Critical Approaches

How Media Producers Define Audience


Audience research is extremely important to media producers. There are a variety of reasons for this. A media producer will collect research on audiences so that they can adapt their marketing and the actual end product to their intended audience. Conducting audience research can better help a media producer to understand how they need to adapt their marketing to their audience, marketing will need to be adjusted depending on different audiences because different methods work for different groups. A film targeted at an older audience will have a more mature marketing campaign designed to be more informative to them and will try to convince them in a different way than if the film had a younger audience in which case the marketing would be possibly be less informative and more eye-catching because the audience may have a smaller attention span and they will need to be constantly engaged by new things. without a media producer adapting their marketing to their targeted audience much less people of that audience would go and see the film which would result in less profit than expected since a film is tailored to that specific audience.


Audience Profiling

Audience profiling is extremely important to media producers. Before marketing their product a media producers will use audience profiling to narrow down their target audience. By identifying their target audience they can better adapt their marketing techniques to that audience to get a better result and profit. potential audiences can  be profiled in several different ways including; socio-economic status, psychographics, geodemographics, age, gender, sexual orientation, regional identity, mainstream, alternative and niche.

  - Socio-Economic Status

Socio-Economic Status is the categorisation of the different economic classes of audiences for media producers to identify. The different audiences profiled by socio-economic status generally fall into one of three categories; working class, middle class and upper class. Working class consisting of people with lower paying jobs, middle class makes up the middle ground between upper class and working class and upper class which consists of the wealthier 1% of the population all of whom are wealthy whether by birth or business profit. Audience profiling based on socio-economic status is most useful for advertising as a company selling an expensive product such as a sports car will target the advertisement at the upper class whom are generally more wealthy and would be able to afford the car. Audience profiling based on socio-economic status is however not useful when the product is a film or documentary. This is because economic status does not affect the audiences response to the advertisement. all a media producer needs is for the audience to see the advert and persuade them to go see their product. According to the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) around 97% of households in the UK own televisions so accessing a particular audience is not a significant concern when making a film or documentary.


 - Psychographics

Psychographics is a way of profiling different audiences by their personality and behavior. People with different attitudes and ways of thinking are sorted into different categories based on their characteristics. A person who is more carefree and extroverted would be sorted into a different category than someone who preferred security and was more introverted. Psychographics are for detailing what people do and explaining why they do them. By using psychographics to identify their target audience a media producer has access to larger and more detailed groups to choose from. For example if a media producer wanted to target young teens possibly just leaving home they would target either the Reformers group or the Strugglers group. This is because both groups seek their own freedom and this can be translated mostly as teens leaving home wanting to experience life on their own. 'social awareness and independent judgement' is also something common in this particular audience as well as the purchase of alcohol and junk food.


 - Geodemographics

Geodemographics are useful to media producers as they provide detailed examples of what is popular and where it is popular. For instance a producer could want to know what kind of show is popular in one country so that they can make a show that is similar in style which in theory should be more popular there than in a country where that particular style is less watched. Geodemographics are based on a region and the general wealth of the people living in that region, for instance, in a richer city in the south of England such as London may watch a show such as 'The Apprentice' more than a population based in a poorer, less densely populated region without many financial districts. By looking at data like this a media producer can determine if their product will be successful in that region. Geodemographics can help to determine if a particular genre of film is popular and successful in a certain area, such as action films being popular in one region of the U.K or a certain country and romance films being popular in another. This can help media producers to determine where they should market their product the most to get the best profit. This method of audience profiling can also be helpful when determining if a film or product will not be received well. For example, if a film has a lot of sensitive content it may be released uncut in one country but in another extensive cuts may be made for it to even be released. An example of a film received well in one country but not in another is Men In Black 3 which had no cuts necessary for its release in most countries, however for release in China 13 minutes of footage had to cut because the scenes had been deemed offensive.


 - Age

Age is a significant factor in audience profiling as people of different ages will watch vastly different things. For where a child might would watch an immature comedy show directed at children, a person in their late teens might watch a more mature film with serious content or meaning and an elderly person might watch something slower paced or even a film from their younger days. This can be based on the different interests of different aged people or even their general level of intelligence. The run time of a product will also be based on the age of the target audience, a film with a younger target audience will have a smaller run time as younger children generally have shorter attention spans whereas a film targeted at an older audience will have a longer run time as older people will generally have more patience and a longer attention span. Films and other products targeted at younger audiences will more often than not have more action and more things going and more colours with more vibrancy to keep their attention.


 - Gender

The gender of a target audience is also important when profiling different audiences. The majority of women and men will generally watch different shows and films. Shows like Sex And The City will have a majority audience of women aged 18-30. This is because the show is designed to appeal to them, they are its target audience. It appeals to them by showing what women stereotypically go through. This makes the show relatable and more appealing to its audience. Gender also applies to actual genres, where the majority of women will stereotypically watch romantic comedies or dramas men will watch action films. Identifying a target gender for a product help to determine what you need to make to appeal to that gender. Since there are both men and women across the world having either as your target audience does not mean you lose out on potential consumers. Especially since there are still some exceptions as some men will watch films or programmes that are stereotypically for women and vice versa.


