of (j), all must be reported in the Annual Audiovisual Report (SF 203 - Attachment C):

Security-classified items;
Items produced for internal Agency use that are exempt from public disclosure under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (80 Stat. 383; 5 U.S.C. 552), as amended;
Items the Agency decides would not benefit the public because the useful life is too short (usually less than one year) or the production budget is too small (less than $5,000);
Mixed media packages with predominance of printed material usually handled by the U.S. Government Printing Office;
Productions prohibited by law from distribution in the United States;
Productions related to timely coverage of a news event such as public service announcements, newsclips or audio recordings, or television and radio spot announcements;
Unique or highly-specialized technical materials useful only to a single Agency;
Multi-media productions electronic programmers; requiring special projection equipment or
Productions from procedures; and criminal investigations or other legal evidentiary
Photo-instrumentation, reconnaissance, or documentation footage. This exclusion does not include productions produced from this footage.

7.7 Government Employees As Actors

All Peace Corps employees are prohibited from playing dramatic roles, narrating, or acting in Federal audiovisual productions except:

When performing their own job;
When a production is to be used only for internal communications or training, and the government employees are playing roles developed for training purposes in connection with their own job, without using a prepared script; and
When the skills or knowledge of the government employees cannot be readily supplied by professional actors, and cannot be supplied by a prepared script.

Employees shall not perform roles which subject them to health or safety hazards not normally encountered in their own jobs.

7.8 Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees As Actors

The use of Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees is governed by the same stipulations applied to Peace Corps staff. However, prior to production, every Volunteer and Trainee appearing must sign a Privacy Act Waiver (Attachment D).

7.9 Stock Footage

The Peace Corps shall offer to the Special Archives Division, National Archives and Records Administration, motion picture outtakes, trims, and other unedited motion picture footage (with stock footage value) accumulated in the production of audiovisual products. The footage will be made available to other Federal agencies and the public through services provided by the Special Archives Division, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. 20408.

7.10 Other Federal Audiovisual Activities

All offices should utilize audiovisual equipment and services available from other federal agencies unless these can be obtained more economically from the private sector.

7.10.1 Internal Audiovisual Files

No office shall retain, create or expand internal audiovisual capacity for the purpose of providing commercially available products or services to other agencies, foreign governments, or private organizations.

7.10.2 Inventory

As directed by OMB Circular A-114, all audiovisual activities will be inventoried and reviewed to determine if in-house services can be converted to contract by September 30, 1987, and all external support must be included in the Performance Work Statement developed for this review. If it is determined that the activity can continue to be performed in-house, no further justification is required. If, after September 30, 1987, the determination has not been made for continued in-house performance, under the provisions of OMB Circular A-76, user agencies shall obtain the required services directly from a commercial source.

7.11 Distribution and Evaluation of Audiovisual Productions.

7.11.1 Services Provided by the National Audiovisual Center (NAC)

The NAC (a) serves as the central information source to the public and Federal agencies concerning the availability of audiovisual productions produced by or for the Government; (b) rents and sells Federal audiovisual productions to the public and Federal agencies; (c) compiles and publishes Government- wide catalogs, as well as use other types of information dissemination techniques, to inform the public on audiovisual productions available for rent and sale; (d) develops criteria, establishes appropriate terminology, and recommends Government-wide practices for the cataloging and indexing of audiovisual productions; and (e) maintains a data bank containing information on federal audiovisual productions.

7.11.2 Policy Regarding NAC

It is the Peace Corps' policy to use NAC services to increase the dissemination of Peace Corps' audiovisual product information to other Federal agencies and the public and to use NAC services to improve Peace Corps' access to and the use of Federal audiovisual productions.

7.11.3 Distribution

7.11.3.1 Duplication Materials

Upon request, Peace Corps' Office of Public Affairs will provide all available duplication materials necessary for NAC to reproduce copies of specific productions and make them available to the public and other Federal agencies. This can be on either a loan or permanent basis as the office deems appropriate. Under either condition, MAC retains the right to place duplication material in a laboratory selected by the Center to ensure the best price to the public. Duplication material on loan to MAC will be returned to the office but may, through special arrangement, be retained in the Center's laboratory until specifically requested.

