Contractual Letter

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to you concerning your recent job advertisement for a digital video producer for your production team. Whilst reading you advertisement I noticed several issues where your advert has contractual, ethical and legal issues and even breaches of legislation.

The first issue with your advert is that you do not clearly state work hours and pay and their relation. You vaguely state that work hours would range from 10-45 hours per week and pay would range from £15,000-£35,000 however you have not stated how the work hours would relate to the pay which could be unfair if someone only worked 10 hours and received £35,000, or someone worked the full 45 hours may only receive £15,000 which is unfair. Near the end of your advertisement you note that "if successful, you must not apply of other positions of this nature" whilst there is nothing wrong with this line in this context, the official contract after employment would need to explicitly state that this is an Exclusivity cause.

Several times during your advert you've infringed The Equality Act (2010). Firstly you have stated that the applicant mus be below the age of 30, this is an infringement as it is discrimination on grounds of age. Secondly you specifically state that the applicant must follow the Christian religion and promote Christian views in the production, section 4 of Ofcom broadcasting codes state that a a religious programme (a programme that deals with  matters of religion as a central or significant part) must not be used to for recruiting susceptible audiences. Also as the applicant is not an employee, certain codes and health and safety legislation that can be affected by this is that applicants will not be trained in dealing with vulnerable people such as the victims you wish to be interview. Also as the applicants are not employees they are not protected by trade unions such as BECTU.

There are also several other ethical issues with your advert including Codes of Practice which are written guidelines for workers and employees to follow. As an employer it is your responsible for setting these procedures, and making sure they are up to date with laws. This is also very important for the work you are advertising as you are asking an unregulated person to interact with vulnerable young people. Filming for the video would most likely also have to take place in prisons as you wish for offenders to be interviewed as well, once again this poses questions on what the Health & Safety would be during this time as applicants (not employees) would be in close proximity to potentially violent offenders. As well as this how you wish to represent the groups can be problematic, you stated that you wished for interview to be carried out with "female victims and male offenders". This is not only biased but can be seen as demonisation of males as you are heavily implying that only males can be rape offenders. This can then lead to social concerns and negatively impact the portrayal and image of the affected group.

As you have asked for high school students to be the target audience I must draw your attention to section 1 of the Ofcom broadcasting codes entitled Protecting Under-18's under the Communications Act (2003) and the Broadcasting Act (1990). This legislation as titled exists to protect young people from serious physical, mental or moral harm due to broadcasting by implementing whats known as a watershed, programmes aired before the watershed cannot breach the protecting under 18 broadcasting codes. The watershed time for the UK according to Ofcom applies to any content broadcast between 21.00 and 05.30. In regards to your video's content the codes that apply are that Violence and dangerous behaviour must be limited appropriately before the watershed this especially applies to imitable and harmful acts. As well as this your video would breach the area of codes surrounding Sex and Nudity which state no representations of sexual acts may be included before the watershed. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) are responsible for classifying media productions in the UK. Due to the subject and nature of your video the production would most likely be rated 18 due to the strong sexual violence you wish to include. This then is problematic for your video as your target audience is 11-16 year old children. Due to the nature of your video the lowest rating you would be granted would be a 15. A 15 rate film can include sexual activity, nudity and violence but cannot dwell on the infliction of injury, show or even reference strong, detailed sexual activity as well as not contain nudity with strong sexual detail. Due to these points you would need to rethink you target audience and the content you wish to include. Finally you ask that "a popular music soundtrack that would appeal to the target audience"should be included and that you would reimburse "up to the value of £20". The problems with this are that you cannot just include a song in your production due to copyright laws, as it is someone else's intellectual property, it can be possible to purchase the track with a commercial use license however this is likely to be more expensive than £20. This then leaves the options of using the song without licence or using "royalty free" music which is available free for commercial use. If someone was to use the song and breach copyright they would then be susceptible to legal action against them for theft of intellectual property. If someone was to use royalty free music however they may then be given less consideration from you as they have deviated from the application brief.

Yours Sincerely,

C. Huxtable

Careers Booklet Tasks

Task 1

Make a list of the skills you would be able to take to a job at the moment, and think of examples to support each one.

1) I am Dedicated - Though it may take me slightly longer than others I will always see a project through.

• I recently was one of a group of 5 who volunteered to make a promotional video for Creative Collisions, 2 later dropped out, but I was one of the 3 who delivered the final video despite being slightly out of my depth.
• Throughout school I have taken part in several different types of performances including performing in a choir on a stage in the market place in Year 3, playing Demetrius in the year 5 production A Midsummer Nights Dream, and Singing on stage in the Christmas Karaoke when I was in Year 7 despite having (and still having) massive stage fright.

3) Reliability

• An example of me being reliable is that I have never missed a day of work.
• I volunteered at a film festival over 3 days in august 2016 and was only late on 1 day due to circumstances out of my control. Despite this I reliably managed a venue and promoted the festival.

4) Creative

• I run a YouTube channel and make all my own content, including things such as channel art and thumbnails.
• I have made about 10 short films to date ranging in length from 30 seconds to 8 minutes. This includes 7 films made as part of college work. 2 films one 5 min live action, the other a 30 second stop-motion animation as part of the BFI's Film Academy. And 1 promotional video outside college for Creative Collisions.
• I Have also "written" to varying degrees, several of these productions including The Race (DepicT), PG Tips Ad (re-branding), coming home music video. As well as co-written The Drop (induction), Video Game Crash (Documentary 3MW), and the unnamed stop motion animation short. I also wrote Hostage the film I made for the BFI Film academy, Believe a 10 minute short screenplay and am in the processes of co-writing the pilot for a web series.