 - Sexual Orientation

In the past few years there has been a large diversification in representation of non heterosexual people in media. This is because as societies attitudes have changed it becomes important for media producers to try not to offend anyone and so by including LGBTQ+ characters in the media they can show more representation of those people and appeal to a new audience. The story of a product could even change after research into an audiences sexual orientation if it is discovered that the majority and not heterosexual. An example of recent show targeted at LGBTQ+ people is Cucumber which had many gay, bisexual and transgender characters who all had their own character arcs. This shows target audience was part of the LGBTQ+ community. Many lead roles in the media are in fact Heterosexual, however in recent years this has gradually changed to show equal representation of heterosexual and homosexual people as main characters in the media. An example of a popular actor who is not heterosexual is Sir Ian Mckellen. He has landed many roles over the years even before LGBTQ+ right were a concern in society, however in more recent years he has been able to play openly gay characters, this shows how the media has changed over time to be more inclusive to non heterosexual people.

 - Regional Identity

Regional identity is important as it can help to promote a product in a certain region. For instance some regions will be more patriotic than others and by making a film or programme promoting that region or talking about it in a positive light a media producer can gain a bigger or more specific audience and make more profit. Many films have messages about 'the american dream' and will talk about the greatness of America, this can help to promote a film to America. An example of a film using regional identity to open up to a specific audience is Captain America. Captain America symbolises the ideals of the American people and implies that Americans can do anything. By having a hero from their own country and even wearing their own flag people from that region will feel proud and be more inclined to go see the film. This can however work in the opposite way as some products such as films and documentaries will show how the rest of the world views a certain region and instead of glorifying that region either show the truth or a representation of what others believe the truth of that region to be. An example of the this form of regional identity can be Team America: World Police. Team America is a representation of how some of the world sees America. This is shown in the title World Police. By using the term World Police it implies that America thinks it can just police the entire world and that it is the righteous authority on all matters. This shows hwo some of the world sees America, as a rich global superpower trying to control the world. This is further proven by the action they take in the film. Often going around the world to stop terrorists but destroying cities in the process. This also serves as a political commentary on some of the actions taken by America in the past and what the world thinks of them.

 - Mainstream/Alternative/Niche

There are trends in media such as film which if followed by a media producer can make a film likely to be more successful. This is because if people enjoy a film they will go to see films similar to it. An example of this trend is the recent rise in Marvel films. The production of Marvel films has greatly increased in recent times. This is because more people recently have been going to watch these films so media producers can see that this is a trend that people are enjoying these kinds of films currently so they can safely assume that making more of these films will result in a successful turnout. By looking at these trends in what is popular in mainstream media a media producer can find the next trend in the media and make products in that genre with the safe assumption that it will be popular and make a profit. If a media producer accurately predicts what the next trend in mainstream media will be after making their product they can use a portion of that profit to make their new product of that genre with some certainty that it will be successful and continue to make profits and  fund more of the same products.

Some media producers choose to target a different audience than the mainstream audience. They will identify a new audience by testing out their product with focus groups to see if it will garner enough of an audience to be successful. These trial periods are vital to the success of these kinds of targeted media because if trials are not done with an audience the likelihood of success will be left to chance as opposed to identifying their key audience. Testing must be done because there are no large scale trends for a media producer to follow when it comes to alternative audiences. This means that a media producer must research and discover what will work for themselves. A pilot episode of a new TV show could be shown to several small focus groups and based on their response changes may have to be made to make it more popular. Changes could include actors or even the show itself.

In some cases a media producer will aim their product at a smaller more specific audience, because of this a media producer must have an understanding of what that audience likes and dislikes and research what appeals to them. To appeal to a niche audience much research must be undertaken before producing the actual product and trial periods should happen similarly to when targeting an alternative audience. An example of this kind of audience targeting can be when a specific TV show is advertised on a specific channel where a media producer is sure that their audience will be watching. Such as showing advertisements for a science documentary on the Discovery Science channel.


How Producers Carry Out Audience Research


 - Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is a data led approach to research, focusing on what people think from a numerical and statistical aspect. An example is if you wanted to know how successful a certain kind of documentary was or wanted to know what people thought of it you would gather data on how many of these kinds of documentaries were actually successful or survey a number of people to gather statistics on what people thought of it. Quantitative research is useful for TV Drama as it gives you a realistic representation of what it is that people want to see, it is useful for TV specifically because if a show does not get high enough ratings then it will be cancelled. Quantitative research can sometimes provide less accurate results than qualitative research, this is because you are dealing with greater numbers of people which means that the results are more general than with qualitative. Forms of quantitative research can include programme ratings and box office reviews. 

 - Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is a more opinion led approach to research, in qualitative research the goal is to discover peoples opinions and the reasons for those opinions. Qualitative research is useful to media producers as it allows them to understand what their audience actually wants from their product. This is a non statistical form of research which means that the data gathered is from a small number of people as opposed to quantitative research which is based on statistics gathered from a large group of people and relies on the most popular opinion.

Regulation In The Creative Media Sector

Regulation In The Creative Media Sector

Regulatory bodies are organisations set up by the government to control and censor content media content in the UK. These organisations are there to protect the public from content deemed inappropriate for the public and enforce the current laws.

The media is regulated for various reasons including; the protection of the general public, so that media conforms to the rules and laws at the time, to make a wide range of services available to the public and maintain diversity in cultural, social and political terms and the promotion of good quality content for the public.

