TELEVISION & FILM INDUSTRY JOB ROLES

DIRECTOR Directors have overall responsibility for the way films or television programmes are made. The director is in charge of all aspects of a shoot, they are responsible for supervising the placement of cameras, any lighting equipment, microphones and props etc. The director will need to make sure that everything is working before preparing everyone to film. As a director, you would need certain skills such as; creativity, organisational skills and technical knowledge to manage the whole production process. Directors make careful preparations in order to ensure the success of each shoot. Working hours on a shoot would often be long and irregular according to the production's needs, and may include evenings and weekends. The salary would also vary depending on the type of production. The director literally translates a script into visuals. They will have an image in their head of what they want to create. As a director, you would be assigned to many different jobs such as; meeting producers, commissioning scripts, planning shoots, hiring cast. PRODUCER The role of a producer is to deal with all areas of a production that the director doesn’t deal with. This includes overseeing and dealing with certain tasks, such as; legal issues, cast and crew, budget and the marketing of the product. Producers play an important role in the film, television and video industries. As a producer, your main purpose would be to deal with the practical and business side of a project, so that the director and crew could concentrate on the creative side. The producer will have control over who the director is, as well as choosing what actors will play each character. You would manage the production process from start to finish, organising all the resources needed and often coming up with the initial idea for a project. Work would include reading scripts, deciding which projects to produce, pitching to television broadcasters, planning the schedule, editing scripts, dealing with budgets and making sure that the production stays on track. As a producer, you would need a good network of contacts. Working hours and salary would vary.

RUNNER SCREENWRITER As a runner in the film and TV industry, you would work behind the scenes and do any small jobs and basic tasks necessary to help the production run smoothly. Working as a runner is a common starting point in film and TV. The job would allow you to see the different stages involved in production, get experience and make the contacts you need to move on to other jobs in the industry. The hours would vary according to the needs of the production. You may work long and unsocial hours, including early mornings and late evenings as required. Jobs would vary as you would carry out a range of tasks such as collecting and delivering equipment, filing and photocopying, finding props, looking after studio guests, getting lunches and making tea and coffee, answering phones, greeting visitors and keeping sets tidy. As a runner, you could work in any area of film or TV production, including: the production office, a studio set, art departments or animation studios or in post-production editing facilities. Screenwriters create ideas and bring stories to life in scripts for films and TV productions. As a screenwriter, you might develop your own ideas and pitch them to producers. Work would include coming up with ideas, researching background material, developing believable plots and characters, pitching ideas and formatting scripts. You might even spend time networking with agents and producers. Hours and salary would be variable. If you were a freelance screenwriter then you would arrange your own working hours. If you were part of a studio-based writing team, you would be more likely to work standard office hours. In either case you would often have strict deadlines to meet.

CAMERA OPERATOR The main role of a camera operator is to record images for film, television, commercials and music videos. They use film or digital video cameras, following instructions from the production’s director or the director of photography. Their work includes setting up equipment, planning shots, and sorting out technical and lighting issues. Your hours could often be long and irregular, and may include shift work and nights depending on the production. You may also need to be flexible and work at short notice. Work would include setting up and positioning camera equipment, planning and rehearsing shots, choosing the most suitable lenses and camera angles, working closely with other technical departments such as lighting and sound and following a script. Hours and salary would be variable. They must be able to multi-task, and to watch, listen and think on their feet while carrying out complex technical tasks.

MANAGEMENT ROLES Management: The process of getting people organised to help achieve an objective. The managerial role deals with controlling things or people. Management is in charge of planning, organising, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organisation. Under management there is also: -Financial Roles -Organisational Roles -Administrative Roles Examples of management roles are: - Accounts: Production accounting, Financial Controller - Catering: Catering crew - Transport: Transport Manager, Transport Captain - Production Office: Producer, Exec. Producer - Casting: Casting director, casting assistant - Locations: Unit manager, location manager - Health and Safety: Unit Nurse, paramedics, paramedical staff - Distribution: Distributor, Sales agent

FINANCIAL ROLES This relates to funds management, includes saving and lending money. The general areas of finance are business finance, personal, and public finance. The field of finance deals with the concepts of time, money, risk and how they are interrelated. It also deals with how money is spent and budgeted. Different jobs available: -Accounts: Production accounting, assistant accounting, financial controller. -Distribution: Distributor, sales agent. -Publicity: Unit publicist, unit stills photographer.

ORGANISATIONAL ROLES Organisational jobs require an individual to have the ability to manage people, objects or different objects and make sure everything goes to plan and is going to meet the deadline. They are in charge of assigning roles to people, making sure that everyone has a job and that it gets completed. Different jobs available: -Transport: Transport manager, transport captain. -Locations: Location manager, unit manager. -Casting: Casting director, casting assistant. -Publicity: Unit publicist, unit stills photographer.

ADMINISTRATIVE ROLES Consists of the performance or management of an operation, and major decision making. Administration can be defined as the universal process of organising people and resources efficiently within the film production and the different departments, this helps them achieve the goals and objectives they have set and their brief. Different jobs available: -Accounts: Production accounting, assisting accounting, financial controller. -Casting: Casting director, casting assistant. -Health and Safety: Unit nurse, paramedics, paramedical staff. -Locations: Location manager, unit manager. -Transport: Transport manager, transport captain. -Catering: Catering crew. -Paperwork within the company: Pre-production, assistant.

CREATIVE ROLES Creative: A person whose job involves creative work. Creative roles in the industry help to set the scene, they are also a big part of a production as they make it look realistic to the audience. In addition they also help to portray a genre within a film or a different form of media, for example in horror films the creative team play a very important role, as they use make up, costumes and props to set the scene for the part of the film the director is wanting to film. Different jobs available: -Director: Film director, 1 st AD. -Production Office: Producer, Exec. Producer. -Casting: Casting director, casting assistant. -Hair and Makeup: Chief makeup artist, makeup and hair designer. -Camera: Camera operator, script supervisor. -Performing: Actor, choreographer. -Music: Composer, music supervisor. -Props: Prop maker, prop master. -Script: Script editor, screenwriter. -Lighting: Best boy, gaffer, moving light operator. -Costume: Costume designer, costume maker. -Construction: Construction manager, model maker.

EDITORIAL ROLES Editing is the process of selecting and preparing material by correcting, considering, organising and other modifications, to convey, correct, consistent and complete information. This is part of the post-production process. Different jobs available: -Editing: Editor, post-production supervisor, assistant editor, title designer, 2 nd assistant editor.

TECHNICAL ROLES Technical jobs consist of making sure that the technology on-set is working and that everything is set up correctly. Often work with the directors to make sure that everything is ready before a production can go ahead. They focus on setting up cameras, lighting and audio etc. Different jobs available: -Studio and Broadcast Technology (TV): Transmission engineer, vision mixer -Sound: Production sound mixer, boom operator, sound designer, music editor post-production. -Camera: Camera operator, script supervisor. -Lighting: Best boy, gaffer, moving light operator.

RESEARCH ROLES Relates to the discovery, interpretation, and development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge. Defined as the “search for knowledge”. Different jobs available: -Locations: Location manager, assistant location manager. -Music: Composer, music supervisor. -Transport: Transport manager, transport captain. -Catering: Catering crew. -Casting: Casting director, casting assistant. -Costume: Costume designer, costume maker. -Props: Prop maker, property master.