5) Helpful

• I regularly help my neighbours by pulling their bins down to be collected, as well as feed their cats when they are away.
• I helped out Fay and Vicky twice when they made their music video. I helped by covering the equipment with fays umbrella during a slightly rainy shoot, as well as operating a fan during a green-screen shoot to imitate wind.
• I often volunteer/volunteered at college/school events as a student ambassador during  my free time.

Task 2

Research, define and explain the following terms by relating them to yourself when necessary.

Full Time: Working/studying a full week.

Part Time: Working/studying a part week.
GCSE: General Certificate of Secondary Education sat by 15/16 year olds at the end of High School
AS, A Level: A levels are qualifications sat by some 17/18/19 year olds at Sixth Form colleges, these are earned after 2 years of study in a subject with the grade achieved via exams. AS levels are earned from exams at the end of year 1 of an A level.
Level 2, Level 3, Level 4: A Level 2 qualification is equivalent to an A*-C grade in GCSE . Level 3 qualifications is equivalent to an A Level. Level 4 qualifications are those similar to BTEC Professional Diplomas.*
Pass, Merit, Distinction: These are the grades associated with BTEC courses with Pass being the lowest pass grade and Distinction the highest.
Vocational: In vocational courses such as BTECs the end grade is not judged through exams but practical work and coursework.
Bachelor/Master of: A Bachelor of Film would be a graduate of a Bachelor of Arts Degree (BA) at university. A Master of Film would be a graduate of a Master of Arts Degree (MA) at university
Graduate (Undergraduate/Postgraduate): A Bachelors degree is earned during undergraduate study at university. A masters degree is earned during Postgraduate study at university meaning after you've graduated from an Undergraduate Degree.

After completing my GCSEs at High School I came to 6th form college to study BTEC Creative Media Production courses, Film & TV, and Games development at Level 3, and during my first year I also studied BTEC Engineering at Level 2. I study these courses full time which means I'm in college every day (Mon-Fri, 09.50-15.40). I work a part time job at Haven Seashore I work 4 days a week doing 3.5/4 hours each of those days. After college I hope to go to go on and study a BA (Hons) Degree in Film & Moving image production at Norwich University of the Arts.

*https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
http://www.learndirect.com/help/advanced-learning-loans/what-are-level-3-and-4-qualifications/

Task 3

List any 3 jobs mentioned in class you may have already been considering. What is the role? What does it entail? Do you need specific training or skills?

1. Director - A Directors job is to visualise the production from script to film and keep all the departments on track during all stages of production. There is no official qualifications for becoming a director, and many people take different routes to getting there, some attend film school etc... others may turn to it after being editors, Cinematographers, Actors etc... for a large chunk of their career. Many directors started out their careers as runners and slowly built their reputation and moved up the film hierarchy to becoming a Director. To be a director you need to be confident, a strong leader, motivational, creative and have great attention to detail.*

2. Screenwriter - The Screenwriters job is to write the screenplay for a production, this will take place before the production can be green-lit by a studio and can entail  writing an original screenplay or adapting an existing media text/production for the film such as a book, theatre production etc.. into one. You don't need a formal qualification to be a screenwriter but it can help to study a screenwriting course to maximise your potential in writing. Screenwriters need to be creative, reliable, dedicated, organised and understand story plot and narrative in ways that will affect the audience.*

3. Editor - The Editor pieces together the footage from the production into a coherent film. They often will work closely with the Director to achieve this. No qualification is needed to become an Editor but film courses often offer specialisation in Editing or you can work up from being a Trainee Editor. An Editor needs to have great attention to detail, be creative, patient, organised and understand storytelling, rhythm, pace and tension.

*http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/758_director
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/film/job_roles/3078_screenwriter
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/film/job_roles/2940_editor

Task 4

Research, define and explain methods of recruitment in the creative industries.

National Press - The media industry can place advertisements in newspapers. This is a good way of recruiting older more experienced potential employees however younger potential employees are less likely to see these adverts as not many read National Press. An example of National press is The Guardian.*

Trade Press - Trade press advertisements are better than national press as the readers will all be people in the industry as that is the target audience of the publication. An example of a trade press is Sight & Sound a film magazine published by The British Film Institute.*

Internet - Industry employers can use the internet in many way to recruit people through social media, company websites, networking websites etc... Through the internet you can reach a very large demographic of potential employees.

Trade Fairs - A Trade fair is an exhibition organised by employers and companies in an industry to promote products, services etc... as well as jobs available. These fairs can range in size but will generally be a good place for recruiting as potential employees will purposefully attend these to find/find out about available jobs.

Word of Mouth - The spreading of information through word of mouth would not be the best method of recruitment. This is because the relaying of information would tend to top after a small distance. Someone may tell a friend/family member they know about an opportunity they've heard about but they will not tell every random stranger they meet.

Personal Contacts/Networking - Networking is exchanging of details/information between people/groups to develop contacts. Networking can be done in different ways such as meet-up sessions or online on networking websites like Hiive*. This is a good recruitment method as only

 people already part of the industry (or recently joined) will attend sessions or/and make accounts on the sites. I have attended a networking even between graduates of the BFI's Film Academy and I am part of both a local and national private Facebook group for BFI Film Academy Alumni

*https://www.theguardian.com/uk
http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine

https://app.hiive.co.uk/about-us/

Internal Promotion - Companies often promote people to higher jobs within the company this is known as internal promotion. This is done as a employee can build a good reputation for themselves and progress further. As part of this companies such as the BBC will often have an Internal recruitment board for already employed workers looking to climb the ladder.

Task 5

In word create a C.V. for a Media Job.

Task 6

Research, define and explain the following and relate them to yourselves and your past experience.

Portfolio- This is a collection of work that show a persons capability. Universities may often ask for a portfolio when applying for more practical course such as Arts courses like Fine art or Film. You can also include a portfolio in a job application etc... Portfolios can be either physical (art etc...) or electronic (film etc..) or a mix of both. An example of a portfolio is this blog as it keeps a record of all my work over this course and I can use it as proof of experience etc..