ASA

The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority), founded in 1962, is an independent organisation whose purpose is the regulation of advertising in all media sectors. They look at the complaints of the public and ensure no content is misleading or offensive. They cover self and co-regulation; non-broadcast and broadcast advertising along with ofcom. If an advert breaches UK advertising codes the advert will either be banned or be re-edited so it is not in violation any longer. Since their purpose is to protect the public from inappropriate content the ASA can act on just one complaint. Consumers have a right to complain about adverts they see which they believe may be harmful, offensive or misleading. They are also responsible for checking whether an advert is misleading or misinforms.
Non broadcast advertisement are adverts like billboards and online etc. They must comply with the 'CAP Code.' Failure to comply with this code can result in all non broadcast advertisement must be pre-checked for up to two years.

Broadcast advertisement are adverts such as Tv shopping. Broadcast adverts must comply with OFCOM's UK Code Of Broadcast Advertising. Repeated breaches will result in possible sanctions by OFCOM. The UK Code Of Broadcast Advertising ha a list of the rules for media owners and advertisers to comply with. http://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes.aspx

Most of the adverts released in the UK are checked to ensure that they are not in violation of any of the Code's rules. Broadcasters have set up two pre clearance centres to help ensure compliance, Clearcast for TV and for radio The Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC)

Ads That Received A Lot Of Complaints


KFC - 'Mouthful' (2005)

This was one of the most complained about British adverts ever, it received roughly 1,671 complaints on the grounds that it could 'encourage bad manners amongst children.' The ASA decided not to ban this ad as they did not deem it harmful to the public but instead let the ad run and KFC decided that once it had finished the would not show it again.


Phones 4 U - 'Little Girl' (2011)




This advert was unpopular among the British public and received roughly 600 complaints as viewers thought the advert was 'offensive, irresponsible and unduly distressing.' The advert got guidance from ClearCast and despite the complaints the ASA decided they were not in breach of any code and so it did not warrant a ban.


BBFC

Set up in 1912, The British Board Of Film Classification is an independent, non government run organisation that is funded by the film industry itself. The BBFC is the organisation responsible for the classification and censorship of all films in the UK. The BBFC aims to ensure that all film are regulated equally and fairly with nothing deemed too obscene for the public's viewing being broadcast. The BBFC ha the power to stop the release of any film featuring obscene content such as abuse. The BBFC is important as it regulates the conent that films are allowed to release in the UK, this means that they are able to protect minors from harmful content. Films are given certifications to protect children from obscene harmful content within film. Film classifications are also useful for letting a potential audience know what kind of film it is before viewing it. The BBFC will watch the entirety of each film they assess and based on the content award it an age rating. Age ratings are given based on the following considerations; theme, context, tone, language, sex, nudity, threat, violence, impact, drugs, discrimination and Imitable behaviour.
The potential age ratings are as follows:

Universal (U)
 - All ages admitted, there is nothing unsuitable for children over 4.

Parental Guidance (PG)
 - All ages permitted, but some scenes may be unsuitable for children under 8.

12a/12
 - Considered to be unsuitable for very young people, must be accompanied by an adult over 18.
    Films may include infrequent drugs, infrequent use of strong language, brief nudity, discreet
    sexual activity and moderate violence.

15
 - Films under this category can contain adult themes, drugs, strong language, moderate-strong
    violence/sex references and mild non-detailed sexual activity.

18
 - Films under this category do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs
    are generally allowed, strong violence/sex references along with strong sexual activity is also allowed.


Certification Issues

Cloverfield (2008)
A horror film rated at PG-13 in America. The distributor wanted to see the film pass at a 12A, however because of the extended strong threat, unremittingly dark tone, pessimistic conclusion and ceaseless threat to humans it was pushed up to a 15. It was likened to I Am Legend which also had its certification set at a 15 for its similar themes.

Winters Bone (2010)
The film was awarded a 15 rating, in America it was rated at an R, however the BBFC decided that because of the use of mature language and use of drugs it would be certified as a 15.


OFCOM

OFCOM is in charge of regulating radio, TV, tele communications, fixed line, mobiles, postal services and airwaves. OFCOM deals with the complaints issued for a programme after its broadcat however if a person complains about a programme before its broadcast they contact the broadcaster directly to deal with the situation. Since OFCOM deals with complaints about roadcast programmes complaints can be issued to OFCOM by filling in an online complaints form. OFCOM will examine the complaint with The Broadcasting Code to see if the programme is in violation of any of the rules. If a programme seriously breaches the code or does so multiple times then they have the right to impose sanctions, these sanctions can take the form of a large fine or even the removal of their broadcasting license altogether. The Broadcasting Code is applicable to TV and radio and covers standards in programmes, product placement, sponsorship, fairness and privacy.The code was drawn up after extensive research of viewers, listeners and broadcasters.

The ten sections of The Broadcasting Code are as follows:

 - Protecting under 18's
 - Harm and offence
 - Crime
 - Religion
 - Due impartiality and due accuracy and undue prominence of views and opinions
 - Elections and referendums
 - Fairness
 - Privacy
 - Commercial references in TV programming
 - Commercial communications in radio programming

IPSO

Launched on September 8th 2014, IPSO is an independent regulator for the newspaper and magazine industry  in the UK. They maintain standards for journalism as set out in the Editors' Code OF Practise and listen to peoples complaints of breaches of the code. IPSO works with the newspaper and magazine industries to help improve the freedom of the press with regulation.

