Unit 6.1 - Understand hazards and risks in the workplace
1.1 Define hazards and risks
Hazard - A chance of being injured or harmed ie danger
Risk - The possibility of suffering harm or loss; danger
Some of the most common hazards and risks in the workplace tend to be the ones you look past every day, but these actually are big accident causes in the workplace. Obviously many workplaces will differentiate in terms of what they do and whether they operate machinery or not.
I'll start off with wires these are an obvious hazard for people tripping over, cable ties and wire guards are the best way to keep these safe and also tidy. Spillages are also an important one and to always remember to clean these up once established it's not a dangerous chemical. Another main risk is injuring yourself from lifting incorrectly.
1.2 Outline key hazards and risks in own workplace, describing safe working practices
At my workplace we have a health and safety policy in place with a first aid kit and trained first aider. As I work in a home office environment you obviously don't have signage that is required in an office building, such as 'fire exit' however I feel common sense has to prevail in this circumstance as I would react with instinct the same way for any fire I was in.
At my workplace one of the biggest risks was wires and battery backups being on the floor in one of the offices, however recently me and the producer removed the danger by organising this onto a shelving unit.
1.3 Outline key hazards and risks within own job role, describing precautions
As mentioned before the biggest hazards and risks within my job role would be tripping over wires and precaution used would be wire guards and cable ties. Also lifting heavy equipment the precaution is lift from the legs and never from the back and if you still don't feel comfortable lifting on your own then get someone to help you. Spillages are rule of thumb with the precaution that if you spill something then you should clean it up to prevent anyone slipping and causing injury. During Production we obviously had a lot more hazards and risks, that meant we had to fill in a risk assessment 'The process of determining the likelihood that a specified negative event will occur. Investors and business managers use risk assessments to determine things like whether to undertake a particular venture, what rate of return they require to make a particular investment and how to mitigate an activity’s potential losses.'
Unit 6.2 - Understand own responsibilities for health and safety in the workplace
2.1 Identify own responsibilities for health and safety in own workplace and job role under health and safety legislation, explaining the importance of personal presentation and behaviour
And
4.2 Manage any health and safety risks within own capability and responsibility
Under my current job role as a Production Assistant, in legal legislation terms I do not have a responsibility to ensure the workplace is kept up to scratch, however as a professional individual I always keep an eye out for potentially dangerous situations (despite me hating the red tape culture that we live in today). As an individual it's very important to eliminate these risks from the workplace to avoid any injuries to myself or other colleagues. When I was working at Waitrose we had a strict regime in health and safety, with multimedia videos and questions involved to make sure you knew the correct protocol for each emergency this would be done every three months. Also as Waitrose deal with the general public it's very important to enter any accidents into the 'Accident Book' which is a 'Bound book in which employers in certain businesses are required to record all small or big accidents which occur on their premises, or to their employees while at work off site.' I also learnt about COSHH 'Control of Substances Hazardous to Health', that I found very interesting to know and has helped me ensure that my present workplace is a safe working environment.
2.2 Describe procedures for dealing with risks outside the scope of own responsibility, identifying the appropriate personnel with whom to liaise in own workplace
When something falls outside your scope of responsibility this doesn't mean that it's 'not your problem', it's very important to work as a team and to support one another. And this includes spotting these potentially dangerous health and safety issues. In the larger of workplace you should usually have a Maintenance Book this is a written acknowledgement of say - a plug socket not working or a leaking pipe in the bathroom. Despite the fact your not expected to fix these problems it's always good to ensure that you report it as firstly it could pose a serious risk to someone else and secondly if you don't report it, then whats to say that someone else will (vicious circle of maintenance issues).
However in smaller places of work such as mine (home office environment) I would report said problems with equipment to either the Director who's home it is or to the Producer who also works at the office with me, and from there we could organise a way to promptly fix the problem.
Unit 6.3 - Be able to evaluate hazards and risks in the workplace
3.1 Identify workplace instructions relevant to own job
In my workplace we have health and safety policies in place to ensure no one is put at any unnecessary risk. This includes knowing where are fire assembly point is (as we're in a house, depending on where the fire is we would assemble either at the front or the back of the house).
Also it's always best to only tackle a fire with the relevant fire extinguisher (water, foam, CO2) when you feel confident and it's safe enough to do so, without putting yourself or others at risk). This is the reason you should have a fire marshal at bigger companies who will conduct a register of employees in and also hold a first aid kit and specified mobile phone.
3.2 Identify any unsafe practices in own workplace and job role
In my current job with Cyclops Vision Ltd we have a tested and proved health and safety policy in place, despite the fact we operate from the directors home. The home has fire alarms placed on each level of the house, ensuring safety if there was a fire. Also in the kitchen there is a fire extinguisher and fire blanket making sure no food burns anything.
3.3 Check which potentially unsafe working practices present the highest risk to self and others
The most unsafe working practices that spring to mind in the world of health and safety are -
Obstruction of the fire exits in a workplace, these should never have equipment blocking them and fire doors should never be propped open.
Another one involves spillage's and wiring in the workplace, these present a high risk in regards to people having falls.
Also funnily enough other people can present a large accidental endangerment to yourself, this could be someone leaving a hot cup of coffee by your hand without you realising.
3.4 Take action to address any hazards in accordance with workplace procedures and legal requirements
The best way to enable you to make a safe judgement of your workplace would be with a Risk Assessment. This gives a legal standard judgement on whether or not your abiding to the current regulations in place. After filling in this document you will then be able to address whether or not your workplace is up to a legal safety standard.
Unit 6.4 - Be able to reduce risks to health and safety in the workplace
4.1 Work safely in accordance with own level of competence, relevant instructions and legal requirements, following environmentally friendly practices
In regards to this question the one word that sticks out is competence 'The quality of being competent; adequacy; possession of required skill, knowledge, qualification, or capacity'. Generally this question makes me think that we should no undertake a task if we haven't had the appropriate training to deal with said task, this could involve using machinery that we haven't been shown how to use. Many companies have training cards that they will use to show the employee how to use certain equipment or protocol ie using a foul drain to pour away stale milk.
4.3 Suggest ways of reducing risks to health and safety to the appropriate personnel
In my personal experience I have found that workplace health and safety training is a great way for your employees to be in the know on the potential risks in their work. This could involve making sure they are aware of COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) and also regular refresher training to ensure employees have the knowledge to deal with hazardous situations.
4.4 Report any differences between workplace and suppliers' or manufacturers' instructions
THIS IS AN AMBIGUOUS QUESTION. PLEASE VERIFY!!!
Friday, 18 November 2011
Friday, 11 November 2011
Unit 8.2 - The Life Cycle of a Creative Media Project
Production
Pre Production –
One of the most important stages of the of production process, this is the stage when the ideas have more a less come together after the initial development. During this stage you can expect to have the pink pages to the script and to have started to crew up for the film.
From my experience of pre production this was the period of crewing up and also helping art department source props, in my case being action vehicles, televisions and bicycles. We also had the First AD (Assistant Director) finalise the schedule and the producer finalise the budget with programs like MM (Movie Magic) Budgeting and MM Scheduling. Planning and organisational skills are very important during this stage as without it the Production has the odds stacked against it.
Production –
Well, well, well this is the stage when you actually start shooting and have your cast, crew, locations and equipment. The shoot should run efficiently if you’ve had a smooth pre production and a reliable crew. You may also have pick up days (specific shots, such as establishing) after the initial shoot has finished.
Post Production –
At this stage of Production, you will have all your rushes (shots) and will most likely have started having your editor piece them together with the help of the sound reports and continuity reports (these allow the editor/s to know what shots are worth using and what ones have sound issues and so fourth). This is always an exciting stage to see the film come to life, and has a direct impact on the final version of the film.