Showreel- A showreel can be a film, partial film or a video cut together from multiple past projects used by the maker to showcase their skill to potential employers or University. When I applied for Norwich University of the Arts one thing they asked for in my portfolio was a 5 minute film (or two or three shorter films that would not go over 5 mins total). As one of the skills they focus on in their course is narrative they specifically asked for full short film(s) and not an edited showreel. In my portfolio I used my 5 minute film from the British Film Institutes Film Academy that I was part of in early 2016.

Personal Website- A website produced by someone purely for their own use. These can often be used by the creators for their online portfolio, blog etc...

Task 7

Research the following presentation skills/methods and explain what is good practice for each.

Interviewing Skills- During an interview good practices are to be professional, know the job your going in for so you can answer questions about it, dress to impress, be precise with answers (don't ramble), be a good listener - it looks bad to keep asking for repetition of a question.

Presentation Skills- Keeping a good image with an employer is key, look your best, be respectful and well mannered, show passion for the work, make eye contact - if your eyes are darting around your telling them you don't want to be there.

Self-Presentation:

• Linguistic codes- During an interview you need to watch what you say and stick to professional language, this means not using slang terms or profanity.

• Dress codes- To give off the best image in an interview you want to be wearing smart clothing such as a suit, this help to give a more confident image of yourself and looks more professional than baggy trousers and a t-shirt to possible employers.

• Interpersonal skills- Interpersonal skills is the term skills relating to your interaction with other people, such as co-workers. Being a good listener, not talking over others are examples of good interpersonal skills.

References- When applying for a job you will usually be asked to provide references from previous employers. You potential employer will do this to get an unbiased opinion on things such as reliability and interpersonal skills, as people will generally overstate/overplay their skills when writing their CV. A good or bad reference can be the difference between getting the job or not.

Task 8

Research, define, explain the following terms.

On Job Training (OJT) & continuing professional development- On the Job training is where a company will hire you then show you the ropes of the job whilst you are doing it, as opposed to holding one or several training days before you officially start. Some employers even use OJT as part of an interview, for example to see how you interact with customers. Continuing Professional Development is where you and your employer track and document skills, knowledge and experience you gain throughout your work. This can help you to keep developing skills in which you may need more improvement in.*

Self-training- Learning skills in your own time at your own pace.

Sources of Information:

• Trade Union- A trade union is an organisation of members made up of practitioners of the trade and exist to protect their right/interests. A media trade union example is the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU).*

• Sector Skills Councils- These are employer-led organisations that cover specific industries in the UK. They generally cover these 4 key goals: support employers in developing/managing apprenticeship standards; reducing skill gaps/shortages to improve productivity; boost sector workforce skills and; improve learning supply.*

• Careers Services- Such as the National Careers Service are publicly funded services that provide information, advise and guidance to help people make decisions on learning, training and opportunities.*

*

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/careers-advice/managing-your-career/1318/what-is-continuing-professional-development-cpd

https://www.bectu.org.uk/home

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcasting,_Entertainment,_Cinematograph_and_Theatre_Union
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sector_Skills_Councils

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Careers_Service

Task 9

Identify the opportunities you have had in the courses you currently studying for developing you functional skills (English, Maths, ICT)

1. BTEC Creative Media Production: Film & T.V. 

• English- Film & TV helped me to develop my skills in writing essays on specific/ranging subject

• Maths- Film & TV has helped me to work on my budgeting skills through making budget lists for my productions.

• ICT- Film & TV have greatly improved my ICT skills by teaching me to use software for editing as well as a small bit of software for compositing (effects).

2. BTEC Creative Media Production: Games Development.

• English- Games development has helped me develop my skills in language by having to present and speak in front of the class.

• Maths- Through working out budgets for making a video game via crowdfunding games dev has also helped me improve my budgeting.

• ICT- Games dev has taught me new skills in software such as 3ds Max (3D modelling) and Unreal (game engine).

Technologies in the Film & TV Industry

Consumer Products

In today's world, equipment that would once have only been available to professionals or just non existent that are now widely available to general consumers.

Cameras

With digital film-making the prevalent in today's world cameras that record on tape and film are no longer produced. There are many different types of camera consumers can use for films even DSLRs which generally are stills cameras. In Canons Camcorder store they offer 3 types of filming cameras: Consumer; Prosumer and; Professional. Each have their own target audience, pros and cons.

Consumer (compact) Cameras:

These are canons standard "family holiday" camcorders, most have basic features with a few having slightly more advanced features. When comparing the LEGRIA HF R706 (cheapest model) and the LEGRIA HF R88 (most expensive) we see the main differences are that the R88 has better zoom capabilities as well as a wide angle feature, Wi-Fi and NFC. these cameras usually cost between £200-£400.

Prosumer

A portmanteau of the words Professional and consumer, these cameras are marketed as being for those who want to make  professional looking films for a lower price. these cameras. Canon offers 2 prosumer models the HF g25 and HF g40. These cameras also emphasise manual control. The g40 also has Wi-Fi connectivity. These usually cost between £550-£1000.

Professional

These cameras are Canon's top of the range video cameras. There are only 3 in this category ranging between £1,700-£1,900. The cheapest pro model is the XA30, at £1,750 it is the cheapest of the range and is marketed as the most affordable and versatile model in the range with extensive manual control. The XC10 is the mid cost model at £1,800 however it boasts 4K recording as well as Full HD.