The Leveson Inquiry
The leveson inquiry into the ethics, culture and practice of the press published its report, some important points were:

 - New self-regulation body recommended. Independent of serving editors, government and business
 - No widespread corruption of police by the press found
 - Politicians and the press have been too close
 - Press behaviour, at times, has been 'outrageous'

Issues With Regulation
Consumer Choice
Consumer choice is letting the audience decide what they want to watch. Since people have different interests, different things appeal to them. What is deemed unsuitable for one person may be enjoyable for another. People as a whole should be able to choose what they want to watch as opposed to everyone having to watch the content deemed appropriate for them. This is caused by the regulators of the media determining what is offensive and harmful to the public themselves and censoring according to that.

Freedom Of Information
This is similar to freedom of speech. In media people will often work their own opinions and view point into their work. They could be talking about an issue that is really big for them and they have a lot of interest in talking about, perhaps favourably for their own side of the argument, this is however usually cut by the regulatory bodies as they want all the information included to be unbiased and impartial.

Censorship
Censoring is when things are cut from the media for example a film that have been deemed inappropriate for the public and so cannot be seen. A common example of censoring that you can actually witness is when someone swears on some shows and it gets censored out, usually with a beep or just by cutting out the sound. The most common reason for censorship is the protection of minors from harmful or offensive content. Censorship is however controversial because it is not only used to protect minors but also keep government and military secrets from the public.






There are several regulatory bodies in control of the creative media sector. Regulatory bodies are organisations in charge of censorship of media in different formats.

Job Opportunities In The Film Industry

Job Opportunities In The Film Industry



Directing is one of the most important jobs in the entire industry. A director is responsible for actually making the films they work on. Directors work with and oversee the work of the production staff. As a director they are responsible for telling people what they must do and where they should be. Directors are essentially in charge of the entire production and are responsible for managing the process of making a film. As such a director will need to have good leadership skills to give direction to their large production team including; camera operators, make up artists, actors, set designers, sound technicians and anyone else involved in the process. This means that a director must be skilled at managerial tasks such as working to a budget, making big decisions planning, managing time, managing actors and other production staff involved in the process.

The size of a team of staff that the director leads can vary greatly from production to production. The size of the team can depend on factors such as their budget, connections, the area the production is taking place, schedules and the production itself. A large scale Hollywood film will have a very large team of staff producing it whereas a short film will usually have much fewer staff to work on it. Directors duties will often include; meeting with producers and discussing funding and cooperating with them on a regular basis, interpreting the script, whether it is their own script or it has been written by someone else, planning out the locations going to be used for the film, creating a schedule or plan for shoot dates and other necessary dates, the hiring of the films cast and crew, overseeing the technical crew and giving them guidance, directing the actors on their performances and they will also oversee the editing of the final product.

A director can expect inconsistent working hours while shooting a film, they will often adjust their working hours according to what is required for the shoot, often working extra hours or extending their hours to the evening or weekend. The location of the work itself is greatly varied in this job role as it depends entirely on what is required for the shoot, you could expect to be working in a film/tv studio or out on locations. Some expensive productions go through several locations, often overseas.

A director working on a film can agree to work for little or no pay and instead agree to share any profit the film makes. Directing is an important and necessary role in the production of a film and as such a director will often be paid more than most of the crew involved, their income can also depend greatly on the success of the film, if their film does well at the box office they will receive a higher pay, however if it does not do well at the box office they can risk losing money.

Directors can also work freelance, a freelance director is usually paid a fee for each project they work on. The amount of pay can vary greatly, often depending on the budget available and track record.

To become a director there are several entry routes. The most important entry requirements to note are that you must have a wide understanding and experience of film and tv. to become a director you must have a lot of understanding of the production process. It is often a good idea to spend a few years working in the industry in other roles so you build up a network of contacts. Having more contacts in this industry can greatly increase the chance and quality of jobs being offered to you. A common route to becoming a director is to work your way up. Many successful directors begin their careers as runners on a production, they work their way up through the job ranks by proving themselves as a necessary part of the production.

A good way to improve your chances of becoming an eventual director is to take a course in film making. Courses such as this are useful because they help to teach you the practical and technical skills for making films, they also help you create contacts. Courses taken could be BTECs, university courses, postgraduate courses and specialised directing and film production classes. These can be both curricular and extra-curricular.

A good method of working your way towards becoming a director and building skills is to make several short films and run them in different competitions, there are many local competitions in every area and even some made by the BBC and Channel 4 to promote film making to younger audiences. Making films requires you to have access to equipment, cast and crew, you can do this by getting involved with local community films or even by making short films as part of a course, as these will often require you to make several short films throughout the duration of that course, this can aslo help with building up acting contacts and many other kinds of contacts.

Camera operators are the members of the crew that work the cameras for the film. A camera operator will work under the supervision of a director and will sometimes have a camera assistant to support them.

Camera operators can specialise in several different areas including; on a location, there is often more opportunity for the operator to suggest potential shots to directors here, live events, here they work with a team of camera operators to provide visual coverage of an event such as a sports competition or in a studio where the camera operator will usually work to camera script, this gives a list of each of the shots required for the production. These shots will be practised several times at rehearsals. The director will cue each of the shots during recording, the skill here lies in interpreting what it is the director wants for each shot and acting quickly to achieve that shot.

