SHARON SEBASTIAN
Media Professional| Storyteller| Content Creator
Detroit,MI
Summary
- Motivated and detail oriented Media Professional with excellent communication and organizational skills, a zeal for engaging with the community and contributing to socially relevant content with 9+ years' experience including freelance work across various media platforms; from a Media studies lecturer working towards empowering critical thinking of students to an independent documentary filmmaker, content creator and Producer on a top-rated Television network in India.
Overview
9
9
years of professional experience
5
5
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certifications
Work History
FREELANCE PRODUCER
FLOWERS TV USA
Detroit, USA
07.2020 - Current
- Flowers TV USA is an Indian satellite channel available on OTT platform catering to a viewership of 100,000 people of Kerala (South Indian state) origin settled in USA and one of the very few Indian channels in US with original programming.
- Was one of the core team members who successfully executed a unique virtual music reality show, Sing N Win which featured Indian singing talents from across North America, a first for the history of Indian television here.
- Presented production ideas and determined creative scenarios for production and delivery.
- Coordinated and followed up with the talents and the internal network team remotely with the workforce and the talents spread across USA, Canada and India to schedule and execute productions. Assisted in massive remote production of over 70 contestants through various stages of the show.
- Anchored episodes in English and Malayalam (the regional Indian language), wrote promo scripts, and directed episodes.
- Planned, ideated and documented the framework, guidelines and digital promotional campaign for the show over 6 months.
- Presented and briefed the stakeholders including contestants, celebrity judges and network executives about the creatives of the show. Garnered support for the show by promoting it in local Indian associations.
- Gave Voice Overs for contestant introductions and promotional videos.
- Spearheaded the content, production, execution and anchoring for the live Grand Finale event broadcast on 31 Dec, 2020 which involved many technical complications of streaming the show live on social media, getting contestants, anchors and judges from India live via Zoom and the talents simultaneously filming themselves remotely by managing production through all stages to completion.
- Interacted with celebrity judges, local Indian associations and communities to promote and garner support for the show,
- Collaborated with network executives to define and propel the show's mission and vision.
- Advocated for organized and streamlined workflow during the show which led to a smoother execution of creatives and increased sponsorship for the channel.
CONTENT WRITER
WE LOCALIZE
, USA
05.2020 - 05.2020
- Wrote creative content called utterances for We Localize's Amazon Lex Bot Project to provide intelligence to the bot regarding real life Indian consumer reactions and scenarios.
- Completed thorough research into assigned topics which ranged in the larger sectors of Finance, Media, Travel and Hospitality.
- Was soon moved into the quality check team to supervise others' output and provide necessary corrections wherever needed.
- Managed competing deadlines with efficiency and therefore was chosen to be part of the Special Creators Club which consisted of the best of the team formed specially for the timely delivery of the project. The team was able to achieve the delivery on time.
FREELANCE CONTENT CREATOR| SCRIPT WRITER
VARIOUS PROJECTS
NEW DELHI, INDIA
07.2013 - 12.2018
- Wrote articles, conceptualized and edited videos for the ItchList.com, an award- winning startup social platform which encouraged users to scratch off things they had always dreamt of doing or itched to do.
- Wrote scripts and gave voice overs for corporate video, a puppetry show for WHO, a film commemorating 25 years of National Human Rights Commission of India and documentaries on Coral Reefs and climate change screened internationally.
CURATOR, FILM/PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL
INDIAREE.COM, INDIA
04.2016 - 06.2016
- Coordinated and organized two online festivals (Documentary and Photography festival) for Indiaree.com, a multicultural and multilingual startup portal promoting Indian Art and Culture based out of Kolkata, India.
- Collaborated with various Award-winning Documentary filmmakers from both India and abroad to showcase their films which were both nationally and internationally acclaimed to get their films screened during the festival.
- Wrote creative promotional and descriptive content to be published online for the festivals.
LECTURER, MEDIA STUDIES DEPARTMENT
GARDEN CITY UNIVERSITY
BENGALURU, INDIA
04.2012 - 02.2013
- Gave presentations on Media Issues and Themes, TV Production,Documentary Film Production and Communication Theory among other subjects to student classrooms using PowerPoint technology.
- Delivered lectures at appropriate pace and pronunciation for optimal audience comprehension by non-native English-speaking students as the University had students from across the globe.
- Spearheaded the formation of the Media Club for the Department of Media Studies in collaboration with the student body and Head of the Department which organized various media related workshops, industrial visits, competitions and film festivals for students.
- Facilitated Film screenings and encouraged discussions on thought provoking questions on gender and representation and worked with students beyond class hours to guide them in various seminars and presentations
- Advocated and promoted the unique teaching methodologies and state of art facilities of the college to national and international delegates through various videos and presentations during admission campaigns.
- Mentored undergraduate and post graduate students to contribute articles for college newsletter and led the content team for the same.
- Organized multiple cultural and academic events for the college like the Teacher's Trove event which saw participation from more than at national level coordinating with various student bodies, faculties across different departments, college management and academicians and industry leaders from the rest of the country.,
- Graded assignments according to strict institutional policies and upheld guidelines for academic integrity while disciplining plagiarism and cheating accordingly.
