About
Read about our mission and story.
What's VC?
The Video Consortium is a global nonprofit media organization that connects and supports the world’s nonfiction filmmakers and video journalists to tell bold stories that change the world.
By and for filmmakers, our programs help democratize the media landscape by fostering compassionate storytelling, supporting professional and artistic growth, and inspiring audiences everywhere.
Where we're going
Mission + Vision
Our mission is to connect the world’s nonfiction filmmakers and video journalists to tell bold stories that change the world.
We envision an inclusive media ecosystem in which reporting teams reflect the communities they cover, creative careers are sustainable, and storytellers are holistically equipped to cover today’s most pressing issues — and make an outsize impact with their work.
The problem we're solving
The Gap We Fill
The stories we consume profoundly influence how we treat each other, how policy is built, how ideas are shaped, and how we see the world around us. And the people behind these stories — creatives working at the intersection of journalism, documentary film, and social media — play a more vital role in our society than ever before: their work quite literally creates culture and transforms lives.
As old paradigms dissolve to reveal new modes of producing and distributing visual media and as newsrooms continue to pivot to the next industry trend, there’s an urgent need for a cohesive support network — one that connects and supports this diverse new generation that's finding innovative ways to push the ever-evolving medium of nonfiction video into the future.
Syncing our programming with the shifting tides of our members’ needs, the Video Consortium strives to fill this industry void, serving as an organized form of mutual storytelling aid and as the virtual bridge that connects nonfiction creators — of all backgrounds and geographies, worldwide — with resources to wield their cameras with integrity, sensitivity, and humility, in the name of informing and inspiring audiences everywhere.
Our Programs
What We Do
In an industry with innumerable barriers to entry, VC is working to democratize and diversify the field, to ensure that all nonfiction video professionals have the community, connections, and resources they need to collaboratively produce and release compelling, impactful stories. We see filmmaking as a process, not as a club, and our operations reflect this ethos.
By and for filmmakers, VC programs — global and local, in-person and virtual — empower storytellers with jobs, mentorship, strategic connections, and industry resources. Concurrently, led by talented journalists and filmmakers based around the world, we organize in-person gatherings, screenings, and workshops in more than a dozen cities in the United States, Europe, South America, and Africa.
Our programs and offerings are guided by three areas of focus:
Career Development: check out our talent directory, jobs board, community forums, collaborative resources, and virtual workshops.
Relationship Building: get involved in our mentorship programs or attend community gatherings, led by local filmmaking teams across the globe.
Creative Empowerment: the practice of nonfiction storytelling goes beyond technical skill. Join our mental health initiatives, add to the Pay Transparency Project, listen to the Rough Cut podcast, read our ongoing filmmaker interview series, watch VCTV, and more.
Blurred Industry Lines
Why "Nonfiction Video"?
To represent the evolving direction of our field, we use “nonfiction video” as an umbrella term to describe the interconnected sectors of documentary filmmaking, visual journalism, and social [fact-based] media (and everything in between and beyond) — all forms that serve the urgent need for truth in this new age of misinformation.
Today, as the premier nonfiction video network, VC supports and connects all professionals working at this creative intersection — those pushing boundaries behind the camera to make an outsize impact in front of it.
Origins
Our History
The idea for the Video Consortium came during a time of monumental industry change, from visual journalist Sky Dylan-Robbins. Sitting at her desk at The New Yorker magazine in 2015, she craved community in the siloed journalism industry and collaboration within the then-burgeoning digital video scene. Imagining how empowering it would be to connect with the industry’s growing number of video journalists, Sky emailed new hires at Vox, The New York Times, TIME, and a handful of indie documentary filmmakers.
A week later, on a wintry evening at the back of an East Village bar in New York City, this small group of camera-wielding creatives sat together, clinking glasses, trading video secrets, and inspiring each other with their hopes for the industry’s future.
Fast forward a few years; after a dozen local chapters launched, hundreds of industry gatherings produced, thousands of strategic connections (and friendships) forged, innumerable jobs filled and documentaries created, and with the integral help of journalists and filmmakers around the world, VC incorporated as a nonprofit in 2017 and began its transformation into the global media organization it is today.
Join our nonfiction video family.
Become part of VC's growing global network of talented nonfiction video storytellers.
Support Our Programs!
The Video Consortium is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and your contribution is tax-deductible.