Camera operators can expect to work in a number of different places depending on where the shoot is taking place, their typical work includes; assembling the equipment prior to the shoot (tripods, cables, lighting, etc), planning each shot meticulously, on expensive shoots there may only be one chance to get a shot right so planning needs to be thorough to ensure the best shot is achieved, they will have to study the script, ready and willing to experiment with potential ideas for shots, work quickly to achieve a shot and then move on to the next one, this sis especially necessary on a shoot with a very low budget and maintaining the equipment involved.

Many camera operators in the industry work freelance like some directors, the payment for a camera operator can differ depending on the production, however working freelance does allow the option to negotiate for a better pay based on your experience. Most camera operators are self-employed and work freelance this is because there is not a lot of job stability in this field, job opportunities can often be unpredictable and as such self employment is often the better option. jobs for camera operators tend to usually be concentrated in areas that have their own major studios such as; London, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff and Liverpool. just like directors camera operators often have irregular work hours, with them often having to work extra hours depending how long a shoot goes on or how long they are needed. They will also work wherever the shoot is taking place and not always in studios just like directors. Camera operators will be required to carry heavy equipment, work to deadlines and stand for long period of times while a shoot takes place. Camera operators must have a lot of patience as there is a lot of re-shooting that takes place, often directors will have them retake the shot multiple times until they get the perfect shot.

Access to this role is more open than directing but there is still more chance of securing such a role if the person applying has had previous experience with or even qualifications in photography, film or tv, media production, media studies, lighting, or cinematography. It is often possible to get into this role without a degree. It is more important that they can demonstrate that they have the necessary skills to operate the equipment. In this role it is important that a possible camera operator has experience so most camera operators work their way up to that role over a number of years, having started their career as camera assistants.


Runners are towards the bottom of the job ladder in this industry, this is where a lot of directors start their careers in the industry before working their way up. Runners do the jobs that no one else wants to do, many runners work part time or do it as part of work experience. Runners will be tasked with the simple errand jobs such as; welcoming important guests and TV stars, general admin work, getting lunch for the cast and crew, making a delivering hot drinks and coffee for the cast and crew,  cleaning up sets and helping out the crew when carrying heavy equipment.

This role is mostly manual labour and menial tasks that otherwise no one else would be doing, because of this it helps people just entering the industry learn how things work and what goes on in the production of a film, without getting them involved in things too difficult for them, this makes a runner a good entry level job for people wanting to enter the industry. Being a runner is about gaining experience, once you have worked on one film it gets easier to be hired onto another and this progresses until you have gained enough trust and confidence that you are offered a junior or assistant role. It is not completely necessary to have a degree in film to get a job in this position, however having a degree in film or media does improve your chances of being hired onto a film. To work as a runner you have to be hard working and passionate, even though it may get boring performing menial labour tasks around a set, it is much more beneficial to stick with it in the long run so as to get a good relationship between you, the crew and anyone involved, this helps you prove your skills and necessity to them. Runners are usually paid by the hour . There is not a lot of pay working as a runner, some runners will still work for free, this is usually because they are using the job as a platform to get into the industry and not just as a way of generating income.

A producer role is one of the jobs on the higher end of the film industry job ladder. Producers are essentially the bosses of the whole production. They cooperate with the director and production staff during filming. A producer is involved in everything often seeing projects through from the start to the finish, they are often involved in marketing and distributing the final product. One of the producers priorities is funding the production, they are there to ensure that the production does not exceed the budget. they are also in charge of facilitating the production, often having to secure locations for a shoot. A producer working in the film industry can expect to have to; raise the funding for a production, talk with script writers and directors about ideas, research and producing the final script, building up contacts for a production, talking with financial backers to help fund a production, budgeting and scheduling, hiring staff for the production, including a director and crew, organising schedules for shoot dates and making sure everyone complies with the proper health and safety rules.

payment for producers can vary from £18,000 to £25,000 for assistant producers and with more experience possibly even as much as £55,000. Departmental head however can earn a wage as much as £80,000. As for freelance producers, their fees differ greatly depending on what kind of production they work on, how much experience they have. and the size of the company or project. Permanent jobs with salaries are however decreasing which means there is less guaranteed work for a set pay.

Just like the other job roles in film production work hours can often be long and sometimes they may have to work over weekends. A lot of time may be spent outdoors or on location. This means that the conditions in each production can be very different for a producer. Someone looking to become a producer must be able to handle a lot f stress and be flexible to change. A producer must also be willing to accept the large amount of financial responsibility required of the position. Most producers in the industry have a degree. Having a degree may vastly improve your chances of being taken on as a producer for a film. Being educated to a degree level in subjects such as; information technology, photography film or tv and communication and media studies will greatly help you to be considered for a position as a producer.

There are many different types of contract or employment available in the film industry, having mulitple ways of employment helps with the imbalance in the availability of full time contracts, meaning that despite how you are able to work you still have the opportunity to make it into the industry.

One such contract type is the full time contract, a full time contract requires that a person works 35-40 hours a week. This means that you are obligated to work somewhere between those amount of hours every week, this is different to the part-time contract which could require any number of hours each week such as 10 or 25. Both full time and part time employees have exactly the same rights. There are many part-time and full time jobs in the film industry, these can range from runners to camera operators. Full time and Part time employees have regular schedules and are paid a portion of their salary each month.

