Job Roles in the Media Sector

Film/Television Producer

Professional Development – A producer would need a number of skills gained from education and training, they gain these skills by doing a full time/part time level 2/3 media course in college and doing work experience to enhance these skills. To be a Producer it would help to have past employment for references for future jobs, a portfolio of your past work and it would also look good on your CV with past work experience. Also, having functioning skills, such as English, maths and ICT skills, this would help to do producer jobs such as email the cast and crew and production companies, right letters and manage the budget.

Professional Behaviour – A producer would have to be a very reliably member of staff with high attendance and punctuality for working hours, doing this would show commitment for the task at hand. The communication skills with other members of the cast and crew would have to constant and clear so they know what they’re doing and how to do it. A producer’s job would be to get involved with as much team projects as they can to oversee that it’s been done right. The time spent on projects would also be the producer’s job so that the production will be on schedule. All of these jobs would be the producer’s responsibility.

Working Patterns – Usually a producer’s work shift would be six days a week and last as long as it takes to make sure everyone is on track and the budget is being managed properly. Producers would usually be freelance so by being self employed they aren’t connected to the production they are working for; if they do their job correctly they may be offered other producing jobs. During their working hours they would produce their own piece of work to be used in the production.

Film/Television Director

Professional Development – The Director of a production would need to have large knowledge on the film and media industry and it would help for them to have graduated from college aswell as university. Having work experience in the film and media industry would also help to give the director an idea of what it involves, gain references by the employees that work there for future jobs and it will help them gain more skills such as, communication and technical skills, having these skills would look good on their CV’s for future job interviews. A critical part of being a director and lots of other jobs would be to have skills or qualifications in Maths, English and ICT to help do jobs such as, write emails and manage the budget with the producers.

Professional Behaviour – The Director would have to be a very reliable member of the crew as he would have to attend during every filming session and also during the editing process to check everything is going as planned, which would show commitment to the project. The director shows they have good communication skills by joining in team projects, asking other people’s opinions on the production and giving help with their work. The Director’s personal responsibility would be to make sure the film scenes go correctly and they are edited properly.

Working Patterns – The Director would have large office hours, six days a week and this would continue till the production is finished. The Director would usually sign a contract with a production company so they have agreed to only direct films for that production company only. During their working hours they would produce their own piece of work to be used in the production.

Camera Operator

Profession Development - The basic education and training needed to be a camera operator includes, work experience to help gain firsthand experience and Relevant courses include City & Guilds courses, BTEC HNC/HNDs, Foundation degrees, first degrees and postgraduate qualifications in media, film and TV production or cinematography. The skills that a camera operator needs would be advanced technical abilities, combined with creative skills, good knowledge on how cameras work such as, the lenses, systems and how to fix them and Creative input and artistic ability are vital. As the decision-making process may take some time, patience is also essential. Having certain things on your CV such as, being a runner for a production company looks good as it shows you’ve been round camera before and how they operate, if you have this the employees you worked with could give you reference to tell the interviewee how you work and how reliable you are. Having a personal website, e.g. a blog, will show employers what you are capable of and how organised you are with work. Also, having Basic English, Maths and ICT skills are useful, for example, they can send emails.

Professional Behaviour – A camera operator would have to be very reliable with their attendance and punctuality, if they don’t meet the directors expectations then they could be easily replaced by a different camera operator, they could so this by showing commitment to the production they are filming and communication skills with other members of staff to show they are friendly and they communicate well. Time management also helps to keep you on track with the work you are doing and to make sure you have some free time for yourself as it is the camera operator’s personal responsibility.

Working Patterns - A camera operator could be either free lance or be doing shift work with a production company, being with a production company would mean they have to sign a contract for a certain fixed term of employment. Camera operator would get paid on an hourly rate for doing a their piece of work which could include putting certain shots in the correct order.