Editing Software

As technology has improved, computers have come into the mass market and digital film making has become the norm due to its low cost (film is expensive) editing software has also become the norm, as it makes the whole process easier and quicker. There are many different software available to consumers these days that range in price. HitFilm offers both a professional and a consumer version of their editing/compositing cross software in the forms of HitFilm 4 Pro (£308.86) and HitFilm Express 2017 (Free). For the one off price HitFilm 4 Pro gives you access to all editing/compositing features so this is best for professionals. For consumers Hitfilm Express is the better option as it gives you the basics as well as a few treats on occasions and lets you purchase small packs to ass on to it when you need them like the Sci-Fi adventure pack, the Destruction pack, the Film looks pack, etc... The only downside with the Hitfilm Products (Express especially) is that they can feel very clunky due to all the features and it being a combination of editing software and VFX software.

Smartphones

As well as the range of consumer/professional cameras available, modern day mobile phones have built in cameras and can be used for both taking photos and filming. My phone the LG G5 has three cameras in it 1 on front 2 on back with the options to film in HD, FHD, FHD60 and UHD and HDR. And with its Quad Core 2.15 GHz processor it is almost as powerful as my desktop PC's Quad Core 2.4 GHz processor.

Satellite & Cable

Satellite TV

Satellite TV is delivered via a signal broadcast from the providers and relayed via Satellite to the consumers location where the signal is picked up by a satellite dish on their roof. Though this is the easiest from of TV signal to access it can be badly affected by weather and obstacles such as dense buildings etc... In the UK Sky one the largest providers of digital subscription TV via satellite.

Cable

Cable TV is delivered via wired connections instead of via satellite. This used to be done via radio signals being transmitted through coaxial cables, but recently companies have started moving to changing these to fiber optic cables which transmit data through pulses of light. Virgin Media is the UK's second largest pay TV service, and uses Cable TV rather than Satellite like its main competitor Sky. The down side to cable is it takes longer and will cost more than installing a satellite dish however the connection will generally be better and less easily interrupted.

Analogue & Digital

Analogue

Analogue television programming was transmitted as a continuous signal which would vary in amplitude depending on the data transmitted. Problems with analogue TV used to be that the signal would easily deteriorate over long distance and which often produced problems through cross source interference creating effects such a ghosts images, static, and a "snow effect" all of which would lower the quality of the broadcasts.

Digital (DTV)

DTV on the other hand is more advanced which uses binary sequences to transmit data. This produces exact and identical image to the source. As well as this unlike Analogue signals digital signals do not deteriorate over distance and requires less bandwidth than analogue. Today in the UK analogue signal has been replaced completely by digital signal.

Internet & Interaction

Internet

The is an interconnected global network, which can be accessed via computer, "smart" products (phone, TV, etc...) and other technology that uses the Internet Protocol Suite. The Internet can be used for an array of activities that can be deemed legal or illegal. We use the internet in legal ways ever day, finding out information, purchasing music off sites like iTunes, watching original content on YouTube or Vimeo, streaming from amazon prime video or Netflix, and even blogging like I'm doing now (hi). However we also use the internet in many illegal ways, downloading "free" music, films and TV shows off of un-associated sites, using copyrighted images etc...

Interactive

We can also use the internet for interactivity, through the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, etc... Livestreaming is the processes of streaming a live video directly and almost instantaneously over the internet until recently this had just been used as video calling or by gamers to broadcast themselves playing games to their audience via services like Twitch however social media site like Facebook and Twitter have added this feature (just not the gaming part) to their social media platforms these all allow audience interaction through reactions and comments. Programmes such as Britains got Talent allow viewers at home to interact by voting for their favourite acts via phone and internet.

High Definition (HD) & 3D

HD

HDTVs allow pictures on screen in "full HD" which means at a resolution of 1920x1080p pixels per frame. Though the highest resolutions currently available to consumers as of 2017 is 4K resolution. These resolutions mean we see more realistically sized images without picture grain or resolution stretch, unlike with old standard definition TVs.

3D

Three dimensional pictures have been around in film since the early 1990's using a form of photography known as stereoscopic photography which created the illusion of depth in a picture. In the modern day digital film making allows for layering of images to create the 3D effect. To view a 3D picture you need to be wearing special glasses that in the 20th century wer cardboard with one red and one either green/blue lens, in the 21st century 3D glasses usually resemble plastic sunglasses due to the switch to Polaroid lenses.

Pay Per View & On Demand

Pay per View

This is where a consumer pays a sum of money to watch a film/programme, this is not a one off payment which means every time they wish to view/re-view something they have to pay again. Some content often includes films, TV shows, as well as sporting events. This can be done from a TV provider such as Sky or over internet through services such as iTunes.

On Demand

On Demand viewing is watching content after it has been broadcast. Pay TV providers such as Virgin Media and Sky will have On Demand programmes for a week after broadcast on selected channels included as part of their packages. As well as this broadcasters such as BBC, Channels 4 &5, etc... have their own On Demand services accessible on devices via internet such as BBC's BBC IPlayer, 4 On Demand, My5, itv Player. Programmes stay on demand services for anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of months. The main difference between On Demand broadcaster services and other streaming services is that broadcaster On Demand services like BBC IPlayer and ITV player are free.

Streaming

There have been many different meaning for streaming in a media context but as of 2016/17 it is generally associated with a user watching/listening to digital media through devices (computer, phone, tablet, TV etc..) over the internet. Streaming does not require a download before watching but does require a decent internet bandwidth to stop buffering form happening (the video repeatedly stopping to load). Examples of streaming services include the On Demand services above as well as sites like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Twitch etc...

Digital Recording

In this day and age, a lot of set top boxes like Virgin Medias TiVo box and Sky's Sky Q box is that you can set them to record live TV programmes and films airing on TV channels. You can then watch/ re-watch these programmes until you need more recording space or you can set them to delete themselves after a certain time frame. You can also set Series Links which means the service will automatically record episodes of a programme of the series you've selected so you don't ever miss any.