A freelance employee is someone who is self-employed or is a part of another company, a freelance worker does not work for a company full time but instead is hired by different companies for different jobs. Freelance workers are not entitles to the exact same right as 'workers,' this means that there is no minimum wage and their wage can vary greatly. Freelance employees will often look after their own tax and national insurance contributions. An employer is still responsible for a freelancers health and safety. there are many freelancers in the film industry often making short films, this means that while there are a lot of job opportunities here it is also highly competitive. Since freelance working does not guarantee work there is no guaranteed income. When working as a freelancer you must manage your money and are legally required to declare your income to Inland Revenue. You must register yourself as self employed to them so that they can calculate your tax. Freelance work can however be advantageous as you can negotiate your pay with the company or client, this means that you can get a pay that is better to your liking whereas working on a contract or part time means you are unable to negotiate the pay and have a fixed wage.

Hourly Paid employees are people who are paid for their work by the amount of hours they work. This is similar to piece work which is when an employee is paid not for the hours they work but for the amount produced. Hourly work can be advantageous because you get paid for the amount of hours you actually work whereas on a contract you do not receive more money for the extra amount of hours you work.

Legal and Ethical Considerations When Working In The Creative Media Sector

Legal and Ethical Considerations When Working In The Creative Media Sector


When working in the creative sector there are many legal and ethical constraints to consider before releasing any form of media to the public. Failure to comply with any of these rules can result in jail time, a fine, a loss of job and reputation, censorship of the material deemed offensive or banning. Due to this content creators have to be mindful of the various laws operating the this sector. It is vital for a content producer to be aware of and comply with these legal and ethical regulations as failure to comply can result in cuts to their end product or even the whole end product being banned, this means that they cannot make a profit from their film or other media product and hae lost money, this would also be a defeat for the creator because no one would see what they had worked so hard to create simply because of a lack of compliance with these rules. Ignorance towards these rules could even result in fines or just general unfavourable views from critics and the audience as many of these rules are in place to protect the public from innapropriate or offensive content.

Legal Constraints
The majority of the rules connected to media content are on a legal basis as there are many legal issues to take into consideration when making media content such as copyright etc.

Libel Law
Libel law is the law which prevents the reputation of someone against an unjustified, unwarranted attack. According to the law if a publication exposes them to hatred or make him seem lesser in the minds of "right-thinking members of society" then the publication and its creator are in violation of libel law. Libel law is in place to protect the reputations and well being of people who may come under harsh criticism from the media, libel law is necessary because if a particular publication is producing false information which is believed by the public the person under critisicm could be "defamed" or even face considerable hatred or even have their life at risk because of this misinformation. Libel law does however allow such critisicm if the information given is based on true facts and not influenced by personal hatred or malice for the person under critisicm. Comments made in parliament and courts are however protected from libel law because of their official nature.

Privacy Law
Privacy law is the law that ensures that the right to freedom of privacy is not infringed upon. This means that a publication cannot reveal personal details about a person without said persons consent. This prevents a person from revealig personal information or media content without that person expressed consent, the law is in place to protect peoples human right to privacy and to ensure that no harm or distress should come to a person because of private content being published.

Obscene Publications Act 1959 (later amended)
The Obscene Publications act is a law which prevents the public from witnessing published content which is unsuitable for viewing due to an obscene nature. The law states that for content to be considered too obscene for public viewing it must be "taken as a whole, tend to be deprave and corrupt." This means that if the whole of the content is deemed to be disturbing and "corrupt" then it is unsuitable for public viewing. Educational content however "in the interests of science, literature, art or learning or of other objects of general conern" are deemed exempt from this law due to the educational nature of the content. The law is in place to protect the public from such content that may harm or deeply offend potential viewers. A film in breach of the obscene publications act is The Human Centipede 2. The film was banned in the UK and cannot be supplied legally anywhere in the country by DVD or download. The BBFC (British Board Of Film Classification) had deemedit potentially harmful to viewers and had banned it in the UK due to it's graphic content. A quote from the BBFC on the film stated that "There is little attempt to portray any of the victims in the film as anything other than objects to be brutalised, degraded and mutilated for the amusement and arousal of the central character, as well as for the pleasure of the audience." The BBFC decided that the films content had no purpoise other than to shock viewers and as a whole was "depraved and corrupt" in accordance with the Obscene publications act. They had decided that since the entire film infringed upon the law that there would be no cuts possible to make it acceptable for viewing in the UK.

Copyright/Intellectual Property Law
Copyright and intellectual property law is the law that protects content creators from plagiarism. It protects any creative work considered the property of its creator. Intellectual property is unique to the person. The word a person writed are their intellectual property however the idea itself is not. Copyright is in place to pretect the content of creators from theft by other creators. A violation of copyright would be a person copying another persons written work or parts of a film for their own use. Violating copright law and stealing someones intellectual property can result in fines or even jail time. It will aslo result in the copyrighted work becoming useless as it wilol not be allowed to be released as it not enrtirely your own work.


Official Secrets Act 1989
The official secrets act is a law which prevents any publication from publishing information from a current or former member of security and intelligence services if the information wreleased would be damaging. The official secrets act is used to protect government secrets and data generally meant to be unaccessable to the general public which can cause harm to an establishment or country should the data be read by people who were never intended to read it. Enforcing of this law is usually stern and harsh, as "whistleblowers" are commonly given jailtime for releasing sensitive data.


