job roles and oppertunitys mel

Explain what the following terms mean

Full-time – Producer you work on a full time basis around 40 hours a week, you are a regular member of staff entitled to sick pay and company benefits, full time job roles are usually managerial and editorial as they require you to get to know and control a team of people.

Part-time – Runner you work a part of a full time contract around the rest of your life you will have a set amount of hors you must complete a week and then you can take on more if you can or need to, you will receive benefits like in full time but to a lesser degree because of the decreased time commitment. Part time job roles could be found in marketing and financial sectors of the media industry.

Freelance – Cameraman These are contracts that are only temporary and will only last for the certain amount of time it takes to get the job done, some employers may still provide you with benefits but most will expect free lance workers to sort out there own holiday and pension plans, as they are not year round employers. This is a common form of employment in the media industry for people in technical job roles.

Shift work – Security this means you have set shifts of when and for how long you work every week this is common for people working in televison and radio as for the most part they are broadcasting 24/7 and need people manning the desks and presenting the shows during day and night.

Permanent – Stage Manager Also known as salaried this is a permanent contract by the employer not an agency it is renewed every year or possibly less often than that you are given a yearly salary which is broken down and given to you in fractions each month. The job roles that are usually salaried are usually managerial and creative.

Temporary – Editor "temp" contracts are often drafted in on shorter term contracts to cover employee absence for a varying amount of time depending on the reason for the drafting of the temp. The temps contracts will usually be held with the agency finding them work rather than the employer. This is a common form of employment in the media industry for people in all media job roles especially in the administrative roles as you are relied upon for a project to go forward and you are not freelance.

Multi-skilled – Director This is when you are employed not just for one skill you have but for your large skill set making you a more attractive than the employer hiring multiple staff with limited skill sets. This is a common form of employment in the media industry for people in technical job roles.

Voluntary – Scene Extra This is a form of employment that centres around paying in experience over financial incentive, this is a quite a common form of employment i you want to get into the film industry and gain things to add to your portfolio and gain valuable skills that you can then charge for this will mostly be used by people doing the technical job roles.

Casual – Stage Hand These jobs are when you are thought of as more of a worker over an employee which means you have less employment rights than someone with a fixed hour contract. The casual contract is not normally a permanent employment contract and could be used for seasonal workers who work only a few weeks of the year. This is a common form of employment in the media industry for people in technical job roles.

Hourly paid – Set builder This is a normal employment contract for non salary workers whose hours change so are paid depending on how much you work, the employer agrees to provide a certain amount of hours this could be a zero hour contract and then will then pay you based on how much work you do. This is a common form of employment in the media industry for people in all lower level (non-managment) job roles.

Piecework – Director of photography This is a very common form of employment in the media industry also known as commission work, a contract outlines what you are required to do and by what date and if you complete the project within the parameters of the contract you will be paid a lump sum. This is how many people in the creative job roles find an income.

Recruitment - any role recruitment or head hunting is usually done through a job agency and will find you work for a few weeks or months at a time, most the time you will be paid an hourly rate by the agency not the employer as they agency will gain a lump sum for providing the work force.

Job roles: 

Creative – Script writer  these are jobs that require you to be able yo expand original ideas, requires imagination and team work skills.

Technical – Camera operator These are jobs that require you to work with equipment in order to help create a product, so you need to be able to manage your time and listen to instructions.

Editorial – Newspaper editor  these are jobs that require you to check through other peoples work and make changes if it improves the final product. Requires good grammar and communication skills/

Marketing – Publicity Manager These are jobs that require you to be able to communicate and sell products to people and businesses. Requires good interpersonal skills and communication skills.

Managerial – Production Manager These jobs require the ability to oversee the work of others and help them work productively. Requires excellent communication, time management and teamwork skills.                                                                         

Administrative – Producer These are crucial job roles that allow the media industry it is the process of organising people efficiently within media industry. it requires good team work, time management, communication and grammatical skills.

Legal – Lawyer As the media industry is a creative industry and broadcasts peoples work it requires people to check the legitimacy and navigate copyright hurdles to be able to release work without it being flagged and therefore costing more money to put right. It requires good communication, academic and time management skills.

Financial – Producer  These are jobs that require the person to generate cash flow for the business, and handle the budget carefully. Requires good communication and organisational skills.

What is Professional development:

Education (levels) – College - The first time you can choose learn about media as specific subject and learn about the specific job roles there are and start to get an idea of which one you want to enter into, you are surrounded by peers who have similar interests and specialist tutors.

Training – Once you have left college you have gained a good bank of knowledge on the media industry as a whole you will have made your decision on what you role you want to take up and you will have many options to consider on how to train best on your choice of specialisation whether it be film school or university. It is important to train properly because it will look more attractive to employers to see someone with a specialised skill they want. When you are working you will be expected to find out about new technologies involved By reading filmmaking magazines and by following tech companies (arri, blackmagic etc.) you can find out what skills you will be required to have be able to be a viable option for employers, you can take courses with organisations like the London Film School to expand on your skills.

Work experience –  Once you are fully trained in your chosen specialisation you can start to apply for jobs and hone in your skills, even if the first few jobs do not pay or they are voluntary they will help develop your portfolio and help you improve your skills until you become a attractive asset for a decent paying and employer.

Continuing personal professional development:

Sources of information - In order to stay the top pick for any potential employers you must stay on top on all the technological trends and train yourself on any new software that comes out so you do not get left behind with skills only adapted to an out dated piece of software that is no longer used. This means you will need to develop your skills about every 12 months as that is the rate of release of new software. you can find out about what is being released through youtube or sites like http://www.gizmag.com/.

