By Jessica Chance Chance Multimedia is growing. Stories Without Borders, our nonprofit organization, is gaining steam and producing great projects. And any day now, I’m going to have a baby.
What does this mean for our company, our clients and partners and the future? We’ve been answering a lot of good questions lately. Here are answers to a few. If you have more, please contact us at our team e-mail connect@chancemultimedia.com!
Congratulations on the baby! What does this mean for my project?!
This year we’ve truly become a full service, full time company, beyond James and myself, so we don’t actually anticipate any functional downtime at all once the baby arrives. This is entirely due to the addition of our awesome team members, Chloe Wittry and Dan Sohner, who have been preparing with us for this time all year long.
Yes, I will be stepping away from daily desk work starting September 1st, and be effectively on maternity leave from Chance Multimedia through December 15th. In my place, Chloe, our Project Manager, will be running CM full time. Chloe has been with us since the beginning of 2015, and she’s been shadowing me in anticipation of taking over this role for six months. She’s talented, creative and thoughtful, and we’re enthusiastic about the new ideas, energy and leadership she is bringing to our clients and projects!
Chloe will continue to serve as project manager. Upon my return, I will be able to refine my focus as a producer and director. Frankly, we were overdue for this expansion, and my maternity leave is the perfect time to bring in additional leadership.
Will James take time off? What if I need a photo or need to start a project?
James will take a few weeks of paternity leave once the baby is born. Luckily, since our office is so close to home, he will be able to return to work and be available for shoots on a regular basis in October, while still getting to spend time with his newborn son. Additionally, Dan Sohner, our talented cinematographer and editor, will manage any time-sensitive shoots that come in while James is away in September. Once October hits, we’ll be back to business as usual on the shooting side.
James will continue to serve as business leader at Chance Multimedia, assisted by Chloe, while I am on maternity leave.
What’s happening with the nonprofit?
Stories Without Borders has really taken off in 2015. We’re currently producing our second independent documentary, working with several strategic partners on projects, and have provided quite a few storytelling trainings from Denver to Senegal this year.
When I return to work in 2015, I will continue to work with our talented Board of Directors to lead the organization as we continue to fulfill our mission, to work independently and in partnership with organizations to tell underreported stories and empower new storytellers.
I have a new project idea, but I don’t want to bother you once the baby is here…
Our doors our open and we're ready to roll! The new members of our team are allowing Chance to continue business as usual and we're thrilled to hear about new ideas and projects. Making room for a baby has forced us to look at the way we currently do things and envision how we can do them better. We’ve been working hard all year to prepare for this time and these transitions. When you contact us now or into the future you’re connecting with the same team you’ve come to know and trust, plus new equipment, more specialized talent, better support and an energized outlook.
We look forward to working with all of our current clients, and some new ones too, as Chance Multimedia and Stories Without Borders moves into a new era!