Health And Safety Act
The health and safety act is a law which is in place to prevent unneccessary dangerous and possibly life threatening accidents while working. This law indicates that in order to be deemed safe you must; define responsibilities and duties, have a system in place for managing health and safety, assess and manage the risks involved and regularly review the process and procedures for managing risks. The size of a management system for health and safety depends on the size of the production, with bigger productions needing much bigger, more complex management systems to ensure safety. Risk assessment for a proudction requires you to; systematically look at your activities, examine the hazards they pose, evaluate how likely a person is to encounter these hazards and find a way to remove the hazard completely or at least keep them under control.

Ethical

There are various ethical rules to follow when working in the creative media sector, these are ot always actual laws but can still render a film unsuitable or have cuts made to it due to an unethical nature of the film or publication. Ethical rules prevent media featuring disturbing or offensive content from being released to the public where it may be damaging. Some of these media ethics include; not causing harm or offense, harsh language/violence and sex, product placement, use of stereotypes and proper/fair representations. Nearly all media ethics are in place because it is determined that the public would respond harshly to some content and to avoid unnecessary harm and offense such content is regulated. Due to these media ethics different types of shows like reality tv shows have different rules of conduct. Reality TV shows are expected to provide aftercare or counselling some such rules include a limitation on alcohol or no footage of an intoxicated person be shown, no minors are to be involved and there must be medical care avaliable. These are ethical rules and regulation because it may cause the people involved and the audience some distress which is ideally avoided. There are also some vague areas in ethical considerations in the media. This is because many are not actually rules or laws so while a content creator may ignore these it can result in a serious backlash from the public and the media. An example of content being produced without consideration for ethical constraints is Big Brother. During a season of Big Brother a contestant was allowed into the show who had a history of mental illness and had been placed into a coma due to a failed suicide attempt. This led to large critisism from the media as it was deemed ethical wrong to allow a person with a long history of mental illness onto the show which can be a very stressfull environment for contestants.

Understanding Structure And Ownership In The Creative Media Sector

Understanding Structure and ownership in the creative media sector 


The creative media sector is divided into nine industries; film, TV, radio, publishing, advertising and marketing, animation, interactive media, games and photo imaging.

The film industry is owned mainly by six conglomerates known as 'the big six.' The big six are Time Warner, The Walt Disney Company, Compact, Sony, 21st Century Fox and Viacom. An advantage of conglomerate ownership is that more money can be funded to a film allowing for better actors, CGI etc. There are however disadvantages to conglomerate ownership such  as,  a lack of innovative ideas as conglomerates will stay with market research to make films that appeal to the masses and will make the most money. The film industry has a need to generate huge amounts of income to make a profit on High budget films.  A strong source of income for the film industry is merchandise. A good example of a film which gained a huge amount of income from merchandise was the Walt Disney film Frozen. The film was not only a huge box office success but also made huge amounts of money from merchandise alone. There are several types of ownership; these include private and public, conglomerates,  independents, cross media ownerships, mergers and takeovers. 

A private ownership is a company that is owned by one single person or alternatively a group of several people. In private ownership most if not all funding is made through advertising. It is common that most privately owned channels will be aimed at one specific audience. An example of a channel in private ownership which is targeted at a specific audience is MTV which is targeted at young people usually between the ages of 16 - 25. Due to the specific audience targeting advertisements on such channels are different to adverts shown on other channels with a broader targeted audience such as BBC 1, which will show a broad range of adverts to accommodate for everyone within their targeted audience. An advantage of private ownership is that it runs entirely from funds raised from advertising, and there are vast amounts of companies wanting to advertise. However companies in private ownership do not have the funds to do beforehand research into a show to determine if it will be popular. This is very disadvantageous as a privately owned company that is looking into funding a particular show would have to go on instinct alone rather than base their decision on research. This means that when a privately owned company decides to fun a show they take the risk that the show may turn out to be a 'flop'

A public company is a company financed by a TV licence such as the BBC, which is funded by the government. Since the BBC is government run they have to provide content that is appropriate for everyone and have to listen to feedback from the public. Since the BBC is funded by the public there is no need for them to have advertisement breaks during a programme. Since the BBC is funded by the license fee paid for by the public they will cancel any shows that receive a low number of views.

A conglomeration is a company that owns several smaller companies.  An example of a conglomerate is Time Warner which owns Warner Bros and several other companies.

An independent is a producer of media that is not controlled by the government or a media corporation.  They make media independently without assistance from larger companies.  They are usually owned by a group of people or one individual. Since they are independent and receive no funding from larger companies independent companies have to find other ways to fund their own programmes, this is usually through advertisements.

Cross media ownership is when a single company owns mroe than one single format of media such as film, TV and radio. This is very useful to companies as it widens their audience, by using different media formats they open up to new audiences. However cross media ownership is only useful to large companies who can afford to diversify into different formats. An advantage to cross media ownership is that a company can produce different media at lower costs, this means they can use the reduction in costs to increase profit margins. Cross media ownership also leads to more security, if a company is spread into multiple formats they are prepared for a failure, if one market fails such as radio, then they can focus on other formats such as TV and Publishing. A disadvantage of cross media ownership is that the media is that the media has a lot of power and the ability to persuade, by having one company control various formats it makes it harder to escape their bias opinions. This could however be an advantage for the company if it increases the support of a political part they favour.