Curriculum vitae:

CV – A CV is more than a document about your professional and academic achievements its a chance to make sure you make the perfect impression to your possible future employer before meeting them. It gives them a window into who you are as a person so it is important you make it as good as possible. You must make sure it delivers the right message about you and you could even tailor the formality of your cv depending on what job role you are applying for. To put it in perspective, you should remember that on average an employer will only allocate about 30 seconds to an initial appraisal of each application there fore you must make sure your CV stands out for the right reasons and shows the best version of your self. Make sure your cv includes:

• Name and contacts details
  Put your name, e-mail, address and telephone contacts numbers


• Work experience 
  List any work you have done from the present to your first job. Remember, it doesn’t have to have been paid work


• Education and Qualifications 
  List your qualification and the schools or colleges you attained them. You can do this in date order for simplicity


• Key skills
  List any skills you have apart from you qualifications, i.e. – you are good with people or you have IT or nursing skills etc etc.


• Personal interests
  Take a few lines to show any hobbies or pastimes you have (if they relate to the job you are applying for, so much the better)


• Referees

References – it is important to include two referees that are not relatives of you these do not have to been former employers it could be school or uni tutors all though it would be more ideal to have employers as these people have experience of you in a professional environment. Having positive references can do a world of good to your chances of landing the job you want as it gives the employer peace of mind that you are going to be a good an reliable employee.

Portfolio & Showreel – It is important especially in the media industry to be constantly adding to your portfolio any work that you are happy with that you produce should be added to your portfolio even as your portfolio develops your old work appear amateurish leaving it in can be a good idea as it shows your development and shows that you can develop further while working. Any video work you do should also be presented on a show reel this should be your best work and the work you have done which has made the most impact in the industry to show you know how to produce professional work that will get noticed. Portfolios and Show reels are very important as they show an employer what you have gained from your training which they can learn more from than a sheet of grades.

Personal website – In a world dominated by your online presence it is becoming increasingly important that you present yourself online the same way or even better that you would at work because with a search of google a potential employer can find out everything you have done online. So if you have a very sleek and professional looking website that directs them to everything on line that you want them to see rather than them scouring the web for your name, it also shows your communicational skills, which are very important in most job roles.

Career development:

Training on the job – It is likely when starting your job you may need to learn new skills this may mean either learning from your peers who are higher up in your profession or taking more courses. If you are taking over from someone else when you are joining you could get in touch with them and ask for notes on how to best fulfil your responsibilities. Or courses that are taught within your employers company which train you how to fulfil your role best.

Continuing professional development – This is is especially common in the media industry as your skills will become less useful the longer you are out of eduction because everything updates so fast, this mean your employer may place you on a night class or an out of work uni training course to help train you to become completely up to date with what you need to know and keep you skill set intact.

Self-training – This has become much easier since the dawn of the internet, you can now take online courses and watch youtube videos (film riot) to train your self and keep your skill set up to date in your own time, most of the time these resources are free or at the very least very cheap and can expand your professional skill set and there for earn you more job roles and therefore more money.

Professional behaviour:

Attendance and punctuality – In order to make a good impression to your employer you must make sure you try to be as punctual as possible this is is especially important in the media industry. An example of lack of punctuality effecting your position in the media industry is if you were working as a camera man in a TV production where everything is timed and scheduled down to a minute and you turn up late when everyone else on set has been ready, you are costing the production company money as they will be paying the other crew members to wait for you and they will find someone who can turn up on time, this situation would be the same if your attendance was poor as well as if you failed to turn up the production company would just hire someone else who isn't costing them money.

Commitment – Employers will always be impressed by enthusiasm and commitment to a job role, this means that no matter what job role you are assigned to you should try and complete it with a smile on your face and show that you are committed to develop your skills and committed to helping you and your employer succeed. If you show good commitment it is likely that your employers will recognise it and start giving you more responsibilities and you will move up in your field.

Efficiency – Efficiency is key in the media industry as time is money and employers will look for people who can do the best job in the least amount of time, Editing is an example of where being efficient will mean the difference between getting hired again. if you can prove your self to be able to work to tight deadlines and still produce a high quality of work you will move quickly up in your field.

Self-presentation – Self presentation is key to gaining and keeping employment, it is especially important to turn up to interviews dressed smartly even if the job you are going for does not require you to dress smart as it is a sign to the employer that you are motivated and want to impress them.

Communication skills – Communication skills are an absolute must in any job type be it runner or director you must be able to communicate with your colleagues and employers confidently and be able to get across your ideas and feelings without causing any arguments. Working in a shop while at uni may help you develop these skills as having to approach strangers and convert them to customers develops your communication skills massively.

Contribution to team projects – In the media industry all projects will likely involve you working in a team and combining your ideas with those of your co-workers. This means it is sometimes difficult to stand out when all your projects are completed as a team. In order to make sure your name is first in line when your potential employer is looking for someone to employ or promote you must make sure you contribute as much as you can to everything you do and make sure you get fair credit for all of your work.

Time management – You must make sure that when you are set a deadline you allow enough time to complete your task and leave time for your employer to view it then make an need adjustments to your final project. This is behaviour you can develop in college as you are being constantly pushed to produce work to tight deadlines but still to a high standard this is good practice for the professional environment.

Personal responsibility – When your employer gives you personal responsibility of a task make sure that you complete that task to the best of your ability so you stand out as someone who is motivated to continue working for them and is looking to succeed and progress in the job.