JOB ROLES IN THE TV AND FILM INDUSTRY

Producer
A film producer is a managerial role with the industry. The producers job is to prepare and supervise
the making of a film before the presentation of the final product to a film distributor. They help the
creative people in the industry as well as the accounts.
Producers are responsible for developing a project from start to end. They are also involved in all
stages of the media product being made and overseeing the whole project in both the studio and on
location. They are also supported by production assistants, and other managers depending on the
size of the project. Some of the tasks include:

Raising money and funding for the project.

Reading and doing research, assessing ideas and scripts.
Building and developing a network of contacts.
Screenwriting, budgeting and scheduling.
Hiring important staff, including a director and crew to shoot the films or video.
Pulling together all parts of the creative and practical talent involved in the project to create
a team.
Maintaining technical skills.
Organising shoot schedules.
Supervising the progress of the project from production to post production.
Holding regular meetings with the other managerial staff to discuss the characters and
scenes.
Acting as a sounding board for the director.
Bringing the finished production in on the budget.

It is important that if you want to become a producer in TV and Film then a degree in film studies is
useful. You need to know how the money flows in from distribution through DVD sales, to TV, to the
Internet. It is need to be known how to structure investments and create budgets and business
plans. It is also important that you have a knowledge of marketing and understand the legal aspects
of filmmaking. You must also be able to network a lot. Gaining experience of a producers work or
taking a part time course whilst studying elsewhere may also improve chances of entry into the
business. Volunteering in the job without pay also is good experience, and looks good. This is the
typical experience on the pathway to becoming a producer, they are also expected to have a few
years of experience in understanding different techniques and directing and editing skills, so this
meaning starting out as a runner and working their way up the ladder in order to learn technical and
editing elements first.
In terms of working patterns and conditions, the hours can be very long and irregular according to
the demands of a production
that is being worked on.
Freelance contract work is also
very common. The work is also
mainly based in the office, but
producers also tend to visit
studios or locations, this being

JOB ROLES IN THE TV AND FILM INDUSTRY

anywhere in the UK or even overseas, so travel can sometime be required meaning sometimes you
would be away from home for long periods.
It is said that the average pay for a film/TV producer is around 32,312 per year. People in this job
usually dont much more than 20 years of experience in the job, and a lot of experience highly
affects the income for the job.
Typical career pathways towards becoming a producer in TV and Film:
(Table from http://education-portal.com/how_to_become_a_movie_producer.html)

Actor
An actor/actress is a creative role, it is someone who can communicate a character and/or situation
to an audience through speech, body language and their movement. It usually involves deciphering
the work of a writes under the instructions of the director, however, some work might require the
actor to come up with a character or improvise the reactions of the said character to a situation.
Actors are mainly responsible for rehearsal attendance and memorising lines. They are to
collaborate with other actors and be able towork seriously.It is important that they learn about
characters in the scripts and their relationships with others.
There is no said single route toward sbecoming an actor. It is mainly down to experienceas this is
important. To join a drama or acting class is also beneficial and will help towards getting to big acting
roles. A lot of actors first got into the industry through working in holiday camps as entertainers or
jobs with similar aspects. In terms of education and training, most skills are developed on the job,
through rehearsal and performances, as an actor you are moved between contracts, and this counts
as evidence on an acotrs CV. Occaisonaly an actor may need to learn new skills for different roles,
which is what training is for and this will be done by a specific teacher. Actors can also invest in
theirown careers by undertaking training in other skills which would help towards being an actor,
this being things such as singing lessons and dance classes. Even though specific training is not
always a formal requirement, a large number of actors have undertaken formal training in the
performing arts area. Actors can also consider doing postgraduate courses which would also help, by
doing courses such as:

Scriptwriting;
Directing;
Teaching
Drama.

To become successful in the acting industry, it is said that candidates would need to show evidence
from the following:

Good communication and listening abilities;

Reliability and puncuality;
The ability to work well in teams;
To be able to follow instructions
To be able to take and work on criticism
Self discipline and stamina to cope with learning lines
Resilience and determination.

JOB ROLES IN THE TV AND FILM INDUSTRY

Actors are said to work under constant pressure, and work a lot. The main stress for most
actors is the continual need to finding another job once their current one is over.They strive
to deliver the most flawless of performances often whilst working under pressure and
uncomfortable conditions. Acting jobs typically are short term, ranging from just a day to up
to a few months, this meaning that they frequently experience long periods of
unemployment between their different jobs. The uncertainty of the jobs result in earnings
that can change a lot and are unpredictable and a lotof competition.Some actors also have
other jobs to be able to sustain their living. Evening and weekend work isa normal part of an
actors life, actors of whom are working on movies or TV may work really early in the
morning or really late at night to film specific scenes.
In 2004 the average hourly earnings for an actor were around 8 and the lowest paid was
around 4, the highest paid actors could be paid around 30-40 an hour or more. The
minimum salaries and hours of work, including other conditionsof their employment are
covered in agreements between the producers and unions that are representing the
workers. Actors are also able to receive contributions to their health and also pension plans
and additional compensation for needed rerunes or telecats that are abroad within the
production in which they appear.

Camera operator
Camera operators play a big part in the making of the film or show as they are in charge of physically
operating the camera and helping to manage angles and composition while filming a certain scene
or shot. The camera operator will work with the director to make some creative or technical
decisions. A camera operator would be in charge of setting the camera up before scenes are ready
to shoot, if the camera crew didnt do this it could waste a lot of time for the other members of the
crew and cast. Another role or responsibility a camera operator would have to do is plan, rehearse
and prepare scenes ready for the directions quick decisions. Camera crew would also need to
cooperate with lighting and technical to make really good pieces of footage. A camera operator
would need to be physically fit, have good stamina and to be observant of things like colour and
lighting. These skills will give the editors good footage to work with, the better the footage the more
people will talk about the show and this will create advertisement.
Qualifications needed for a camera operator would be media film studies of film, photography and
television. These qualifications would show they would be able to demonstrate enthusiasm for
filming and good technical skills, also experience. With help with a source I found that a camera
operators salary could anything from 50+ pounds a day.
A possible path way a camera man/woman to move up would be a director of photography or
something managerial. An operator would be expected to be at work whenever there was filming
going on as they are the professionals who know who to work the equipment. The type of contract a
camera operator would have is called free-lance, this is a self-employed job where you work when
there is work to be done, but a camera operator would be on set often while shooting so would earn
a fair bit.
How you could work your way up through the film crew to become a camera operator:
Camera runner, focus puller, clapper loader, assistant camera, director of photography.

JOB ROLES IN THE TV AND FILM INDUSTRY