7.11.3.2 Original Materials

When acceptable duplication material is no longer available, offices will loan NAC the original materials and/or printing masters necessary for NAC to reproduce, at its expense, the duplication material needed for reproduction. The original material may be maintained at the Agency's laboratory for duplication or, if mutually agreeable, be moved to a laboratory designated by NAC. The materials will be returned immediately after production of the duplication materials.

7.11.3.3 Transfer of Materials

Arrangements for the transfer of duplicating materials to NAC will normally be initiated by the NAC. If an office desires to deposit duplicating materials with NAC, it should arrange through the Office of Public Affairs and the Contracts Division for automatic transfer upon completion of production. Transfer will be made by executing an inter-Agency agreement with NAC.

7.11.3.4 Sale and Rent of Materials

NAC shall determine the prices of items it sells and rents under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2112(c). In addition to using NAC's services, the offices may make their productions available for sale, rent, or loan to the public through other distribution channels provided the Agency's Director determines that such actions are necessary for the efficient operation of the Agency's programs. The offices shall, however, periodically review their distribution program and discontinue any which duplicate NAC services.

7.11.4 Loan Programs

Under the guidance of the Office of Public Affairs, all domestic and overseas offices shall attempt to consolidate all loan libraries. After a title has been in loan distribution through the Agency's loan library or through commercial contract for three years, or earlier if appropriate, the title should be considered for further access through NAC's rental program. Multiple award contracts have been made by GSA under Federal Supply Schedule Industrial Group 781 covering the free loan distribution of audiovisual materials. Pertinent ordering data can be obtained from the GSA regional office serving your area or the contracts office (M/FM/C), as appropriate.

7.11.5 Exclusions From NAC Submissions

Productions excluded by paragraph 7.6.1 need not be submitted to the National Audiovisual Center.

7.11.6 Evaluation

7.11.6.1 Evaluation of Audiovisual Productions

Upon completion of an audiovisual production the originating office shall evaluate the production to assess its value and effectiveness. Complexity and cost of evaluation will be dependent on the cost and program impact of the audiovisual production being evaluated. For example, less time and money will be spent to evaluate a low-cost small impact production than to evaluate a high cost or major audiovisual program designed for broad applications. Depending on the production being evaluated, methods could range from in-house review by appropriate staff, to special screenings or test groups, or surveys with interviews and testing forms, which would be developed in consultation with evaluation staff in the Office of Policy Planning and Analysis. Evaluation should be completed within six (6) months and the results are to be submitted to the Director of Public Affairs. The Director of Public Affairs, at his/her discretion, may request a specific type of evaluation as deemed appropriate given the nature of the production.

7.11.6.2 Evaluation of Distribution

Annually, each office shall evaluate the effectiveness of distribution systems for all products. Evaluation may be performed by developing statistical reports which show the estimated number of viewers of specific productions and the resulting cost per thousand -- based on number of viewers and costs of production and distribution. This data will be considered in authorizing future audiovisual productions.

7.12 Fiscal Year Report

Each office is required to file SF 203, Annual Audiovisual Report (Attachment C) detailing all audiovisual activity each fiscal year. The report is due to the Director of Public Affairs on December 1 of each calendar year for the previous fiscal year. The Office of Public Affairs will forward the Agency report to the National Audiovisual Center, National Archives and Records Administration by January 1. All audiovisual productions, including productions excluded from other reporting requirements of this Manual Section, should be reported on the SF 203. The purpose of the report is to acquire data on federal audiovisual activities, including overhead for in-house expenses. This information, once compiled, will be made available from NAC, upon request, to all agencies, and to the public. Copies of SF 203 may be reproduced locally or obtained from the Office of Public Affairs.

8.0 Effective Date

This Manual Section will become effective upon date of issuance.