We have just finished Production on our feature film, so we are still having a transition into the edit, although this was being partially edited as we were still in production, for reasons such as showing some shots to distributors and so on.
I’m very excited to see the final product especially with sound effects and a soundtrack added.
Marketing & Exchange –
A very important stage in the film life cycle, as without the marketing available films will struggle to get people to see their film, unless it has talent attached (and even in this case they can still struggle to break even, let alone make any revenue). So it’s a very important stage to target your audience and sell the film to them, especially if you’re targeting a very niche audience. This can be done with tactics such as hoarding, adverts, trailers, posters, competitions and magazines and I’m sure there are many more.
Distribution –
This is the physical aspect of getting people to see the film. This basically involves having a company get your film out there to the audience, either by giving the cinema the reel, or supplying the retailer with the DVDs, finding TV channels that wish to acquire the film rights or getting the film onto Video On Demand (VOD). Generally with distribution you will sell certain rights to certain countries and also decide the period of time they hold these for. The Distribution area is also a very important way to enable you make sure your film is targeted at the specified audience, including having the film play at certain film festivals and not at a specified genre that isn’t relevant to your product.
Audience Consumption
A very important stage in making sure your product is targeted at the correct audience before you start, if you haven’t got a target audience then generally speaking your not going to be able to sell it.
If your film doesn’t have a specified target audience with hard evidence on how there your audience then most distribution companies won’t want to go near your film. The reasons for this are mostly because they need to know how their marketing strategy is going to run, for example an action film with an all male cast, guns, explosions etc won’t be targeting that male audience is advertised in Heat magazine.
With companies that have a past catalogue of say action films and then have one in the marketing stage that is a romantic drama it is very important for the audience to know that this is the situation and made clear, otherwise you could have the problem of losing your existing audience for being deceitful.
A lot of the time film companies will do select screenings to the general public, to allow them to voice there opinions and concerns on a film, whether it being to graphical for there target audience, or having a very slow scene, this feedback is taken into account and has a big persuasion on what is then cut or added to the film.
Pre Production –
One of the most important stages of the of production process, this is the stage when the ideas have more a less come together after the initial development. During this stage you can expect to have the pink pages to the script and to have started to crew up for the film.
From my experience of pre production this was the period of crewing up and also helping art department source props, in my case being action vehicles, televisions and bicycles. We also had the First AD (Assistant Director) finalise the schedule and the producer finalise the budget with programs like MM (Movie Magic) Budgeting and MM Scheduling. Planning and organisational skills are very important during this stage as without it the Production has the odds stacked against it.
Production –
Well, well, well this is the stage when you actually start shooting and have your cast, crew, locations and equipment. The shoot should run efficiently if you’ve had a smooth pre production and a reliable crew. You may also have pick up days (specific shots, such as establishing) after the initial shoot has finished.
Post Production –
At this stage of Production, you will have all your rushes (shots) and will most likely have started having your editor piece them together with the help of the sound reports and continuity reports (these allow the editor/s to know what shots are worth using and what ones have sound issues and so fourth). This is always an exciting stage to see the film come to life, and has a direct impact on the final version of the film.
We have just finished Production on our feature film, so we are still having a transition into the edit, although this was being partially edited as we were still in production, for reasons such as showing some shots to distributors and so on.
I’m very excited to see the final product especially with sound effects and a soundtrack added.
Marketing & Exchange –
A very important stage in the film life cycle, as without the marketing available films will struggle to get people to see their film, unless it has talent attached (and even in this case they can still struggle to break even, let alone make any revenue). So it’s a very important stage to target your audience and sell the film to them, especially if you’re targeting a very niche audience. This can be done with tactics such as hoarding, adverts, trailers, posters, competitions and magazines and I’m sure there are many more.
Distribution –
This is the physical aspect of getting people to see the film. This basically involves having a company get your film out there to the audience, either by giving the cinema the reel, or supplying the retailer with the DVDs, finding TV channels that wish to acquire the film rights or getting the film onto Video On Demand (VOD). Generally with distribution you will sell certain rights to certain countries and also decide the period of time they hold these for. The Distribution area is also a very important way to enable you make sure your film is targeted at the specified audience, including having the film play at certain film festivals and not at a specified genre that isn’t relevant to your product.
Audience Consumption
A very important stage in making sure your product is targeted at the correct audience before you start, if you haven’t got a target audience then generally speaking your not going to be able to sell it.
If your film doesn’t have a specified target audience with hard evidence on how there your audience then most distribution companies won’t want to go near your film. The reasons for this are mostly because they need to know how their marketing strategy is going to run, for example an action film with an all male cast, guns, explosions etc won’t be targeting that male audience is advertised in Heat magazine.
With companies that have a past catalogue of say action films and then have one in the marketing stage that is a romantic drama it is very important for the audience to know that this is the situation and made clear, otherwise you could have the problem of losing your existing audience for being deceitful.
A lot of the time film companies will do select screenings to the general public, to allow them to voice there opinions and concerns on a film, whether it being to graphical for there target audience, or having a very slow scene, this feedback is taken into account and has a big persuasion on what is then cut or added to the film.
Friday, 4 November 2011
Unit 8.3 -Know how the Creative Media sector is structured
1.3 Explain the relevant relationships between a range of Creative Media industries
For this post i'll be talking about three of my fellow apprentices comments on their chosen creative media industries. The task required us to select two industries that we felt we were in the 'know about. Below are my comments on these.
Gaming and the Internet – Robert
After reading through Rob’s post on the gaming industry it is obvious that he knows his stuff and is one with games. In particular he has spoken in great detail about the evolution of gaming consoles from consoles such as the Saga Megadrive (I use to frickin’ love playing on mine) and also the Nintendo Entertainment System. Rob has importantly spoken about the vast history and the growing trend for gaming consoles that haven’t ceased to be slowing in trade.
I found what Rob had to say very interesting and also filled me with nostalgia of the good ol’ days (for a nineteen year old I sound like I’ve lived a life) but as new consoles keep flying off the shelves and prices fly into the hundreds the question is who is behind it all?
Well as Rob address the gaming industry now has ‘artists and designers, programmers, voice actors and motion capture teams, audio teams and composers’ and even full orchestra’s behind these ‘general’ games as such, making it all very hard to believe this all started from things such as board games.
One thing I would have liked to see in Rob’s gaming post is sales figures and how much the gaming industry is worth (I’m one of those people who find that stuff, well interesting). And also what games were around before consoles, especially in terms of board games – monopoly, cludo, KERPLUNK!
The interlink between games and the Internet also was an interesting read, especially the findings on how film advertise through this platform. I really enjoyed reading about the Dsitrict 9 and Blair Witch Project marketing strategies that helped create rumours among the networking community.
One problem with exploring the internet as a Creative Media Industry is where on earth do you begin, it’s so vast and therefore not an easy industry to sum up without writing a book.
It would have been good to see something on the Internet’s link with Television; as for me personally that’s the biggest viewing platform for me at the moment, with things such as on demand. Obviously this has been a developing issue over the past few years with cable provider Virgin having an on demand service accessed from your television and satellite provider SKY launching anytime that has a similar catch up service.
But all in all Rob you smashed it!
Advertising and Film – Joy
I enjoyed reading Joy’s findings on advertising and the history behind this, always good to know how the Egyptians rocked it back then. I also found it interesting to read about how weight gain products use to be advertised, as this was the key for a healthy woman (oh how times change). Generally I find advertising a very interesting industry that target’s basically the worlds population with different adverts for race, sex, language and so on. So I feel Joy could have got a lot meatier with advertising, and maybe also speak about some of these monster-advertising companies like C21, London Creative, and DDB Worldwide (to name a few). Also just to be picky I would have loved some of Joy’s humour in regards to the advertising that we have today.
Also Joy’s flowchart image of the advertising industry looks lovely, but unfortunately I cannot read it Joyous ☺.