Digital recording can also apply to the previously mentioned On Demand and streaming services as the programmes/films available are digitally recorded by the original broadcasters before being distributed to the sites/companies.


Information Sources:
https://store.canon.co.uk/?WT.tsrc=NSO-Site&_ga=2.13362551.1369778522.1498121760-898469400.1498121760
https://hitfilm.com/
http://www.lg.com/uk/mobile-phones/lg-H850
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_television
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_UK
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_television
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Media
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_television
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1245329
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_television
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_film
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay-per-view
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaming_media

Job Roles in the TV and Film Industry

Roles in TV & Film Industry


Most information here comes from a mix of my own knowledge as well as from creativeskillset.org. Where I've used info not from these two sources I will state and link to where I got the information. Money figures used in this post are on a per year bases.
Director


What is a Director?

The Director is the creative driving force behind a films production. Its the directors job to visualise the script from paper onto the screen and to do this they need a hand in each and every area of the film from script edits to casting to the design teams to production to editing to distribution. Directors can also be involved with a script from its conception either having co-written or commissioned it themselves. The Director has to act as the common link between all the departments of the film to make sure everyone is headed in the right direction and working together to get the perfect final product.



How can I become a Director?


To be a director you need to be a confident leader, creative, committed, inspirational and eye for detail. This is due to there being a lot of different departments will rely on you and your creative vision for the production. you also need to be able to keep people motivated and if needed be able to delagate between parties when disputes arise.

There's no official formal qualification needed to be a Director however it helps to have experience, and there are plenty of Film production courses at Universities that offer Direction as a specialisation. That being said with internet video sites such as YouTube, Vimeo etc... it is easier than ever to become a filmmaker and Direct your own productions.

Thomas "Tomska" Ridgewell is an example of a non feature/non main industry director. He is a YouTube Creator and has been since 2006. He has his own company TurboPunch Ldt. and his role within his productions are co-writer, actor, and director. He is known for creating animated and Live action comedy shorts often featuring dark humour.



What about Money?


Directors are paid on a contractual or per project basis and the rates tend to vary depending on type of production and the directors experience. According to PayScale in the U.S. the average director's salary is just under $60,000 (roughly £48,000) per year.*






*http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Film_Director/Salary










Producer






What is a Producer?


The Producer is the only person on set with more power than the Director. The Producer often acts as the link between the Production Studio and the Director. Its usually his job to find a screenplay to make the production, to finance the film, distribute the film, and look after the budget by having last say on locations, shooting scripts, production schedule etc...


To be a Producer you need to have experience in film, be good with business, have excellent communication skills and be good at negotiating.




How can I become a Producer?


Once again there is no specific qualification needed to become a Producer but experience is always a benefit to have and will show you know what your doing.




What about Money?


Once again the money a producer earns will be based on the production type and their experience and will most likely be on a contractual/per production bases. According to PayScale the average U.S. Produce earns about $67,000 (roughly £53,000)*






*http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Film%2fTV_Producer/Salary




Editor






What is an Editor?


The Editors job is to work closely with the Director to piece together the footage into a coherent film. An Editor will often work with the Director from the start making sure the maximum potential of the screenplay will be able to be realised during post production of the film. They must be able to keep in mind the coherence of the film as they more often than not will get footage sequences out of order to edit. To be an editor you need to have a technical aptitude, experience, understand rhythm, pace and tension. as well as have a great eye for detail and a lot of patience
How can I become a Editor?


Like other Media positions there are no formal qualifications you need to become an editor, however experience is key, and most people will spend a few years as a trainee followed by a 2nd assistant (on big budget films), first assistant then Editor however it can take a long time to move away from being the assistant editor as to be an editor you need to be able to lead the assistant editors as well.
What about Money?


The average pay for an editor in the UK is roughly £24,000*. but once again this is subject to experience and also on whether its a contractual/per production basis.






*http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Film_Editor/Salary




Director of Photography (Cinematographer)






What is a DoP?


The Director of Photography is overall responsible for the Camera crew and making sure the visual style of the film is realised. To do this they work closely with the Gaffer, who is in charge of lighting, the production and costume designers and the hair & make up departments. To be a DoP you need a good knowledge/understanding of the filming processes, considerable industry experience, be quick at decision making, as well as being creative, great at communication and a great eye for detail.
How can I become a DoP?


To become a DoP you will usually work your way up the camera team from 2nd assistant camera operator to camera operator before possibly becoming Second Unit DoP, before finally becoming DoP.
What about Money?


A Director of Photography in the US will earn roughly $72,000 per year, this once again will be based on experience and type of production.






*http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Photography_Director/Salary




Sound Recordist (Sound Engineer)







What is a Sound Engineer?

A sound engineer record sound this can be on location or in a studio and do their best to ensure the highest quality sound is recorded at the time of filming. Sound Engineers are responsible for producing the final sound mix, so they directly supervise the Sound Assistants and Boom Operators as well as occasionally managing the rest of the sound crew. To be a sound engineer you need to be a strong team player, willing and able to compromise, have excellent hearing, balance, agility and a good sense of timing and have good communication skills.
How can I become a Sound Engineer?


You don't need a qualification to be a TV Sound Engineer. However you do nee to able to show a strong interest in sound and the understanding of its properties. There are plenty of Sound oriented degrees available to gain the in depth knowledge of sound. Though working your way up from trainee to assistant etc.. is still another option.
What about Money?


A Sound Engineer in the US can expect to earn on average about $43,000*, depending on experience and type of production.






*http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Sound_Engineer/
Production Designer












What is a Production Designer?


