DHS movie treatments and proposals

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

All film treatments and proposals submitted to the Department of Homeland Security from January 1, 2003 to the day this request is processed for entertainment productions requesting support, including use of DHS facilities, expert consultation or staff appearance as extras.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Shawn Musgrave

Hello,

Thank you for responding to my request. I have already provided quite a bit of information on the documents I seek, including both a time frame and a description of records sought. I also included one entity within DHS (USCG Film Office) where records may reasonably be expected to be found, although I do not at all limit my request to the USCG.

That is, I have described the circumstances that lead to the creation or receipt of documents. My request more than satisfies the requirement for reasonable description. Please proceed with processing this request in accordance with your obligations under FOIA.

Respectfully,
Shawn

Hello again,

Apologies, I thought I had included the USCG Film Office in my initial request -- I have reviewed my initial request and see now that I did not. Again, I am not limiting my request to the USCG Film Office, but provide it as an example of a DHS component that is likely to hold documents of the kind I seek.

Again, my initial request more than met the standard for reasonable description, and it is the obligation of the FOIA office to use its familiarity with the operations of DHS to identify the most likely custodians of the requested records.

Thank you,
Shawn

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 10, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-HQFO-00330.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 10, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-HQFO-00330.

Thank you for your help.

Ms. Busch -

I just tried calling and got your voicemail. When is a good time to speak regarding this request?

-Shawn

Ms. Busch -

I will be available from 2pm onward at (617) 299-1832.

Thank you for your help!

Ms. Busch -

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me regarding this request.

I've reviewed my notes, and see in DHS Management Directive Number 2231 (available here https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/foia/mgmt_directive_2231_participation_of_the_department_of_homeland_security_with_film_and_television_productions.pdf) that each proposal must include a "DHS Questionnaire for Film and
Television Support."

In light of this and our phone conversation, I propose amending my request to the following:

-An index, roster, database or other listing of all proposal received pursuant to DHS Management Directive 2231

-If the above does not exist, copies of the DHS Questionnaire for Film and Television Support for all projects approved from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2013.

Please let me know if this sufficiently perfects my request?

Thank you again for your help.

Best,
Shawn

Ms. Busch -

Thank you for your help with this request.

Per our phone call, I agree to narrow my request to the following:

-An index, roster, database or other listing of all proposals received pursuant to DHS Management Directive 2231

-If an index is not available, I agree to narrow further to documents sufficient to show the total number proposals received by DHS in each fiscal year for 2011 through 2013 pursuant to DHS Management Directive 2231

Thank you, and please let me know if I can clarify this further.

Best,
Shawn

Hi Maura --

Apologies for missing your call earlier. Thank you for checking in!

What you've proposed sounds great as far as returned questionnaires versus unanswered ones.

Thanks again for the help!

-Shawn

Hi Maura,

Thank you for sending. I will take a look at these now.

Best,
Shawn