Moving onto Joy’s analysis of the film industry, I found this very insightful and felt it addressed the way’s that we view film with technology always evolving and viewing formats such as VCR, DVD, BluRay, TV and Cinema. Obviously with this multi billion pound industry there are many big corporations to talk about Disney, Pixar, 20th Century Fox and so on, I feel Joy could have addressed some of these companies in her writing and expanded on how they are run and what they do inside these corporations. I also couldn’t see Joy’s comparison between advertising and film and how they both benefit one another.
Otherwise I enjoyed reading Joy’s comments on both advertising and film and think she’s given a good overview of what they are composed of.
Literature and Television - Cherokee
Literature one topic that isn’t a strong point of mine, sure I read newspapers, magazines and other Internet content, but when it comes to books I get a bit bored unfortunately (unless it’s a compelling story, as you do). However after reading Cherokee’s comments on the literature industry revives my enjoyment of a good read. I did find that Cherokee focussed on the more newspaper/ magazine aspect of this industry, rather than the book side as for me when I think of literature I think of books.
I found Cherokee’s comments on the Daily Mail ideology very interesting, and unfortunately true, my personal opinion on that paper isn’t high favourable but I still read it (how fucked up is that!). When it comes to certain Magazines also Cherokee’s comments on branding and being ‘there to sell a lifestyle’ are so true, many people will buy Vogue or Tatler to give off this pretentious persona to society (despite the fact 80% of the pages are adverts – where’s the literature people?).
Reading Cherokee’s article on Television was much ‘fun’ and I felt her perception on reality TV shows was very true, despite my guilty pleasure for reality TV such as ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ and ‘Crimewatch’ (Crimewatch being more serious and bringing many idiots ‘*****’ to justice).
Obviously it’s strange to think about societies obsession with other peoples lives, especially with shows such as ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’, which in my view is a pile of processed shit, with no likeability to there scripted mischief (and yes I realise TOWIE is the same).
However with other reality TV programs ‘XFactor’, ‘Come Dine with Me’ and ‘Four in a Bed’ I can see the obvious phenomenon regarding their popularity and at the end of the day they cross over into entertainment (we all love a good laugh, even if with XFactor it’s at someone else’s expense – how sick are we!).
I liked the context behind the two big game players in the reality TV industry ‘Who Want’s To Be A Millionaire? (I do)’ and ‘Big Brother’, most definitely the two modern day kick starters of reality TV.
Also the use of an Andy Warhol quote was a nice touch and emphasised Cherokee’s argument with an external source.
I have no critique here, and enjoyed to read about the predominantly reality Television industry, if this is the damage Cherokee can do to reality tv, I would love to see how take on politics ☺.
For this post i'll be talking about three of my fellow apprentices comments on their chosen creative media industries. The task required us to select two industries that we felt we were in the 'know about. Below are my comments on these.
Gaming and the Internet – Robert
After reading through Rob’s post on the gaming industry it is obvious that he knows his stuff and is one with games. In particular he has spoken in great detail about the evolution of gaming consoles from consoles such as the Saga Megadrive (I use to frickin’ love playing on mine) and also the Nintendo Entertainment System. Rob has importantly spoken about the vast history and the growing trend for gaming consoles that haven’t ceased to be slowing in trade.
I found what Rob had to say very interesting and also filled me with nostalgia of the good ol’ days (for a nineteen year old I sound like I’ve lived a life) but as new consoles keep flying off the shelves and prices fly into the hundreds the question is who is behind it all?
Well as Rob address the gaming industry now has ‘artists and designers, programmers, voice actors and motion capture teams, audio teams and composers’ and even full orchestra’s behind these ‘general’ games as such, making it all very hard to believe this all started from things such as board games.
One thing I would have liked to see in Rob’s gaming post is sales figures and how much the gaming industry is worth (I’m one of those people who find that stuff, well interesting). And also what games were around before consoles, especially in terms of board games – monopoly, cludo, KERPLUNK!
The interlink between games and the Internet also was an interesting read, especially the findings on how film advertise through this platform. I really enjoyed reading about the Dsitrict 9 and Blair Witch Project marketing strategies that helped create rumours among the networking community.
One problem with exploring the internet as a Creative Media Industry is where on earth do you begin, it’s so vast and therefore not an easy industry to sum up without writing a book.
It would have been good to see something on the Internet’s link with Television; as for me personally that’s the biggest viewing platform for me at the moment, with things such as on demand. Obviously this has been a developing issue over the past few years with cable provider Virgin having an on demand service accessed from your television and satellite provider SKY launching anytime that has a similar catch up service.
But all in all Rob you smashed it!
Advertising and Film – Joy
I enjoyed reading Joy’s findings on advertising and the history behind this, always good to know how the Egyptians rocked it back then. I also found it interesting to read about how weight gain products use to be advertised, as this was the key for a healthy woman (oh how times change). Generally I find advertising a very interesting industry that target’s basically the worlds population with different adverts for race, sex, language and so on. So I feel Joy could have got a lot meatier with advertising, and maybe also speak about some of these monster-advertising companies like C21, London Creative, and DDB Worldwide (to name a few). Also just to be picky I would have loved some of Joy’s humour in regards to the advertising that we have today.
Also Joy’s flowchart image of the advertising industry looks lovely, but unfortunately I cannot read it Joyous ☺.
Moving onto Joy’s analysis of the film industry, I found this very insightful and felt it addressed the way’s that we view film with technology always evolving and viewing formats such as VCR, DVD, BluRay, TV and Cinema. Obviously with this multi billion pound industry there are many big corporations to talk about Disney, Pixar, 20th Century Fox and so on, I feel Joy could have addressed some of these companies in her writing and expanded on how they are run and what they do inside these corporations. I also couldn’t see Joy’s comparison between advertising and film and how they both benefit one another.
Otherwise I enjoyed reading Joy’s comments on both advertising and film and think she’s given a good overview of what they are composed of.
Literature and Television - Cherokee
Literature one topic that isn’t a strong point of mine, sure I read newspapers, magazines and other Internet content, but when it comes to books I get a bit bored unfortunately (unless it’s a compelling story, as you do). However after reading Cherokee’s comments on the literature industry revives my enjoyment of a good read. I did find that Cherokee focussed on the more newspaper/ magazine aspect of this industry, rather than the book side as for me when I think of literature I think of books.
I found Cherokee’s comments on the Daily Mail ideology very interesting, and unfortunately true, my personal opinion on that paper isn’t high favourable but I still read it (how fucked up is that!). When it comes to certain Magazines also Cherokee’s comments on branding and being ‘there to sell a lifestyle’ are so true, many people will buy Vogue or Tatler to give off this pretentious persona to society (despite the fact 80% of the pages are adverts – where’s the literature people?).
Reading Cherokee’s article on Television was much ‘fun’ and I felt her perception on reality TV shows was very true, despite my guilty pleasure for reality TV such as ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ and ‘Crimewatch’ (Crimewatch being more serious and bringing many idiots ‘*****’ to justice).
Obviously it’s strange to think about societies obsession with other peoples lives, especially with shows such as ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’, which in my view is a pile of processed shit, with no likeability to there scripted mischief (and yes I realise TOWIE is the same).
However with other reality TV programs ‘XFactor’, ‘Come Dine with Me’ and ‘Four in a Bed’ I can see the obvious phenomenon regarding their popularity and at the end of the day they cross over into entertainment (we all love a good laugh, even if with XFactor it’s at someone else’s expense – how sick are we!).
I liked the context behind the two big game players in the reality TV industry ‘Who Want’s To Be A Millionaire? (I do)’ and ‘Big Brother’, most definitely the two modern day kick starters of reality TV.
Also the use of an Andy Warhol quote was a nice touch and emphasised Cherokee’s argument with an external source.
