Understanding Media

Contracts In Media

The media industry is expanding at a rapid rate given it's wide variety of skills, every company needs a promotional video, a website, graphics for the website and so on. With all these job opportunities swarms a sea of talented creators to fill the roles, in this blog I'll discuss the job contracts and styles that come in the media industry. Contracts are something signed by two or more parties in order to bind them together in mutual agreement, this contracts in the media industry are used to either keep somebody for a set amount of time at your company or to organize payment for their service.

Full time contracts

A full time contract is where a person works for a set amount of time and a set amount of money, the contract will normally expire after a certain amount of time and the person will be up for review to see if they want to renew their contract. A full time contract means working 35-40 hours a week in shifts, depending on the job will depend on the time frame some people will work 9-5 where others might have night shifts at 9-5pm. A full time contracter will work 8 hours a day as standard with weekends off, depending on the company you might be entitled to overtime which is if you work more than your obligatory 8 hours you will be paid for the time you spent however no employer is legally bound to do so.
The Payment for a full time contractor can vary depending on the job, however an employer cannot legally go bellow the minimum wage which is as follows:

• 21 and Over: £6.50

• 18 to 20: £5.13

• Under 18: £3.79

• Apprentices: £2.73

Full time contracts are a complected agreement, in order to protect both the employee and their employer the contract must be solid and contain the following things:

• There must be written documentation of their agreement for employment

• Give minimum holiday pay

• Inland Customs Payroll and tax requests

• An income and expenses payslip

• Minimum sick wage

• Minimum amount of time off, standard is 4 weeks

• Maternity leave pay

• At least minimum wage pay

• Provide a safe working environment

• Liability Insurance 

• Adapt to any Medical Conditions

Part time contracts

A part time contract is where you work less hours than a full time contract and might not have a set amount of hours, part time job wages and hours are normally agreed upon by both parties of the employment as well as for how long. Some part time jobs pay very well, it simply depends on the employer as of when they need you, standard part time job examples would be a corner shop or McDonalds.
Part time contractors need to abide by the same rules in their contract as full time workers when it comes to requirements:

• There must be written documentation of their agreement for employment

• Give minimum holiday pay

• Inland Customs Payroll and tax requests

• An income and expenses payslip

• Minimum sick wage

• Minimum amount of time off, standard is 4 weeks

• Maternity leave pay

• At least minimum wage pay

• Provide a safe working environment

• Liability Insurance 

• Adapt to any Medical Conditions

Freelance

A freelance worker is somebody who doesn't work full time for a set company but instead work for them self's making them self employed. As a freelance worker you would have to find work in an area you are profficiant in, for example if you were a website designer. As a website designer you would not neccicarily work for one set company but instead design and create various websites for various different companies. Unfortunately, being freelanced means there is no guarantee of income every month which is something a lot of people find off putting, this means you would be in charge of your own income and finances so you have to organize your own tax.
In order for a freelancer to get work you need to market yourself and get jobs from clients in order to build a reputation as being a good and reliable worker for jobs. Rather than being employed for hourly work, it's more common in Media for a freelancer to get paid a fixed sum for a job, for example a camera man for a day might be £400 rather than hourly set.

Piece Work

Piece work is where you are payed a lump sum for your service then would be required to perform a task, for example if you were a camera man you might get paid £400 to shoot a music video for a band, now the band could take 2 hours or 10 hours depending on circumstances but you would still get paid the exact same amount. Normally, depending on the work that has been done will depend on whether they pay you or not, they are legally bound to pay you for your work as long as it has been done. However, if you were employed to make a website for their company but the end product is very bad and lazily made then they might withhold payment.

JOBS

Creative

Creative jobs are where a persons creativity and thought goes into the process of making something, this is usually the first step of the creation process and ideas generation. Creative jobs might include writers, concept designers, costume etc. While the creative side might lack the technical aspects and execution of the idea they can come to teams of people who specialize in that. A director would be in the creative category too since it's his vision of the film that is being brought to life and without his creativity there would be no film.

Technical

Technical jobs require a technical understanding of the equipment being used in the production process these are jobs like Camera Operators, Lighting technicians since you need to be an expert in these areas to maximize the quality of the film. All of the technical parts on the set of a movie would be examples such as Sound Design or Equipment Manager, an equipment manager would be in charge of lots of expensive pieces of kit and needs to maintain and clean them regularly as well as being in charge of it's safety on set.

