Careers in the Media Industry

By Luigi Kongo

Producer

Assistant Producer Director Casting Director Assistant Director Director of Photography

Cast

Construction Co-ordinator

Art Department Coordinator Camera Operator Wardrobe Master Costume Designer Editor Accounting Assistant

Prop Master Locations Manager Location Scout Runner

Researcher

Management
Management Job roles refer to an individual who has the responsibility of making the big organisational decisions. When referring to media industries this would most likely be a producer of a film/tv. The producer has a different working pattern compared to all the other members of the production squad as he needs to be there almost 90% of the time. As a result we would say that producers have irregular working patterns due to the fact that they work past the shift hours of other members in the production squad. On the other hand, since they hold such a huge responsibility they often take a percentage of the sales as their wages. An example of this would be the film avatar. The producers james cameron and jon landau made $2.1 billion from the sales and took a percentage of that as their own profit.

Creative
Creative job roles refer to an individual(s) who is in charge of all the artistic decisions. They cover different levels of creativity which when referring to media industries would be creating and designing costumes, repairing costumes, buying different pattern types to implement them in their ideas. Unlike management roles people in the creative department can have multiple types of working patterns. For example a costume designer could be working freelance meaning they only work for themselves. As they do not belong to organisations they only have work when they are called for, as a result they are constantly looking for work. On the other hand there could be a costume designer who does piece work meaning he/she is paid for every piece that they produce. As people in the creative position do not hold the same amount of responsibility as someone in a management role they would only get paid at the hourly rate.

Technical
technical job roles refer to an individual(s) who is in charge of all the technology in the industry. They cover different levels of technology which when referring to media industries would be operating with cameras, sound recorder, boom operators. They are the people who are skilled when it comes to technology. Unlike people in the creative job role, people in the technical department do not necessarily create things as all the equipment is given to them. As a result when referring to media industries they are always needed and would have a different work pattern than people in the creative or management role. They would be doing shift work meaning a number of people in the technical role working from 12pm-6am, the next shift would be from 6am-12am then 12am-6pm, 6pm-12pm etc. As people in the technical department play an important role in media industries.

Editorial
Editorial job roles refer to an individual(s) who is in charge of all the editing process that occurs in the media industry. They cover all the special effects, the arranging of clips in order. They play a vital part in the industry and as a result they are on the computers all day editing. Meaning they are never on set with the cast or other members of the production squad. Unlike the previous three job roles (technical, creative, management) people in the editorial job role are only needed at the final stage of the production during the editing process. Therefore they would be working office hours from a specified time all week. Since there are different levels of editing, people in the editorial job role would be based on their skills in editing.

Research
Research job roles in the media industry refer to the individuals who are responsible for handling all of the ongoing research in the production. They cover all the things that would require researching for example a film that is based on the victorian times. The costume designer would need a researcher to find out how they looked like and the type of clothing they wore. Unlike the other people in the technical department like a foley artist who has to go out and record sounds that are needed in the production the researcher would not have to out and physically find out the appropriate locations for a particular time setting or the best desert that would suit. Instead they would be on the computers researching the internet to find out the information required for the initiation of the production. As researchers do not hold huge amounts of responsibility they would often be working office hours at an hourly rate.

Finance
Finance job roles refer to the individuals who are responsible for all the financial decisions that occur in the production. They need to ensure that everything that is financial is done. For example when referring to media industries the finance department would need to ensure that all the actors are getting paid their wages/salaries at the right time otherwise they would not turn up. Similarly to the research job roles, the people in the finance department hold some responsibility but is not so huge that they are required to work irregular hours like some of a management role. People in finance job roles are often working at office hours, doing the same times all throughout the week.

Organisation
Organisational job roles refer to the people who are often in charge of all the things that need organising in the business. They do not hold much responsibility but they small things that they do are often crucial for the production. These job roles usually refer to the production assistant who's job is not vital but heavily relied upon. For example if the director was late for a travel to a certain destination, the PA would have to notify him of how he was going to get there, where he was going and what time he would need to arrive by in order to not miss any vital parts of the production. People who work within the organisation roles usually have to work office hours because they would need to be there to help with the production.

Administrative
Administrative roles refer to people who are in charge of all of the contacting and informing. The admins usually cover taking phone calls from other organisations or customers, responding to emails etc. They hold a certain level of responsibility and they play a vital part as they need to ensure that the people above them in the hierarchy are informed of the conversations that are taking place within the media industry. An example of an administrative role would be the personal assistant as other people within the industry would not have sufficient time to respond to these calls and emails. They would work office hours and being paid and the hourly rate based on their skills and qualifications.