I have no critique here, and enjoyed to read about the predominantly reality Television industry, if this is the damage Cherokee can do to reality tv, I would love to see how take on politics ☺.
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Unit 8.4 - Understand individual team roles and responsibilities within a specific project life cycle
4.2 Explain their responsibilities and outputs within a specific project life cycle
The production crew have many outputs in their job description, many are quite obvious, yet others have slightly more to them than people would think.
The production crew have many outputs in their job description, many are quite obvious, yet others have slightly more to them than people would think.
Monday, 24 October 2011
Unit 8.3 - Understand the role of a specific team within the organisation of which it is part & Unit 8.4 Understand individual team roles and responsibilities within a specific project life cycle
3.3 Explain the role of a specific team within the organization.
4.1 Explain the individual roles within a specific team &
4.2 Explain their responsibilities and outputs within a specific project life cycle
To start this bad boy off, I’m going to be discussing the specific teams within the Production Process for a film.
Firstly we have the Director under this we have also the 1st AD, 2nd AD, and 3rd AD these crucial people arrange the vision, running’s and scheduling of the filming process.
The Director is the creative person who decides how each shot is going to be portrayed on camera, whether the films plot is flowing correctly, deciding the technical details including lighting, along with how the actors will act out each specific scene.
Next we have the ADs (Assistant Directors) with the first carrying out the day to day running on the shoot, making sure the film is on schedule, ensuring a safe focusede sense to put together.
AN AD generally is the chief assistant ON the set, and will normally have requests of other jobs including sourcing props for each location, however big or small, significant or insignificant they will need to organize these! Art department will also discuss many aspects with the director and the graphics designer to make sure that the creative brief is being achieved. Art department is made up of a Production Designer (Top dog in the arty aspect, making sure everything from settings, costume and makeup are visually correct in the film) Art Director (works closely with the Production designer making sure that the aesthetics of the set are correct) they would also have a specific team who would make sure that things are set up correctly, including continuity between takes.
Art Department are responsible for dressing the sets in principle, but have a branch of other jobs including sourcing props for each location, however big or small, significant or insignificant they will need to organize these! Art department will also discuss many aspects with the director and the graphics designer to make sure that the creative brief is being achieved. Art department is made up of a Production Designer (Top dog in the arty aspect, making sure everything from settings, costume and makeup are visually correct in the film) Art Director (works closely with the Production designer making sure that the aesthetics of the set are correct) they would also have a specific team who would make sure that things are set up correctly, including continuity between takes.
Costume Designer’s work funnily enough on...... costumes and are there to make sure the character is portrayed correctly in the film through the clothing they are wearing. A costume designer would normally have a costume superviser who would help manage budget for clothing, sourcing of costumes, and other logistical aspects making sure the running is smooth.
The Hair and Make up department have a similar job outcome as costumes, that is to make sure the character/s on screen are appearing how invisioned by the director, which could be making the actor look younger, older, dead, or beaten up. With the hairdresser doing the same but with hairstyles. Make up artists usually work closely with prosthetics also, therefore dealing with scenes such as someone breaking and arm and so on.
Special Effects department also tie in with the Art Department family, usually having a SPFX supervisor and also a SPFX assistant, there job role is to design set elements that can burn, explode and collapse safely without putting any cast/ crew member (or anyone as a matter of fact) in danger. So they have to make logistical decisions on how to not burn down the set, aswell as rigging the set for certain stunts and assistiwe have the cs in most cases.
Production Assistants assist in the Production Office to help manage shooting logistics, but also help out other HoDs (Heads of Departments) in particular the Assistant Director with managing things such as crowd control and making sure the talent get on set within there call time.
I found this skillset link very helpful, it explained what each job entails and what to expect.
http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/
4.1 Explain the individual roles within a specific team &
4.2 Explain their responsibilities and outputs within a specific project life cycle
To start this bad boy off, I’m going to be discussing the specific teams within the Production Process for a film.
Firstly we have the Director under this we have also the 1st AD, 2nd AD, and 3rd AD these crucial people arrange the vision, running’s and scheduling of the filming process.
The Director is the creative person who decides how each shot is going to be portrayed on camera, whether the films plot is flowing correctly, deciding the technical details including lighting, along with how the actors will act out each specific scene.
Next we have the ADs (Assistant Directors) with the first carrying out the day to day running on the shoot, making sure the film is on schedule, ensuring a safe focusede sense to put together.
AN AD generally is the chief assistant ON the set, and will normally have requests of other jobs including sourcing props for each location, however big or small, significant or insignificant they will need to organize these! Art department will also discuss many aspects with the director and the graphics designer to make sure that the creative brief is being achieved. Art department is made up of a Production Designer (Top dog in the arty aspect, making sure everything from settings, costume and makeup are visually correct in the film) Art Director (works closely with the Production designer making sure that the aesthetics of the set are correct) they would also have a specific team who would make sure that things are set up correctly, including continuity between takes.
Art Department are responsible for dressing the sets in principle, but have a branch of other jobs including sourcing props for each location, however big or small, significant or insignificant they will need to organize these! Art department will also discuss many aspects with the director and the graphics designer to make sure that the creative brief is being achieved. Art department is made up of a Production Designer (Top dog in the arty aspect, making sure everything from settings, costume and makeup are visually correct in the film) Art Director (works closely with the Production designer making sure that the aesthetics of the set are correct) they would also have a specific team who would make sure that things are set up correctly, including continuity between takes.
Costume Designer’s work funnily enough on...... costumes and are there to make sure the character is portrayed correctly in the film through the clothing they are wearing. A costume designer would normally have a costume superviser who would help manage budget for clothing, sourcing of costumes, and other logistical aspects making sure the running is smooth.
The Hair and Make up department have a similar job outcome as costumes, that is to make sure the character/s on screen are appearing how invisioned by the director, which could be making the actor look younger, older, dead, or beaten up. With the hairdresser doing the same but with hairstyles. Make up artists usually work closely with prosthetics also, therefore dealing with scenes such as someone breaking and arm and so on.
Special Effects department also tie in with the Art Department family, usually having a SPFX supervisor and also a SPFX assistant, there job role is to design set elements that can burn, explode and collapse safely without putting any cast/ crew member (or anyone as a matter of fact) in danger. So they have to make logistical decisions on how to not burn down the set, aswell as rigging the set for certain stunts and assistiwe have the cs in most cases.
Production Assistants assist in the Production Office to help manage shooting logistics, but also help out other HoDs (Heads of Departments) in particular the Assistant Director with managing things such as crowd control and making sure the talent get on set within there call time.
I found this skillset link very helpful, it explained what each job entails and what to expect.
http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Unit 8.2 - Understand a specific Creative Media project life cycle
2.1 Describe the stages of a specific Creative Media project life cycle
Okay, here we go – The Creative Media project life cycle that I’m going to talk about is Film. During my time on the Apprenticeship scheme I’ve seen the companies film in the development stages, this is the period where script changes aren’t uncommon and for me to start looking into filming locations, area’s and office space, while I was doing these tasks the tree grows more branches. I found that many area’s could affect vital parts of the film such as aircraft noise, parking charges and also council costs for filming these are big deciding factors among other things. This was also the time when we started looking casting and also looking for production crew. During Development we then hired our Line Producer and First AD. We then had the Producer conduct interviews for other positions, as well as the First AD and Director.
The next stage was Pre Production this was where we moved into our Production Office up in Victoria; during the first week it was a matter of ordering further supplies and starting to conduct recces. By now we had most our cast and had our costume designer and make up artists liaise with the talent on their costume and makeup.
Art Department were also working hard at acquiring props and ‘dressing’ confirmed locations that were to be used at the start of the shoot. As all our Production Team was getting on with their tasks, such as printing scripts, helping source props, locations, camera, lighting and generators (and as you can imagine, an awful lot more!) by this point Principle Photography wasn’t far away.