Editorial 

Editorial jobs are towards the end of the production chain once everything has been written and shot it gets brought into post production where it can be edited by one or more people depending on the project. Editorial jobs are not just restricted to Film however, you can get editorial jobs at Newspapers, promotional videos, magazines.

Editing in film is a very complex, while all of the shooting has been done it is in the edit that the actual story is told, a good editor can turn bad footage into an interesting story. On a set for a film, for example you would need a lot of editors, for example a script editor will make corrections to the story that has been already written, their job would be to change bits around to make it as interesting as possible.

Managerial 

Managerial jobs are primarily about maximizing the teamwork of a group of people in order to get the best end result, this is often done at head newspapers and even on film sets. An example of this position would be an Editor and Cheif at a magazine, their job is to make sure everybody is doing their job correctly, everything that is written goes through this person to make sure there aren't any mistakes. In the work of film there are a lot of manegerial jobs up for grabs, pretty much everything needs managing since there are so many people all working on the same film. Every category on a film set will have a manager such as, Catering Manager, Equipment Manager, Unit Manager, Transport Manager etc.

Administrative 

Administrative jobs are very similar to Managerial except they are normally the people that tell the managers what to do and where to be. Administrators normally do the jobs behind the curtain such as financing, accounts, transport organization, health and safety, etc. An administrator will have a lot of responsibility for organizing things that could easily become cluttered and confused, they may have to deal with a lot of paperwork and making sure everybody is where they need to be at the right time.

Legal

Legal is arguably the most important part of any production, without legal you and your team of people aren't protected in the event something goes wrong. Not only do the legal team protect you when something goes wrong, they also put in the preventative measures to stop things going wrong in the first place. A legal team on a film set would be closely involved in the health and safety aspect of the creation, they would also help with the risk assessment since if something went wrong without these in place you would be in some serious legal trouble and have the potential to get sued.

Financial

Financial jobs are about handling money and expenditures, in the cases of large budget movies this can be a very large task when you're handling hundreds of millions of dollars. Finance on a film would be organizing all the budgeting for how much everything is going to cost, how much everybody is getting paid and when and how. If you have a film set of 200-300 people all wanting to get paid different amounts at different times for different jobs it can get easily confusing.

Producers work in both TV and film, in fact most small or large productions will involve a producer because their job is so important, their main role is to watch over a project and make sure everything goes smoothly and according to plan. Of course, the Director and Producer often work hand in hand since they're both in charge of the creative process, the director has the vision and the Producer has the organisational skills. A Producer will often be in charge of the funding for the project, if the Director says he needs something the Producer will either have to say yes they can do it, no it's not possible or have to try and find the money from somewhere.

Normally if there is a good script that needs to be made into a TV series or a Film a writer or company will come to a producer and say they want it created. At this point the producer will need to find money for the project, cast and crew, makeup, camera men etc but importantly the Director. Sometimes the Director will already be assigned in for example a large TV show the station might ask a director straight away.

 Your work might include:

• deciding which projects to produce, or creating programme ideas yourself

• reading scripts

• securing the rights for books or screenplays, or getting writers to produce new screenplays

• raising finance for projects

• pitching to television broadcasters to commission your programme

• identifying sources of film funding and pitching projects to investors

• assessing what resources will be needed

• planning the schedule

• hiring all the necessary technical resources and support services

• recruiting key production staff and crew, and being involved with casting performers

• editing scripts

• managing cash flow

• making sure that the entire production stays on schedule and within budget

• overall responsibility for the quality of the production.

Your income as a Producer will vary from project to project, working on a independent film won't pay nearly as well as say producing the new Marvel film. Some successful producers can make upwards of £80,000+ a year. From research one of the most important skills required to be a successful producer is experience, you will need to have an extreme understanding of the complete production process. Most Producers start off as runners or production assistants before climbing the ladder to the role they want.

Here's a list of things you'll need to be a TV or film producer:

• solid experience in the film or TV industry

• a good knowledge of the production process

• excellent communication and people skills

• creativity and vision

• good presentation and negotiation skills

• leadership and management ability

• good planning and organisational skills

• financial skills and budget awareness

• confidence, assertiveness and motivation.