- Championed the cause of greater access of students to infrastructure necessary for their coursework and assignments like cameras and editing machines.
- Chosen by College Management to partner, host and communicate with faculties and students from across the college for various committees like website development, college newsletter, admission campaign and extra curricular activities and events conducted regularly during the academic year.
DIRECTOR, DOCUMENTARY
BLACK TICKET FILMS
New Delhi, India, India
10.2011 - 11.2011
- Directed a film on successful interventions in maternal and child health care in Jamkhed in rural India for Public Health Foundation of India under globally awarded independent Indian media firm, Black Ticket Films.
- The film was part of a series of films used by Public Health Foundation of India for policy discussions on health and as a teaching tool in various Public Health colleges.
- Researched material available on CRHP and the area, developed script, liaised with producers, client, and the crew to discuss script and style of the Documentary, directed the film in sync with client and producer expectations yet with individual creativity, determined edit flow and supervised the post-production closely.
- Managed client demands effectively, stuck to the budget and vision outlined by producers as the film had to be visually and aesthetically consistent with rest of the series.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
STAR TV NETWORK, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
MUMBAI, INDIA, India
07.2009 - 08.2011
- As part of Content team in Non-Fiction Department of a top ranked General Entertainment channel of India, worked on more than 10 highly rated Reality shows and Events right from creative planning, to production, post- production,delivery and telecast phases.
- Gave valuable inputs for scripting, casting and other aspects of shows which often included research and preparing proposals and presentations for sales pitches too.
- Involved in creation of shows right from the Research and planning of segments to supervising and giving feedback during production/shoot days.
- Monitoring edits and post-production collaborating with the Creative Head of the network, producers from the Production House and post production crew.
- Came out with innovative and new ideas to package the show from on air Promos to PR and Marketing campaign both on ground and digital promotion.
- Stepped in to take some key decisions and resolved critical issues at a junior level reporting directly to Senior Creative Director when Executive producer and Creative Director were unavailable.
- Adhered to network policies and legal standards.
- Liaised between departments to execute various elements for programming ranging from the Production House, On Air Promotion team, Marketing and PR teams to Graphic Design, Operations, Sales, International telecast and Commercials team.
- Managed and coordinated all post-production aspects, including video editing, motion graphics design, On air advertising and sales commitments, and final delivery to the Operations team for telecast.
- Handled urgent and critical legal and commercial issues coordinating with multiple departments for the same and resolved them avoiding any telecast delays.
- Gathered materials for meetings and contributed knowledge to improve upon pitches and project plans.
- Within two years handled a show independently and was monitoring the work of new interns.
Education
Graphic Design Foundation
Illinois Central College
East Peoria, IL 01.2016 - 05.2016
Master of Arts - Mass Communication
AJK Mass Communication And Research Centre - Jamia Millia Islamia University
New Delhi, India 08.2007 - 07.2009
Bachelor's - Commerce
Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University
New Delhi, India 08.2004 - 06.2007
Skills
CreativityEnglishLeadershipOrganizational skillsPresentation skillsSupervising
Creative writing
Articulate communications
Unique content creation
Event execution
Guest relations
Multitasking abilities
Clear oral/written communication
MS Office
Coordination and Collaboration
TV Production
Accomplishments
Volunteer Positions
- Joint Secretary, Women's Forum, St Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church, Detroit
- Secretary, India Press Club of North America.
- Regular anchor, independent video producer, active contributor to cultural events for St Thomas Syro Malabar Church, Flowers TV USA and The Kerala Club of Detroit.
- Felicitated by Flowers TV USA for outstanding contribution to their virtual reality show production during the Pandemic.
- Led multiple teams at Garden City College which contributed to organizing and execution of various events in the campus at national level.
- Have made presentations on media, film and documentaries to faculty members across India.
- Was recommended for promotion and started handling projects independently at the first job itself after a year.
- Numerous leadership positions and organizational responsibilities and awards in various Art, Media, and Cultural platforms right from school and university days, as a professional and continuing up to today at various community levels.
Certification
Junior Research Fellowship, National Eligibility Test-University Grants Commission,India in Mass Communication and Journalism
Timeline
FREELANCE PRODUCER
FLOWERS TV USA
07.2020 - Current
CONTENT WRITER
WE LOCALIZE
05.2020 - 05.2020
CURATOR, FILM/PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL
INDIAREE.COM, INDIA
04.2016 - 06.2016
Graphic Design Foundation
Illinois Central College
01.2016 - 05.2016
FREELANCE CONTENT CREATOR| SCRIPT WRITER
VARIOUS PROJECTS
07.2013 - 12.2018
LECTURER, MEDIA STUDIES DEPARTMENT
GARDEN CITY UNIVERSITY
04.2012 - 02.2013
DIRECTOR, DOCUMENTARY
BLACK TICKET FILMS
10.2011 - 11.2011
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
STAR TV NETWORK, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
07.2009 - 08.2011
Junior Research Fellowship, National Eligibility Test-University Grants Commission,India in Mass Communication and Journalism
06-2009
Master of Arts - Mass Communication
AJK Mass Communication And Research Centre - Jamia Millia Islamia University
08.2007 - 07.2009
Bachelor's - Commerce
Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University
08.2004 - 06.2007