Production Designers are in charge of the entire art department on film crews. They must carefully calculate how much of their budget will be spent. They will also consider whether there are design elements that may give more depth to the film and whether CGI is needed. Production designers create design sketches that the art directors will then use to create technical drawings and models of before the construction teams can then bu,ild the sets. To be a Production Designer you need excellent visual awareness and design skills, expert knowledge of many art and design subjects including draughtsmanship, technical drawing, colour theory, architecture, building and construction, interior design, lighting etc..., show excellent management and leadership skills and have good communication and presentation skills.
How can I become a Production Designer?


As the head of the largest department on a film crew, you must have extensive experience gained over a number of years and preferably be a graduate of art related courses such as art, architecture, theatre, 3D design etc...
What about Money?


The average salary for a production designer is about $130,000* however this will depend on experience and type of productions.






* according to http://work.chron.com/salary-movie-production-designer-5812.html




Researcher







What is a Researcher?


It is the Specialist Researcher's bob to make sure every detail on set is as authentic and believable as possible. To do this they work closely with the Production Designer. Specialist Researchers can spend a large majority of time talking with curators, academics and other experts to learn as much about a particular subject as possible. To succeed as a Specialist researcher you need to have good general knowledge, have a good understanding of research resources, be highly organised and have good communication skills.
How can I become a Researcher?


To become a specialist researcher it is recommended but not necessary to have an arts degree but it is preferred you have previous experience in the art department on films.
What about Money?


A researcher is expected to earn an average of £35,000*, depending on experience and production type.






*https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/job-profiles/media-researcher#salary
Location Manager







What is a Location Manager?


The Location Managers' primary role is to identify and find ideal locations for a film shoot which can ake months of research and scouting. When finding a location they need to take into account accessibility, the shooting schedule and budget and also negotiate terms of the crew/vehicle access, parking, power sources, catering requirements as well as any official permissions that may be needed. During production they keep crew and cast informed with the aspects of the locations such as where it is and how to get there. To be a successful Location manager you need to be committed as usually the first to arrive and last to leave it is your job to make sure the location is left in a satisfactory state after filming. You also need to be reliable and enthusiastic, have good negotiating skills, excellent organisational skills and have plenty of initiative. It is also a good idea to have a full driving license and a vehicle.
How can I become a Location Manager?


You don’t need a formal qualification to become a Location Manager though health and safety training is a useful thing to have. You can get into being a Location manager by moving up that department from Location scout to Location assistant to Location Manager.
What about Money?


Location managers can expect to earn somewhere between £22,000-£36,000* depending on experience and type of production






*https://www.allaboutcareers.com/careers/job-profile/location-manager
Camera Operator









What is a Camera Operator?


Camera Operators carry out the Director of Photography’s (DoP) and Director’s instructions for shots. Camera Operators can liaise with the Grip and other Heads of Department, to keep them informed about how the position/movement of the camera might impact their dept. During shooting Operators will be responsible for the aspects of camera operation, this allows the DoP to concentrate on lighting and overall visual style. Operators have to make sure the camera and equipment are prepared for the required set-up. To be a Camera Operator you need to know how to operate the camera expertly, provide creative input, have a good sense of visual composition, perspective and movement and be able to collaborate and work as part of a team as well as have precise attention to detail.
How can I become a Camera Operator?


There are no specific qualifications needed to become a camera operator though film schools can offer good basic training in camera useful. Photography skills are also a good bonus. You can get to this position through being an on set camera trainee. The role of camera operator can lead to being a DoP.
What about Money?


On average in the UK camera operators can expect to earn roughly £30,000*




*http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Cameraman/Salary
Runners







What is a Runner?


There are several different types of runners in film, from production to Floor runners

A floor runner is the entry-level position within the film industry. though many Directors, Producers and Technicians have begun their careers as runners. Floor Runners will usually be instructed by the Assistant Director and are generally there to run errands including conveying messages, organising props, looking after cast and crew (e.g. making tea and coffee), driving, delivering technical equipment, and following specific requests from the Producer, Director or Assistant Directors. To be a good floor runner you need to be reliable as small delays by you can become big delays for the production. You also need to have a 'can do' attitude, complete tasks efficiently and quickly, be observant, reliable and organised.


A production runner will mainly be used by the Producer, and can often have off-set responsibilities in the production office such taking calls, filing paperwork and data entry as well as this they may arrange lunches, dinners, make transportation reservations, do photocopying and general office administration, they may also distribute production paperwork such as call sheets, health and safety notices etc... To be a successful production runner you need good organisational and administrative skills, be able to work without supervision, be tactful and diplomatic and have good communication skills.
How can I become a Runner?


As a runner is an entry level position on a film no qualifications are required. However it can more often than not be required for you to have a full driving licence and a vehicle.

Getting experience as a runner can be beneficial for anyone who wants to work in any part of film making, this is because as a runner you can build a reliable reputation and through that connections which can help you move into the area you want to be working in
What about Money?


As the most ebntry level position on a film set a runner wont get paid an annual salary but a hourly one instead. In the UK this can range from around £7.50-£13.38 per hour*.






*https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/runner-broadcasting-film-video#salary

Ownership & Funding

Ownership Concepts

Public Service Broadcasting

Public Service Broadcasting refers to any form of media broadcasting (TV, Radio, etc...) that is solely intended for public benefit rather than commercial benefit. A good example of this is the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Unlike commercial broadcasters, the BBC operate through the use of an annual T.V. License fee of £147 per household*. This fee then goes toward funding the BBC's TV, Radio and online services.

*http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ1

Commercial Broadcasting

Commercial Broadcasters are run by private companies and are generally run for profit. Unlike a PSB their funding comes from selling advertising slots between their content. An example of a Commercial Broadcaster is Sky UK. Another example of a Commercial broadcaster is the radio station The Beach, who also use advertisement to run their service.