Camera Operator:

A camera operator is another cog in the film making works, a camera man is the person who simply operates the camera to the directors instruction and vision. Camera Operators have all the responsibility of capturing the actors in all the right technical settings, there are different types of Camera Operators since there are so many variations of Cameras, on a large film set with an endless budget there would be a Camera man, a Camera assistant and an equipment manager. Camera Operators are used not only in Film, they will be used in TV, Football Games, Live events, News, Adverts and since every company needs an advert a good camera operator will never be short of work.
Another word for a Camera OP is a DP (Director of Photography) or Cinematographer, a DP will have more creative control over what the shot should look like since it's his area of expertise.
These are some of the requirements for a Camera Operator:

• assembling and setting up equipment 

• planning, preparing and rehearsing scenes

• following camera scripts

• creatively framing and capturing action

• responding quickly to directions

• liaising with lighting and technical staff

Editor

As an Editor, you can either go freelance or on a annual salary for a company, freelance Editors will use their own equipment to edit the footage and export it into a final movie, this includes adding sound design most of the time, sometimes a sound designer will be brought in.

You will need to show:

• a keen eye for detail and a critical mind;

• creativity and a passionate interest in film and video editing;

• patience and concentration;

• the ability to listen to others and to work well as part of a team;

• a high level of self-motivation, commitment and dedication;

• organisational and time management skills;

• the ability to work under pressure and to deadlines;

• communication skills, both written and oral.

Film and video editors are employed by:

• post-production companies/facilities;

• independent production companies;

• broadcast companies;

• video/computer games companies;

• animation companies;

• film companies.

Director

Director is the central piece of the production, they are the person with the creative vision and the most control over the end product, being a director is often described as being a painter and Camera men, Lighting, sound design etc are all your paint that you use to bring together and make a final product. Often in a successful movie it is the Director, Producer and Actors that get most credit and interviews but there is of course a whole team behind it, the reason this is done is because of a directors unique style. For example a Tarantino film or an Edgar Wright film have a very unique style about them so when one of their new films comes out you're more likely to go and see it if you see the directors name on it.

Some topics may include:

• Sound Design

• Directing

• Lighting

• History of Film

• Screenwriting

• Working with Actors

• Editing

• Drawing

• VFX

Broadcasting Journalist

Broadcasting journalist are often the face of news stories on TV, their job will be to research and investigate new stories before presenting them in snippets on the news with a camera op. In the modern media you will often be required to be able to to most of the jobs, meaning that if you present a small piece they want as few people involved to save money so the presenter will sometimes do the edit as well before quickly sending it back to the news station for it to be broadcast.

The three main ways to break into Broadcast Journalism are an apprenticeship which most stations offer but will be a very competitive position to get, Moving from print journalism to show previous experience and by completing degrees or previous qualifications before an interview.

Lighting Technician

A lighting technician is a job similar to VFX in that if you've done your job correctly nobody will notice, a lighting technicians job would be to set up, maintain and manage the lights for a TV show, Film, play etc. Different lighting can be used to tell different moods in the story, depending on the light can change a scene completely, lots of dark colours show a much more depressing and dull emotion. Whereas lot's of yellows and oranges shows happy and bright emotions.

Location Manager

Location Managers are responsible for all shooting taken place away from a studio or in an un Orthodox place of shooting, most films are shot in more than one location you need to make sure everything is safe and goes to plan when you get there. Location Managers will be in charge of making sure everything gets where it needs to be on time, as well as taking care of anything else such as whoever owns the property, local authorities.

 Depending on the kind of movie you're shooting you might need to double check with the people around you, for example if you were shooting an Action movie with prop guns it would be wise to knock on the doors around the location to let people know you're just a film crew and they aren't real as well as contacting authorities.

These things would be in the Location Managers list of jobs, as well as:

• Arranging travel for actors and crew

• Going on location Rekke's 

• Reading scrips with the writers so you know the locations they want

• Finding Parking Access

• Dealing with Authorities 

• Managing Locals 

• Speaking with owners of sites

• Health and Safety on Location

• Power supplies are available 

• Toilets 

• Catering 

Broadcasting Engineer 

A broadcasting engineers job will require less of the creative side and more of the technical side, their job will be to make sure all the equipment works on the day of shooting and backups are prepared in case something breaks but can't be fixed. Should something go wrong and a specialist piece of equipment breaks such as a drone or a crane then the Broadcasting Engineer will need to have extensive knowledge on the equipment in order to fix or replace it quickly.

Runner:

A runner is generally the entry level job, where you start with the intention of moving up the ladder. Most successful people started as runners but didn't quit, if you stick to it then people get to know your face and hire you for more projects, then give you more responsibility until you move up. A runners general jobs would be Making tea, looking after guests, moving scripts and hiring equipment, getting things in place for shoots.