Production has only just started, so I’ll keep this updated as the shoot goes on!
2.2 Explain and justify resources required for a specific project
Well this question could seem quite self-explanatory, but funnily enough it isn’t just a camera you need!
When I joined Cyclops Vision in July I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of what we needed for a specific project. This whole process revolves around one thing – THE BUDGET, nothing could be done, at least not correctly if this was not followed. The budget allows the Producers to know what they have to spend on each department,
Director – Cast – Production Crew – Art Department – Make Up and Hair – Location Managers – Props – Procurements (Purchases) – Camera – Lights and Action!
I’m sure there is something I’ve missed out here, but so far I’ve come across these outgoings and the knowledge of how important it is to stick to the designated budget, as if you go spending more on a certain area most likely you will have to cut back in others (Vicious cycle!).
Camera and Lighting a key area of resources required for a film production project, and not just these there are also costs associated with what format your shooting in, aswell as different lens’s, dollies and so on.
Production Crew are a big money eater, due to the vast amount of staff that you have under this branch, runners, production assistants, production coordinator/s, production managers, AD’s and even more such as drivers. Despite the expenses in these members of a specific project, they are core and keep production running smoothly and in the long term can keep the project from going over it’s schedule, which obviously saves a lot of money.
Okay, here we go – The Creative Media project life cycle that I’m going to talk about is Film. During my time on the Apprenticeship scheme I’ve seen the companies film in the development stages, this is the period where script changes aren’t uncommon and for me to start looking into filming locations, area’s and office space, while I was doing these tasks the tree grows more branches. I found that many area’s could affect vital parts of the film such as aircraft noise, parking charges and also council costs for filming these are big deciding factors among other things. This was also the time when we started looking casting and also looking for production crew. During Development we then hired our Line Producer and First AD. We then had the Producer conduct interviews for other positions, as well as the First AD and Director.
The next stage was Pre Production this was where we moved into our Production Office up in Victoria; during the first week it was a matter of ordering further supplies and starting to conduct recces. By now we had most our cast and had our costume designer and make up artists liaise with the talent on their costume and makeup.
Art Department were also working hard at acquiring props and ‘dressing’ confirmed locations that were to be used at the start of the shoot. As all our Production Team was getting on with their tasks, such as printing scripts, helping source props, locations, camera, lighting and generators (and as you can imagine, an awful lot more!) by this point Principle Photography wasn’t far away.
Production has only just started, so I’ll keep this updated as the shoot goes on!
2.2 Explain and justify resources required for a specific project
Well this question could seem quite self-explanatory, but funnily enough it isn’t just a camera you need!
When I joined Cyclops Vision in July I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of what we needed for a specific project. This whole process revolves around one thing – THE BUDGET, nothing could be done, at least not correctly if this was not followed. The budget allows the Producers to know what they have to spend on each department,
Director – Cast – Production Crew – Art Department – Make Up and Hair – Location Managers – Props – Procurements (Purchases) – Camera – Lights and Action!
I’m sure there is something I’ve missed out here, but so far I’ve come across these outgoings and the knowledge of how important it is to stick to the designated budget, as if you go spending more on a certain area most likely you will have to cut back in others (Vicious cycle!).
Camera and Lighting a key area of resources required for a film production project, and not just these there are also costs associated with what format your shooting in, aswell as different lens’s, dollies and so on.
Production Crew are a big money eater, due to the vast amount of staff that you have under this branch, runners, production assistants, production coordinator/s, production managers, AD’s and even more such as drivers. Despite the expenses in these members of a specific project, they are core and keep production running smoothly and in the long term can keep the project from going over it’s schedule, which obviously saves a lot of money.
Monday, 26 September 2011
Unit 5.2 - Understand how to communicate effectively with colleagues
2.1 Explain the importance of balancing the needs of tasks and people
A very important skill to learn, not just in the entertainment industry, but in any job.
A balance is key to making new friends in the workplace, but also meeting your job requirements and hopefully exceeding them. It can be easy at times to just want to talk about your life and what your going to do at the weekend, but this is a big no! Your employer did not hire you to bore people about what you are doing at the weekend, by all means inform if your colleague is interested but don't stop working! Multitasking is key, if you can work and talk then personally I don't see a problem (however, i'm not your employer i'm afraid) as you can still be getting your work done, and at the same time making your company a social place to work, raising company morale and in turn making a bigger profit (subject to your employees).
At Cyclops Vision where I am currently residing, I feel that i'm able to talk to colleagues, but at the same time I know it's important to get my head down and get my work done (I'm a man, statistically multitasking isn't one of our strong points), fact is without concentration at times your quite likely to make mistakes - and in some cases this could pull a strain on your job. I would suggest every few hours making yourself a nice warm drink and offering your
colleagues one, this promotes a 'happy to help' attitude and people like this.
2.2 Explain the importance of sharing information with colleagues
This is pretty paramount to a smooth workforce, during the Pre Production process i've been requested to make a list of what i'm searching for, whether it be props or properties (see what I did there :D) as if a i'm not in due to sickness or holiday, depending on the urgency of my tasks another work memeber may have to cover what I had been undertaking. But without a list it would be alot more stressful finding out where I may have stood on a certain area, just because I know what motorbike prop we may need, doesn't mean my colleague will.
During the Pre Production stage at my company i'm currently trying to find props, despite having limited information at this time on certain things. I've created a document with different action vehicle companies with numbers and quotes attached or with personal comments regarding alternatives, despite this list helping me it would also be paramount to my colleague if I just died and couldn't tell them what I had been doing.
2.3 Identify ways of tactfully requesting others to change working arrangements to improve own productivity
Just ASK! Despite this being the best policy on requesting change in working arrangements, sometimes I find myself to 'scared' to bring up certain things (i'm working on it)
On a day to day basis i'm sure you will have to ask for something, whether it being a coffee, a contract, or even a word. But the best way to productively change working arrangements is with a smile and a reasonable amount of time. You could find yourself in a situation when your work ties in with possibly research someone else has done or haven't. In this case scenario when they haven't done the work, how should you approach it? Well getting angry and talking to them like shit probably isn't the way to go - I definately wouldn't like someone doing that to me! Personally I would approach it in a way that made them feel bad/guilty if they didn't get that work across to you, as surely it isn't fair to have the blame on your back for not getting your work in, and you don't want to be known as the person who can't address this issue with a colleague (not who they would want as management material). So approaching the colleague and calmyly with a smile enquire about the work, and address that it has to be in by the end of the day. Most work colleagues would respect this and make it priority number one as to avoid any work relationship strains.
In the case that they don't respect the way you have approached them in your little polite manner, then I would follow up with an email, even possibly cc'ing your manager in, I'm sure they would get on the task pretty quick then. I joke I wouldn't copy my manager in, but i'm sure that would be effective.
Sit them down have a coffee, tea, hot chocolate (take your pick) and discuss in a calm way, that despite there reassurance on getting the research done, they could have been honest with you and explained the reasons for not as soon as you first addressed the problem, then in this case you may have had time to conduct the work yourself or start from where they left off.
2.4 Describe how to explain own decisions clearly and constructively
This is something that i've done in the stages of development, originally we were going to rent a production office. So there I went researching offices and looking on a relatively small budget, in a low budget independent film this is imperative. Instead of going to and from with emails regarding this and that property. I made an excel document instead that stated address/location, cost per square meter, utilities included, contact details, and an online link. This simple document allowed me to breakdown the properties i've been looking at and then send it to those concerned. Due to the fact it was all in one place, management could quickly
decide what office's were suitable and within budget. In the end we were given an office by a friend of the company.
2.5 Describe how to resolve conflict situations or dissatisfaction
Generally an issue that none of us want to be in, but despite this it may happen - So lets be prepared!