Jobs in the Media Sector

Creative

Illustrator – Illustrators use a variety of ways to communicate their ideas, feelings, emotions and facts to their target audience by using art and design and communication skills, adjusting the mood and style of images. Possible markets included in being an illustrator are; editorial in magazines, news papers and comics, books; advertising using posters and press, fashion (forecasting), merchandising using things like greeting cards, calendars and t-shirts and multimedia with video games and animation. The work activities involved in being an editor include, providing proves for approval, negotiating pricing and deadlines, creating original pieces for self-promotion and analyzing a brief's specification and the text to be illustrated as well as researching sources.

Technical

Camera Operator – A camera operator work with electronic equipment to capture film and television productions. The work is based in three settings; in a studio where the operator follows a script which includes an order of shots and this is practiced in rehearsals; outside broadcasts which include filming live events, music performances and special occasions and on location where there is likely to be more opportunity for creativity through suggesting shots to the director. A camera operator is usually under the direction of a director and may be assisted by a camera assistant, generally typical work activities include; offering advice on how best to shoot a scene, explaining the visual impact created by particular shots, studying scripts and practicing the camera moves required for pre-arranged shots.

Editorial

Film/Video Editor – The responsibility of a film/video editor is to put all the raw footage that has been recorded and make it into a finished product that can be screened in cinemas/television. The material would include footage, dialogue, sound effects, special effects and graphics. An editor wouldn’t be alone as there would be a team editing different parts of the production. Editor would usually be freelancers who may have edited music videos, training exercises or advertisements in the past. The process of the work an editor would do includes; digitally cutting the files to determine the sequence of the film and determining what is usable, creating a 'rough cut' of the programme/film and determining the exact cutting for the next and final stages and inputting uncut rushes and sound, and synchronizing and storing them into files on the computer.

Marketing

Film/Television/Video Producer – The producer is one of the main people in a production, they oversee each project from conception to completion and they may be included in the marketing process. Producers work closely with directors and other important member of the production staff, by working close to them they can easily direct them to make sure they are doing their job correctly. Typical jobs of a producer include; raising funds, controlling the budget and bringing the finished production in on a budget. In hindsight the producer makes sure the production runs smoothly and there aren’t any problems with the budget.

Financial

Executive Producer – The job role of an executive producer has nothing to do with the technical aspects of a production but who is still responsible for the overall production. Typically an executive producer handles business and legal issues. People become an executive producer by investing a certain amount of money to the production, this will add to the budget of the production. a person representing a financial investor in a film project, such as a film studio or a distributor, but who is not directly involved in the day to day production. It can also be someone with other special interests in the project, such as the author of the book that the film is based on, or one of the film's key actors who has been instrumental in persuading the studio to do the film. In such cases, the executive producer credit is mainly honorary.

Legal
Copyright Lawyer – The copyright lawyers of a production are in charge of dealing with people and companies from using their name; if they do use the productions name then the copyright lawyers could take them to court and sue them. Copyright lawyers wouldn’t come in a large number in a production and they wouldn’t deal with any of the technical projects going on. Copyright lawyers would usually be free lancers and won’t be attached to large production companies.

Administrative

Secretary - A secretary is usually in charge of both clerical and administrative support to professionals. Important members of the production team would have secretaries, such as, the directors, actors and producers. They are also in charge of typing up important IT documents, copying them and distributing them to members of the production team. Important roles of being a secretary also involves; booking rooms and conference facilities, using a variety of software packages, such as Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, etc., to produce correspondence and documents and maintain presentations, records, spreadsheets and databases and ordering and maintaining stationery and equipment supplies.

Managerial

Director – A director is probably the most important role in a television/film/theatre production, they are in charge of a lot of things, including, the budget, what actors are in the production and what they do and They realize a design style for sets, locations, graphics, props, lighting, camera angles and costumes. The work activities that are included in being a direct are; reading scripts to identify factors indicating a particular visual style, attending progress meetings, rehearsals and filming to advise on visual presentation and meeting the producer to discuss concepts and production requirements.