Unit 8 Assignment 1:Job Roles

Job Role: Camera operator

A camera operator has the job of setting up equipment, planning shots, and making sure there are no technical and lighting issues. The camera operator will use film or digital video cameras, and they will follow instructions from the production’s director or the director of photography. As the camera operator you would also be responsible for things like choosing the correct lenses for the shot and the positioning of the camera in order to get the best quality footage possible. If you were to apply for this particular job role, your employer would be more interested in your technical and practical experience in the field as this would determine your level of skill and reliability, however taking college/ university courses to develop your skills and understanding of the job role is highly recommended and its also impressive to have the qualifications to back up your experience. These courses include:

• City & Guilds Diploma (7501) in Media Techniques (Level 1, 2 and 3 Award, Certificate and Diploma in Media Techniques (7601) from September 2010)
• BTEC National Certificate or Diploma in Media Production
• BTEC HNC/HND in Media (Moving Image)
• degrees in media production, media technology or photography
• trainee courses run by the GBCT (camera guild).

If you were to work in a production team, you would hold most control over any trainee or secondary camera operators to ensure that they have full understanding of their tasks in order to maintain a flowing and successful production. However the camera operator is quite far down the list when it comes to being in charge.

The income of a camera operator is quite irregular. If you're freelance there would usually be a paid fee for each contract, which you would propose. Although if you are with a production company, rates can be widely varied. You could however negotiate your income based on the type of production and also by the quality of your previous work.

The working hours can also be very irregular. You would be expected to be reachable 24/7 and your company would need you to be flexible and able to work at short notice, especially for news programmes.

                                                                   Job Role: Editor

the role of an editor is to assemble all of the raw material and compress it into a professional finished product that is suitable for broadcasting. This is done by editing in post production. The raw material can include video footage, sound, special effects etc and your level of knowledge and skill will determine the outcome of the product, therefore the better quality editing you can produce means more job opportunities, and building your career. The director will work closely along side you to achieve the best results. Its common that most editors are employed as freelancers to begin with, moving from job to job in different companies and industries. In some cases you may have a little artistic license and freedom to edit however you believe the finished product should look, but in most cases you'll be given a strict brief to work to. The length of time that you work is all dependant on the size of the production and the how many people you have on your team.

You should have advanced knowledge on how to use different versions of editing softwares, as there are many throughout the media industry and will vary depending on the scale and expense of the production. You or another editor may have been designated with the role of 'editor-in-charge'. They will have a team of other editors which they will delegate jobs to in order to meet deadlines and bring peoples differing ideas together to create the best quality edit possible.

An editors salary:

This is the average salary for an editor but this can easily decrease or increase depending on your level of skill, previous work, and size of the production. 

                                                              Job role: Director

A directors duty is to come up with and decide how a film/TV show is made. It is up to the to bring all of their initial ideas to the table and explain the concept of the production in order for the rest of the crew to know what they're working on. As a director you need to have exceptional communication skills in order to manage and delicate your team. Your production manager will help you with this but you are still in charge and need to have quality leadership skills. Your time management is also a huge responsibility as the director because you must make sure you give yourself and your team enough time to make the production the best quality it can be. Also the cost of your production is an important factor because for example if you've spend the majority of your budget on cast and set but not left yourself enough to make a good quality edit, all that time and money spent on set is wasted as the final product turns out to be average. This is why budget management is very important if you as a director want your production to be successful.

A director would need to have a university degree to some extent of media production and directing, but like any job in the media the employers will look more for experience in the field. If you're not applying for a director job straight into a company but instead starting as a freelancer, your experience and knowledge of the industry is key to making a beam for yourself, as people will only invest money, time and effort into you and your productions if you have a good reliable skillset to back you up. If people don't think they can make profits off your work then they won't invest in you and it will become extremely difficult to become successful.

A director is the head of the whole production. Although there are other head roles within a production to ensure it runs smoothly and efficiently, the director is in charge of all that goes on because it's their ideas and work that's being made. Their main and most important team members are probably the production managers, as they will feedback all the information about progress, issues etc within the production period, and work with the director to solve and better the production. A directors salary will vary depending on the scale and success of the production. If they have the budget to make a huge blockbuster film and it is a success, then they will be paid handsomely with the royalties they own in connection to their production, however if the film is. Bust and they don't make the money that was targeted, then their salary with rapidly decrease along with their opportunities to work on other option pictures.

I certify this is my own work