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).