A runner's job is to do anything to help out, whenever anyone needs it. This may include:

• carrying items, such as equipment, tapes, cable and scripts;

• transporting cast, crew and production staff between offices, studios and shoot locations;

• helping set up a location for a shoot;

• keeping the set clean,

• handing out post and messages to colleagues within the production team;

• delivering post to local clients;

• undertaking basic research;

• answering the telephone;

• photocopying and general administrative work;

• hiring props;

• making arrangements for staff on location, such as booking meeting rooms or ordering food,

• picking up cast for make-up calls;

• ordering stock;

• making and handing out tea, coffee and lunches;

Job Application

A job application is a piece of paper that will normally be given to you by the company you're applying to work at, the reason this is done is to sift through all of the applicants to find the best ones before inviting them into interviews and narrowing it down further to find the right employee.

Portfolio 

Portfolios are a way to display your work to future employers and people who are generally interested in who you are and what you have done, this is most important in the Media industry since it's the first thing people do. As soon as you meet somebody at a convention, an interview or just on a job, the first thing they'll do is go home and google who you are, what you've done and ask people about your reputation before hiring you.

Portfolios come in all shapes and sizes, artists will often have a hard copy of their portfilio in the form of an art book or pieces of work. A website designer will often have their own website which advertises them and their work as well as examples of websites they have designed, wheras a film maker will normally have a personal website to get work through and a vimeo or youtube channel with all their videos on. Most interviewers will want to see visual examples of your work during the interview so if you're a film maker you can either bring a tablet with your videos on or a link to your Vimeo page they can easily look at. 

Professional Website

Almost everybody in the media industry has their own personal website describing who they are, what they do, examples of their work and how you can hire them. The whole purpose of having your own personal website is to get work through it, it's also a very easy way to display your work to future employers. As well as this a lot of people turn their professional website into a blog as well to talk about their work, events they've been too etc. I created my own website, which I can continuously add to whenever I complete work, which will build my portfolio and help me stand out from other competitors.
Here's a link to my website: chealey.me

Work experience and Voluntary work placements 

Work experience can be paid or unpaid but either way you're there for the experience not the money, by doing work experience it's something you can put on your CV to show interest in work and reliability, if you have 3-4 weeks work experience on a film project from 6am until 8pm this shows dedication, interest in the subject, reliability and it shows that you want to be there not have to since there no financial motivation. It would be ideal that work experience would be related to  film making or the area you're interested in but the same principals apply, if you worked in a busy restaurant a few times a week on a night for a year it shows dedication and the same skill set.

Efficiency and Time Management

Efficiency is about doing a good job but doing it to an acceptable time scale and managing your time well, if you're on a photo shoot you can't afford to spend 50-60 minutes getting one shot because you want the lighting to be right, you have to nail the shot and move on since not only will it not leave you enough time for the other shots but there will be a crew of people all standing around waiting for you to get the shot. Being efficient in the work place means that if somebody gives you a job to do you do it quickly and without issues, if you become consistent at this it means that you'll become reliable and you'll be the person people come to with any work.

Being efficient on a movie set means using everything to it's maximum to save the most amount of money thus giving a larger profit, for example if you can use the same location several times while making it look different it will save a considerable amount of money when it comes to moving the whole cast, crew and equipment and this would be using the location efficiently.

Self Presentation and Communication skills

Self presentation is all about presenting yourself in the best possible way for a job. People often say don't judge a book by it's cover but lets face it the first time you meet somebody you make a judgement based on how they dress, speak and look in fact that's why there are covers on books, so you don't need to read the whole thing to know what it's about. If somebody shows up to an important job interview with a v neck t shirt and Juicy written across their bum it reflects incredibly poorly on them. If you're going to a job interview you need to look presentable, it just makes you look more professional and it shows you care about the interview, you took time to prepare for it and you haven't just rolled out of bed.  

Personal Responsibility 

Responsibility is probably the most important one, by being responsible it means a number of things, being responsible means taking responsibility for your actions if you do something wrong, it also means that you're trusted with things. If you're described as being responsible with cameras then you're much more likely to get asked to use better ones and more expensive ones, if you get labeled irresponsible on a film set with 50 or so people and a lot of expensive equipment then you simply won't be invited back.

By being a freelance worker it means a considerable amount of responsibility, you're responsible for finding work, if you don't find any work then you don't get paid and don't eat or pay rent, you're in charge of managing your own finances, in charge of your working hours. Somebody who is lazy and irresponsible would be incapable to be a freelance worker.