The best way to approach this situation is by keeping things quiet and calm. Bringing anything up in a work environment especially if aimed at a work colleague can be embarrassing for both your colleague and also for you. You wouldn't like to be put on the spot and told what your doing is wrong! So I feel a suitable way to have a positive outcome would be by emailing the relevant person you have a 'problem' with and state your reasons on why you would like to speak to them as it may be upsetting you with the way they've been talking to/about you. By sending this email you can give them some time to think over what they have done, or give them time to fight there corner on the topic. This is constructive not destructive to your work relationship, and definately beats pussy footing around the situation and can give both parties peace of mind after the discussion.
2.6 Explain the importance of liaison with colleagues to productivity
WHAT?
A very important skill to learn, not just in the entertainment industry, but in any job.
A balance is key to making new friends in the workplace, but also meeting your job requirements and hopefully exceeding them. It can be easy at times to just want to talk about your life and what your going to do at the weekend, but this is a big no! Your employer did not hire you to bore people about what you are doing at the weekend, by all means inform if your colleague is interested but don't stop working! Multitasking is key, if you can work and talk then personally I don't see a problem (however, i'm not your employer i'm afraid) as you can still be getting your work done, and at the same time making your company a social place to work, raising company morale and in turn making a bigger profit (subject to your employees).
At Cyclops Vision where I am currently residing, I feel that i'm able to talk to colleagues, but at the same time I know it's important to get my head down and get my work done (I'm a man, statistically multitasking isn't one of our strong points), fact is without concentration at times your quite likely to make mistakes - and in some cases this could pull a strain on your job. I would suggest every few hours making yourself a nice warm drink and offering your
colleagues one, this promotes a 'happy to help' attitude and people like this.
2.2 Explain the importance of sharing information with colleagues
This is pretty paramount to a smooth workforce, during the Pre Production process i've been requested to make a list of what i'm searching for, whether it be props or properties (see what I did there :D) as if a i'm not in due to sickness or holiday, depending on the urgency of my tasks another work memeber may have to cover what I had been undertaking. But without a list it would be alot more stressful finding out where I may have stood on a certain area, just because I know what motorbike prop we may need, doesn't mean my colleague will.
During the Pre Production stage at my company i'm currently trying to find props, despite having limited information at this time on certain things. I've created a document with different action vehicle companies with numbers and quotes attached or with personal comments regarding alternatives, despite this list helping me it would also be paramount to my colleague if I just died and couldn't tell them what I had been doing.
2.3 Identify ways of tactfully requesting others to change working arrangements to improve own productivity
Just ASK! Despite this being the best policy on requesting change in working arrangements, sometimes I find myself to 'scared' to bring up certain things (i'm working on it)
On a day to day basis i'm sure you will have to ask for something, whether it being a coffee, a contract, or even a word. But the best way to productively change working arrangements is with a smile and a reasonable amount of time. You could find yourself in a situation when your work ties in with possibly research someone else has done or haven't. In this case scenario when they haven't done the work, how should you approach it? Well getting angry and talking to them like shit probably isn't the way to go - I definately wouldn't like someone doing that to me! Personally I would approach it in a way that made them feel bad/guilty if they didn't get that work across to you, as surely it isn't fair to have the blame on your back for not getting your work in, and you don't want to be known as the person who can't address this issue with a colleague (not who they would want as management material). So approaching the colleague and calmyly with a smile enquire about the work, and address that it has to be in by the end of the day. Most work colleagues would respect this and make it priority number one as to avoid any work relationship strains.
In the case that they don't respect the way you have approached them in your little polite manner, then I would follow up with an email, even possibly cc'ing your manager in, I'm sure they would get on the task pretty quick then. I joke I wouldn't copy my manager in, but i'm sure that would be effective.
Sit them down have a coffee, tea, hot chocolate (take your pick) and discuss in a calm way, that despite there reassurance on getting the research done, they could have been honest with you and explained the reasons for not as soon as you first addressed the problem, then in this case you may have had time to conduct the work yourself or start from where they left off.
2.4 Describe how to explain own decisions clearly and constructively
This is something that i've done in the stages of development, originally we were going to rent a production office. So there I went researching offices and looking on a relatively small budget, in a low budget independent film this is imperative. Instead of going to and from with emails regarding this and that property. I made an excel document instead that stated address/location, cost per square meter, utilities included, contact details, and an online link. This simple document allowed me to breakdown the properties i've been looking at and then send it to those concerned. Due to the fact it was all in one place, management could quickly
decide what office's were suitable and within budget. In the end we were given an office by a friend of the company.
2.5 Describe how to resolve conflict situations or dissatisfaction
Generally an issue that none of us want to be in, but despite this it may happen - So lets be prepared!
The best way to approach this situation is by keeping things quiet and calm. Bringing anything up in a work environment especially if aimed at a work colleague can be embarrassing for both your colleague and also for you. You wouldn't like to be put on the spot and told what your doing is wrong! So I feel a suitable way to have a positive outcome would be by emailing the relevant person you have a 'problem' with and state your reasons on why you would like to speak to them as it may be upsetting you with the way they've been talking to/about you. By sending this email you can give them some time to think over what they have done, or give them time to fight there corner on the topic. This is constructive not destructive to your work relationship, and definately beats pussy footing around the situation and can give both parties peace of mind after the discussion.
2.6 Explain the importance of liaison with colleagues to productivity
WHAT?
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Unit 5.1 - Understand how to agree working arrangements (3.1 Included)
1.1 Identify key roles and tasks in the production process
During my time at Cyclops Vision i've already learnt a tremendous amount on Production, and what a massive stage it is.
When I first started the Apprenticeship in late July I honestly couldn't imagine what would be coming up, anxious was when I was given the jobs of helping find the crew. Obviously with this job I was posting adverts on websites such as 'Shooting People, Production Wizard, My First Job In Film (i'm sure there were more)' and from there replies literally by the hundreds came pouring in. Certain positions were filled by 'friends of the company, who had worked on previous work' but a lot of the others such as runners, costume designers, makeup artists, production coordinators, 1st - 2nd and 3rd ADs etc were going through me. It was quite a strange position to be in deciding from there CV who would be worth having in for Rosa (the producer) to interview.
But regardless, from this task I learnt many things about the roles that they play in Production, and the fact our Production is a low budget one I can't even imagine how many crew you would have for a Hollywood blockbuster! (I'm thinking 80? More or less, i'm not to certain. That was the first number that came into my head).
Tasks within Production another one I felt very unclear about when I started this Apprenticeship, obviously It's good to go into something and be like 'hey, I know how a 6kw generator works' but sometimes this isn't quite possible :(.
So anyway, some tasks that I have been part of so far have been on casting, actually a large proportion has been on recording each casting session. I was quite suprised how different on and off camera an actor can be portrayed.
Also tasks such as helping to purchase furniture and office equipment with the production coordinator (you would never guess, but this included more advert posting but on gumtree and freecycle) - To no avail. One thing i've been very attached to is my emails, having two work emails (one company email and other production email) uses up a whole lot of time, this is where I would be liaising with the casting director, and booking in interviews, attempting to find out sales figures and other fun stuff!
So tasks that i'm undergoing currently involve helping the art department find certain props for the film, as well as finding out certain regulations and laws that go hand in hand with said prop. Also i've been contacting different avenues with regards to sponsorship and marketing (this also isn't the easiest of things to do, but as of today i've had a positive response, so i'm feeling confident that i've learnt some tricks of the trade. I'm not sure if there is a saying but maybe i'll make one 'learning through failing')
I'm going to keep this post open as of the moment, as i'm sure there is going to be plenty more for me to reel off to your lovely self!