Corporate & Private Ownership

A Privately owned media company is one that is owned either by an individual or a small group and is distinctly operated For Profit (to gain money). Corporate ownership is still for profit but is instead run by a corporation and is more associated with mass media. An example of a privately owned media company is the Guardian Media Group. An example of a corporately ownership is a company oowned by one of the "big six".

Global Companies

A global company will operate all over the world. These days a lot of companies become global through acquisition of other companies either in the same or other areas of production. An example of this would be Disney which is known as one of the "Big Six" corporations that own a large majority of the world production through owning and controlling a large number of companies that would have otherwise been their rivals.

Vertical Integration

Vertical Integration is where companies/businesses in different stages of production merge. An example of this is that Warner Bros. own not only the production companies of their film & TV efforts but the distribution companies as well.

Horizontal Integration

Horizontal Integration is merging companies/businesses in the same stages of production. I've used an example of this earlier on when I talked about the "Big Six". When you look at one of the big six corporations, for example Disney, they also own ESPN, PIXAR, and MARVEL STUDIOS, 

Funding Types

Licence Fee

A licence fee is an annual charge required to watch/record live broadcasts from public service broadcasters such as the BBC.

Subscription

A subscription is where you pay a monthly/yearly fee to gain access to content. The online streaming service NETFLIX operates on a subscription basis charging different monthly tariffs for more perks.

One-Off Payment to Own Product

This is where after paying an upfront fee you then own the product. Music services such as iTunes, Google Musics, Amazon Prime Music use this method off payment though they also offer subscription services (such as Amazon Prime Music, Amazon Prime Music Unlimited). The difference being after the One-off payment the person owns that, in this case music track, forever but when the subscription runs out or is not renewed they loose access to that music unless they renew the subscription or buy the track(s).

Pay Per View

In the UK some TV providers can offer Pay-per-view services via satellite/cable/internet. In the UK this service is mainly used for film services with an example of Sky Box Office as a service. Sky will charge the viewer a certain amount to watch a film, and they will continue to charge the viewer every time they re-watch that film unlike with a One-off payment service.

Sponsorship

A Media Broadcasters can offer sponsorship to advertisers. This is where advertisers pay the companies in order to associate their product with a certain TV programme or radio programme etc.. viewers/consumers will then see the product associated with their favourite programmes and then will be more likely to buy them. An example of this is Sky 1's comedy-sport panel show and road trip spin off, A League of Their Own and A League of Their Own US Road Trip are sponsored by Right Guard. This means Sky 1 play small advertisements for Right Guard directly before and after commercial breaks, also in A League of Their own the final sporting challenge is also known as the Right Guard challenge and will have right guard branding as the challenge is revealed/during the challenge.

Advertisement

Commercial Broadcasters can sell advertising space between their content for other companies to promote their services or products. The company purchasing the advertising space will then pay the broadcaster when the advert is viewed.

Advertising can also be used on online platforms such as YouTube, where for content creators it is the source of income provided by YouTube. Advertisers make deals with YouTube who then place adverts in front of a creator's video. The advertisers then pay YouTube a certain amount of money per 1000 views (aka CPM or Cost Per Mile) of the advertisement in front of that video. YouTube then gives 55% of that money to the creator and keeps 45% for themselves.

Product Placement

Product Placement is a form advertising where a company pays the advertiser to include their product in their production. This can be done across film, TV, radio and online video.
An example of this would be content Creators (YouTubers) on YouTube such as Thomas "Tomska" Ridgewell, who make deals with the companies themselves (with out YouTube as a middleman) these companies then sponsor either a single or multiple videos. This can often require creators to place a product in their video(s) for a certain time. In Tomska's video (in collaboration with other Creator Crabstickz) "Bite Me" right at the start of the video plugs Now TV's Now TV box and an example of its content. Tomska purposely makes the placement and sponsorship blatant fro two reasons, one is that he runs a comedy channel and it adds to the hilarity and the second is that there was a lot of drama around YouTubers and hiding that they were making sponsored videos which he was trying to avoid.
Exerpt Example:
Crabstickz: Tom there are Zom-
Tomska: Zombies? I know, I saw them....in season six of The Walking Dead, Available now on Now TV (holds up Now TV box)
Crabsticks: Is this erm...Is this a sponsored video?
Tomska: A guys gotta eat.

Private Capital

Private Capital is money given to a company/business as a loan or investment that is not supplied by government, bank or any other public source.

Crowd-funding

Crowdfunding is the process through rasing funding for a product/venture through contributions from usually a large number of the public. This can be used in media for films, web series, games etc...
After Frontier Developments couldn't get backing from any publishers for its upcoming Space Adventure/Trading Simulator Elite Dangerous, it turned to Kickstarter - a crowdfunding website and afterwards through PayPal donations directly to them via a link on their website. Between November 2012 and April 2014 they raised a total of £1.7 million, £0.3 million over their target of £1.4 million.

Development Funds

The British Film Institute (BFI) runs several funds for filmmakers including for development, production and first feature funding. Their development funding is available to filmmakers who have already produced and distributed a feature film theatrically (in cinema). Their first feature funding is available for filmmakers trying to produce their first feature length film. These funds are available through the distribution of funding the BFI receive from the Lottery.

Styles, Conventions and Techniques of Music Video

The Styles, Conventions & Techniques of Music Videos

Every music video has different ways they stand out, whether they're made with live footage of the artist(s) playing the song or made with a completely absurd narrative that has almost nothing to do with the song. In this essay i will be exploring the different Styles, Conventions and Techniques of music videos.

Styles/Conventions

Narrative/Animation/Allusion

A lot of music videos follow a narrative which is often based on lyrics from the song. The narrative can be loosely or tightly based upon the lyrics or the narrative can even be made to contradict the songs' lyrics.

Pop Rock/Pop Punk trio Busted's 2003 song "Year 3000" fits into a few of the categories I will be talking about in this essay, these are mainly Narrative and Animation but they also use Allusion .