A merger is when two smaller companies join together to become one larger company this is usually done as each company has something  the other does not and by merging together they can combine their assets to make a larger profit. An advantage of merging is the combined assets of both previous companies being brought together for the new 'merged' company to use.

A takeover is when one media company buys out another company and gains their assets to use as their own.  This is usually done when a smaller company has something a larger company wants.  The larger company will then buy out the smaller one to make more profit.An advantage to a takeover is that the larger company will gain the assets of the smaller company and the smaller company will be paid for selling the company. Takeovers are however one sided and usually disadvantageous for the smaller company as a smaller company isn't in a position to refuse an offer from a much larger company. Especially when the bigger company can afford to pay a lot for the other.

The TV industry is one of the creative media sector largest industries.  The main focus of TV is to produce higher quality programs for broadcasting in a channels selected country.  The TV sector us divided into many different companies who control different channels.  Some of the biggest companies in control of parts of the TV industry are NBC, CBS, Fox, HBO and Disney.  All of these companies are conglomeration and own various smaller companies which own TV channels. Income for the TV industry is generated both through the TV licence and advertising during ad breaks.  Viewer demographics are important to the generating of income for TV as the higher the viewer ratings the more a potential advertiser can be charged to advertise during a more popular show. A disadvantage of the conglomerate ownership is that the information given on programmes such as the news are biased as they are owned by one person who likely has a political agenda. Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corporation has right wing views and owns the cross media conglomeration. His business owns smaller companies in TV, film and publishing. This means the information is likely biased and promotes his right wing views.

Radio is widely varied in terms of ownership for instance there is the BBC which  is government owned and receives funding from a licence fee paid by the public.  The BBC is however not the only company in ownership of the radio industry.  Ownership of radio can range from large cross media conglomerations to small independent radio.  Independent radio companies are able to broadcast their own opinions and political views without worrying about censorship. The lack of censorship however can also have the opposite effect like the 'sachsgate' scandal.  Sachsgate was a radio interview with Russel Brand and Jonathan Ross.  They were supposed to interview Andrew Sachs on the show but he did not turn up so they left him several messages with can be deemed offensive by some people. This is because throughout the course of the show they insulted his career and made personal remarks pertaining to his grand-daughter which is a gross violation of family confidentiality. At the time of airing the show received very few complaints however after the daily mail published an article about the show he number of complaints increased substantially.  This could either be because people were previously unaware of the incident or the public possesses a sheep like attitude and are eager to jump on the bandwagon. Nevertheless this incident raised serious questions about the censorship as the show breached several serious censorship rules.  The issues of censorship are based on the ethical ideals of the public. These ethics are formed bad on a person's experiences such as their beliefs, childhood, gender, sexuality, race and upbringing. Smother disadvantage of independent radio companies is that they have very little funding since they are not backed by major corporations and cannot afford to invite celebrities or important figures in for interviews. Since the public is not charged for listening to terrestrial radio stations money is made through advertisements and special event days held.

The publishing industry is dominated by large cross media conglomerations such as News Corporation. News Corporation controls a large amount of the newspapers available this means that their ideologies are being promoted relentlessly. Some of the companies owned by News Corporation include: The New York post, The Sun and The Times. The publishing industry makes profit through advertising in pages of newspapers and magazines, usually entire pages will be dedicated to a product.

The advertising and marketing industry is frequently used in association with other industries such as film, TV.  One of the companies in control of the advertising and marketing industry is the Interpublic Group Of Companies, one of three large conglomerations in control of the advertising industry. The advertising and marketing industry is very important in the creative media secotr. This is because many companies recieve their funding through advertisements run during breaks in programming, without the advertising and marketing industry these companies would not be able to advertise and would recieve little or no funding, which would mean that they could not afford to produce media any longer.

The animation industry is one of the smallest parts of the creative media sector.  Animated content is included in TV, films and games. It can be divided into several different kinds; 2D traditional, 2D computer generated, 3D computer generated and stop frame. In the animation industry there are not usually advertisements so they are often funded by the creator or from money from anither source such as the National Lottery or an animation company. Animation is relatively commonplace on TV especially as childrens programmes.

The interactive media industry is a sector specialising in producing computer systems that respond to a users actions. They do this by showing content such as; video, audio, animation, graphics etc. The interactive media industry is the largest sector in the audio/visual industry, with the Internet being a part of this sector. Thios industry is also funded by creators or in the case of a large company a budget will be given to the creators and that will be their funding.

The games industry is considerably large and is run by major conglomerations.  There are also a large amount of independent game producers who will make games for a low budget. A significantly large gaming conglomeration is Electronic Arts. EA started as a privately owned company but gradually became more successful until it began to takeover other companies. It is now one of the largest gaming conglomerations in the world.. In the case of gaming the company producing a game will be given a budget to make the game with. The games industy is large and highly profitable industry, because of this there are new games being produced all the time, from low budget games to high budget games.

The photo imaging industry is a very diverse industry with many independent companies and some larger companies. The photo imaging industry has various aspects involved such as; photo restoration, airbrushing etc. The industry recieves it's funding by the companies producing the content, this is because they recieve no funding from a TV license or advertising.