1.2 Outline how to clarify, agree and revise working arrangements in a way which promotes good working relationships AND
3.1 Clarify, agree and revise working arrangements, promoting good working relationships
Communication is key to a healthy working arrangement, especially if you have to request time off for specific reasons. I feel that A in which this should be done is with follow up confirmation for requesting time off, due to the fact work life can already be extremely hectic and can allow for such requests to slip through the net. Therefore it's good to send an email to your work colleagues with said details attached giving them knowledge that you won't be in, as they may have expected you to give them some help on one of there assignments or something else work related.
Rule of thumb for me is discussing information on a face to face basis, as this communication is key to having that bond with work colleagues and helps to show your dedicated to the business's needs and understand what effect your absence may have on the company. During my time at Cyclops Vision i've been off for one full day, this was due to being in a car crash. Despite this I still contacted the relevant person and explained that I was very shaken up and needed to sort myself out, during my absence I was still contactable and checked my emails so that despite being absent I could forward relevant information onwards so it could be dealt with promptly.
During my time at Cyclops Vision i've already learnt a tremendous amount on Production, and what a massive stage it is.
When I first started the Apprenticeship in late July I honestly couldn't imagine what would be coming up, anxious was when I was given the jobs of helping find the crew. Obviously with this job I was posting adverts on websites such as 'Shooting People, Production Wizard, My First Job In Film (i'm sure there were more)' and from there replies literally by the hundreds came pouring in. Certain positions were filled by 'friends of the company, who had worked on previous work' but a lot of the others such as runners, costume designers, makeup artists, production coordinators, 1st - 2nd and 3rd ADs etc were going through me. It was quite a strange position to be in deciding from there CV who would be worth having in for Rosa (the producer) to interview.
But regardless, from this task I learnt many things about the roles that they play in Production, and the fact our Production is a low budget one I can't even imagine how many crew you would have for a Hollywood blockbuster! (I'm thinking 80? More or less, i'm not to certain. That was the first number that came into my head).
Tasks within Production another one I felt very unclear about when I started this Apprenticeship, obviously It's good to go into something and be like 'hey, I know how a 6kw generator works' but sometimes this isn't quite possible :(.
So anyway, some tasks that I have been part of so far have been on casting, actually a large proportion has been on recording each casting session. I was quite suprised how different on and off camera an actor can be portrayed.
Also tasks such as helping to purchase furniture and office equipment with the production coordinator (you would never guess, but this included more advert posting but on gumtree and freecycle) - To no avail. One thing i've been very attached to is my emails, having two work emails (one company email and other production email) uses up a whole lot of time, this is where I would be liaising with the casting director, and booking in interviews, attempting to find out sales figures and other fun stuff!
So tasks that i'm undergoing currently involve helping the art department find certain props for the film, as well as finding out certain regulations and laws that go hand in hand with said prop. Also i've been contacting different avenues with regards to sponsorship and marketing (this also isn't the easiest of things to do, but as of today i've had a positive response, so i'm feeling confident that i've learnt some tricks of the trade. I'm not sure if there is a saying but maybe i'll make one 'learning through failing')
I'm going to keep this post open as of the moment, as i'm sure there is going to be plenty more for me to reel off to your lovely self!
1.2 Outline how to clarify, agree and revise working arrangements in a way which promotes good working relationships AND
3.1 Clarify, agree and revise working arrangements, promoting good working relationships
Communication is key to a healthy working arrangement, especially if you have to request time off for specific reasons. I feel that A in which this should be done is with follow up confirmation for requesting time off, due to the fact work life can already be extremely hectic and can allow for such requests to slip through the net. Therefore it's good to send an email to your work colleagues with said details attached giving them knowledge that you won't be in, as they may have expected you to give them some help on one of there assignments or something else work related.
Rule of thumb for me is discussing information on a face to face basis, as this communication is key to having that bond with work colleagues and helps to show your dedicated to the business's needs and understand what effect your absence may have on the company. During my time at Cyclops Vision i've been off for one full day, this was due to being in a car crash. Despite this I still contacted the relevant person and explained that I was very shaken up and needed to sort myself out, during my absence I was still contactable and checked my emails so that despite being absent I could forward relevant information onwards so it could be dealt with promptly.
Friday, 16 September 2011
Professional Behaviour in the Creative Media Sector
Unit 4.2 Know how to plan and manage workload
2.1 Describe effective time management skills needed to plan workload
The skills I use for my personal time management revolve around having a work diary, this way I can plan my tasks for the day ahead and once I've completed said task I can cross it out (a feeling that I personally find quite liberating). Another pro to my diary is being able to prioritise what needs to be done when, and I can add stuff in wherever I am in the world. Internet or not.
Another tool of the trade for me is google calendar, that allows me to add and share appointments with our production team, therefore allowing everyone to know what is happening in the workplace.
In the Google Calendar settings it also lets you set reminders and alarms so you will never be late again, supposedly :).
2.2 Describe how to specify and agree timescales, budgets and resources
From past experience I have found that emails are a very important tool for agreeing certain time scales and sticking to the agreed timescale. Emails allow us to bring up a past discussion that you may of had in person. An example of this could be at my past job I was asked not to bother watermarking some erotic screeners, due to the fact it would take to long and the sales team member wanted to close a deal quickly. The screeners were going to a high risk country where if lost in transit could be sent on and then sold. Despite the fact this incident would then be on my back if they were lost and illegally distributed, I sent an email to the salesman confirming our conversation with his 'okay' to sending them without a watermark.
That occasion taught me how important it was to confirm stuff in some sort of electronic format so if all went pete tong, I could then say well heres the email stating I should of done this.
So if there is someone out there with these unwatermarked erotic screeners - i'm watching you!
2.3 Explain how to construct a simple project plan
To construct an effective project plan you have to look at four key things Pre Production, Production, Post Production, and Marketing & Audience Consumption. These four things are heavily connected and reliant for a possible financial success. Marketing and Audience is one that can dictate whether or not the film has to be taken back to the pre production stages, possibly due to an incorrect portrayal of a character.
A project plan could be arranged on a spreadsheet, or on specialised location management software. Or my favourite being a whiteboard, simple and effective. With the company i'm working for currently being in pre production i'm sure that I will be picking up further knowledge on project plans as the weeks go on.
2.4 Explain the use of a contingency plan
Contingency plan - A very important tool to the trade, that prepares you or your production for an unfavourable scenario, whether this being a camera running out of battery, as you've filmed for much longer than anticipated - the contingency plan would involve having spare batteries.
Despite the fact it's a massive pro to have a contingency plan, i'm personally someone who likes to think of the positive side of said situation and find myself most effective thinking on my feet by finding a feasable solution.
A contingency plan could also be used in your social life, where you find yourself having to make these alternative choices if the preffered one fails, almost like a failsafe. For example if I were planning on going to the park with friends and the weather took a turn for the worst, I would have the instinc of going to the pub or someones house if we weren't in the mood for getting pissed on by the sky!
2.5 Explain the importance of storing work, using version control and observing file naming conventions
From personal experience I have found it is VERY important to label files correctly, not just for your sake but for others. An example of this would be at my last job in distribution, I was updating some avails for content and had them saved on the server. I knew where to find these files but once leaving the company, I received a message asking where they were on the server but guess what? I DIDN'T KNOW! A hard lesson to learn, not just the fact my ex colleague had to redo the work, it also meant I used up valuable company time completing it to have nothing to show for it.
So the learning curb for me now is when i'm saving work I title it by the exact thing it is and sometimes if i'm feeling snazzy I do the date in this format > 111609 (Abit of extra information never did anyone any harm).
2.1 Describe effective time management skills needed to plan workload
The skills I use for my personal time management revolve around having a work diary, this way I can plan my tasks for the day ahead and once I've completed said task I can cross it out (a feeling that I personally find quite liberating). Another pro to my diary is being able to prioritise what needs to be done when, and I can add stuff in wherever I am in the world. Internet or not.