Narrative

The songs narrative in the video is heavily based on the lyrics, most thing we see are a direct reference to the lyrics. A couple of examples would be at the start of the song they say "Stood there, was my neighbor, called Peter, and a Flux Capacitor" and "He told me he'd built a Time Machine like the one in that film I've seen".

Animation

During the video a mix of both live action and digital animation is used if you look at the pictures above you can see an animated cat that has been run over by "Peter's" "Flux Capacitor" and a animated skyline. The picture below that shows a blueprint for time travel which is animated so the car drives through the portal. As the trio travel to the year 3000 their soundings outside the car are animated using a green-screen, this style is then used until they reach the stage where their older selves were supposed to perform then predominantly live action is used with the occasional animated character in the crowed.

Allusion

As I mentioned above the video for Year 3000 also alludes to different things in the lyric and narrative. The first of these is that the song itself heavily references the Back to the Future films. We can see this as the chosen form of time travel the trio use is a car (like the DeLorean from the films) which is referenced to as a Flux Capacitor, one of the main time travel components of Back to the Future's DeLorean time machine. Also around halfway through the video the lyrics say "Everybody bought our seventh album, it had outsold Michael Jackson" which is allusion to the artist, also at this point in the song we see an animated Michael Jackson busking outside Busted's concert performing his signature moonwalk for money.

In-Concert/"As Live" Footage

Simply enough both "in-concert" and "as live" Music videos show/portray the artist(s) performing the song, however the way in which they do that differ. "In-concert" music videos are put together with footage of the artist(s) playing the song live, this can be done with footage from a single performance or from multiple performances on a tour. "As-live" music videos on the other hand are made to look like a true performance, but often the artist(s) will lip-sync to the studio version of the song and the recreation will be directed off scene.

In-Concert

An example of a In-Concert music video is Busted's 2016 single Coming Home. This song was the band's first official new single to be released since their break up in 2004. The song technically has two music videos.

The first was a narrative/lyric video that mainly served to advertise their 2016 comeback/nostalgia tour "Pigs Can Fly", this video was taken down after the tour finished and replaced with another video. The second video was released after their "Pigs Can Fly" tour had ended and was put together with footage recorded live as they played, the video was also spliced with behind-the-scenes footage from the tour.

"As Live"

During Busted's 2002-2005 run they very often used a mix of narrative and as live performances in their videos, though for this section I've chosen just to look at the video for "Air Hostess" a track from their second studio album "A present for everyone". The narrative of the video is as the trio are leaving a plane they spy two Air hostesses making their way to their flight, attracted the trio run after them, sneak onto the plane and proceed to mess around and flirt with them to try and impress them. throughout the video we also see the band "perform" the song in an airplane hangar and on the plane itself. These sections of the video are "as live" as they would have been directed off screen.

Surrealist

Surrealist videos are usually quite unconventional or "out there". Unlike with other forms of music video a surrealist or absurdist video will have little to nothing to do with narrative or relate to the songs lyrics at all. 

Impressionist

Impressionist  music videos again may not have much relevance to a song lyrics but are more artistic, looking to capture the emotion and feelings of the viewer. These videos will often use light, soft colours.

Techniques

Lip- Sync

Lip-syncing in a music video is the technique of miming the lyrics to the song. This may happen for different reasons such as, an actor can mime the lyrics if they are appearing as the main character/the artist in the video. If the artist is the one in the video they can mime their lyrics to make acting the narrative of the video easier. miming the lyrics in the video can make it easier to sync the audio and video up during editing. During editing parts of the video may use a slow motion affect over-layed over normal paced video. This effect is used in Busted's song "Who's David" from their 2nd studio album "A Present for Everyone during the parts of the video when one of the three are singing.

Editing

Music videos can be edited in different ways, as they're not held to the conventional ways of film-making, which is why we see so much of range of music video styles.

Cutting to the Beat

This is the process of editing a music video so the shots are in rhythm with the beat of the song. For example the first 8 seconds of "Take On Me" by aha each shot is lined up with a beat on a drum.

Post-Production Effects

Visual effects can be added to music videos in the edit to make the video more in-depth and impressive. Some effects include green-screen which is used in Busted's Year 3000 to show the animated future/background of the world, rotoscope animation is used in Aha's Take On Me this is where live action is drawn over and made into an animated style, CGI effects Robbie William's Rock DJ features the artist stripping in front of women to try and gain their attention, after losing all his clothes her proceeds to tear off his skin then all his flesh until only his skeleton is left.

Split Screen

This is an effect where multiple separate events are shown simultaneously on screen. This effect can be used to show different part of a narrative at the sometime.

Camera Movements

It is very hard to make an interesting music video with only still shots. To keep audience's attention and make the video dynamic camera movements such as pans, tracks, tilts, as well as crab shots.
In studio session video for Busted's 2016 remake of one of their 2004 songs the camera never stays still and constantly crabs back and forth whilst also panning and tilting, this gives a dynamic feel to a video which otherwise is just 3 people sitting and playing instruments and singing. By creating the dynamic feel the viewers attention is grabbed and it feels like there is actually a lot going on in the video when really there isn't.

Camera Angles/Shot Types

Different shot types, lengths and angles can help a filmmaker create meaning and set the tone within a video. At the start of Bastille's Pompeii we see the singer (the stories protagonist) standing on top of a run down looking building staring out at the LA skyline. To help set the tone of the video the first 14 seconds comprise of only 2 shots, one a distance shot slowly panning and zooming in to the singer on top of the roof, and the other a mid shot behind the singer looking out over the skyline, both are quite lengthy and slow shots this coupled with the fact that there is only ambient sound over this part of the video informs us the tone of the video is sad/dark.