Another tool of the trade for me is google calendar, that allows me to add and share appointments with our production team, therefore allowing everyone to know what is happening in the workplace.
In the Google Calendar settings it also lets you set reminders and alarms so you will never be late again, supposedly :).
2.2 Describe how to specify and agree timescales, budgets and resources
From past experience I have found that emails are a very important tool for agreeing certain time scales and sticking to the agreed timescale. Emails allow us to bring up a past discussion that you may of had in person. An example of this could be at my past job I was asked not to bother watermarking some erotic screeners, due to the fact it would take to long and the sales team member wanted to close a deal quickly. The screeners were going to a high risk country where if lost in transit could be sent on and then sold. Despite the fact this incident would then be on my back if they were lost and illegally distributed, I sent an email to the salesman confirming our conversation with his 'okay' to sending them without a watermark.
That occasion taught me how important it was to confirm stuff in some sort of electronic format so if all went pete tong, I could then say well heres the email stating I should of done this.
So if there is someone out there with these unwatermarked erotic screeners - i'm watching you!
2.3 Explain how to construct a simple project plan
To construct an effective project plan you have to look at four key things Pre Production, Production, Post Production, and Marketing & Audience Consumption. These four things are heavily connected and reliant for a possible financial success. Marketing and Audience is one that can dictate whether or not the film has to be taken back to the pre production stages, possibly due to an incorrect portrayal of a character.
A project plan could be arranged on a spreadsheet, or on specialised location management software. Or my favourite being a whiteboard, simple and effective. With the company i'm working for currently being in pre production i'm sure that I will be picking up further knowledge on project plans as the weeks go on.
2.4 Explain the use of a contingency plan
Contingency plan - A very important tool to the trade, that prepares you or your production for an unfavourable scenario, whether this being a camera running out of battery, as you've filmed for much longer than anticipated - the contingency plan would involve having spare batteries.
Despite the fact it's a massive pro to have a contingency plan, i'm personally someone who likes to think of the positive side of said situation and find myself most effective thinking on my feet by finding a feasable solution.
A contingency plan could also be used in your social life, where you find yourself having to make these alternative choices if the preffered one fails, almost like a failsafe. For example if I were planning on going to the park with friends and the weather took a turn for the worst, I would have the instinc of going to the pub or someones house if we weren't in the mood for getting pissed on by the sky!
2.5 Explain the importance of storing work, using version control and observing file naming conventions
From personal experience I have found it is VERY important to label files correctly, not just for your sake but for others. An example of this would be at my last job in distribution, I was updating some avails for content and had them saved on the server. I knew where to find these files but once leaving the company, I received a message asking where they were on the server but guess what? I DIDN'T KNOW! A hard lesson to learn, not just the fact my ex colleague had to redo the work, it also meant I used up valuable company time completing it to have nothing to show for it.
So the learning curb for me now is when i'm saving work I title it by the exact thing it is and sometimes if i'm feeling snazzy I do the date in this format > 111609 (Abit of extra information never did anyone any harm).
Professional Behaviour in the Creative Media Sector
Unit 4.1 - Understand the appropriate conduct for a particular Creative Media workplace -
1.1 Describe and compare the cultures of different creative media workplaces
In my workplace we do not have a 'set' dress code that we are to abide to. However despite not having this as a set of rules, I would not come in looking like a mess due to the negative connotations attached to this. If I were aware of an outside client coming to visit the workplace I would dress a lot more professional than the casual jeans.
Indigo Film and Television where I last worked were fine with wearing shorts during the hot summer months, but if meetings were taking part you were to wear trousers.
I'm yet to find out the correct dress etiquette for working on film production, but i'm sure this will be learnt soon enough.
Within my workplace the use of swear words are rarely used, and still then when one slips out you would try to keep that pretty low key. If the odd f bomb were to pop out i'm sure this wouldn't be a massive hoo ha, but i'm sure if the c*nt word did, this would be frowned upon.
In my everyday life and college I will add, I swear quite commonly and find many profanities to me aren't offensive and even use the c*nt word often enough. My mindset is that aslong as you're not using one of these words with an angry tone to a person, then they shouldn't find it offensive. I do understand why people don't agree with swearing as they are known to have negative connotations, but in this day and age these words are being said in everyday life.
1.2 Describe examples of challenging behaviours and issues in the workplace
Challenging behaviours can occur in the workplace on an everyday basis for some. Luckily for me I haven't encountered such a problem yet, but an example of when I have is when I was working at a company before 'And a had a customer complaining to me about a refund that I had given him, despite the fact I gave him one he wanted more as it was an 'inconvenience' despite the fact most of the product was nearly all consumed. I told him that I would get a manager as he was very angry, and I felt out of my comfort zone. Looking back on this situation I'm sure I could deal with this is a more effective way.
1.3 Explain the role of the key people to inform in relation to these examples
In the situation when this customer wouldn't take what I had offered him, I decided to call the duty manager who came to find an attainable solution. The manager's solution was to give the customer a further refund, despite the fact I later found out he comes in all the time to get double refunds, and I must of pissed him off by not going from previous experience.
At Indigo Film & TV I would report to the Managing Directors PA, who I could liaise with if I were having difficulties with something or had a request (having time off, leaving early etc).
I also had a line manager who sometimes I would help relieve her workload by helping input contracts into our rights software.
I would usually try to go to the Managing Director's PA first if I were having a problem, but if I felt that a solution hadn't been achieved I would take it further by talking to the MD himself.
1.4 Explain the impact of different behaviours and conduct in the workplace
In the workplace behaviours should always be kept professional, and you should never bring your home life into work. Despite sometimes having a lot on my plate at home, I always keep these emotions at bay and a smile on my face at work. I find this is important as a smile can do so much in the workplace as it's quite a contagious emotion, if you were working in a negative work environment with a low morale then I'm sure the company would suffer in it's productivity and also financially.
Sometimes swearing can be used in my workplace, but despite this it's not in a way to cause offence to people. As discussed in college, swearing can express how passionately you feel about a certain topic 'I fucking love American Beauty' - and so you should!
1.1 Describe and compare the cultures of different creative media workplaces
In my workplace we do not have a 'set' dress code that we are to abide to. However despite not having this as a set of rules, I would not come in looking like a mess due to the negative connotations attached to this. If I were aware of an outside client coming to visit the workplace I would dress a lot more professional than the casual jeans.
Indigo Film and Television where I last worked were fine with wearing shorts during the hot summer months, but if meetings were taking part you were to wear trousers.
I'm yet to find out the correct dress etiquette for working on film production, but i'm sure this will be learnt soon enough.
Within my workplace the use of swear words are rarely used, and still then when one slips out you would try to keep that pretty low key. If the odd f bomb were to pop out i'm sure this wouldn't be a massive hoo ha, but i'm sure if the c*nt word did, this would be frowned upon.
In my everyday life and college I will add, I swear quite commonly and find many profanities to me aren't offensive and even use the c*nt word often enough. My mindset is that aslong as you're not using one of these words with an angry tone to a person, then they shouldn't find it offensive. I do understand why people don't agree with swearing as they are known to have negative connotations, but in this day and age these words are being said in everyday life.
1.2 Describe examples of challenging behaviours and issues in the workplace
Challenging behaviours can occur in the workplace on an everyday basis for some. Luckily for me I haven't encountered such a problem yet, but an example of when I have is when I was working at a company before 'And a had a customer complaining to me about a refund that I had given him, despite the fact I gave him one he wanted more as it was an 'inconvenience' despite the fact most of the product was nearly all consumed. I told him that I would get a manager as he was very angry, and I felt out of my comfort zone. Looking back on this situation I'm sure I could deal with this is a more effective way.
1.3 Explain the role of the key people to inform in relation to these examples
In the situation when this customer wouldn't take what I had offered him, I decided to call the duty manager who came to find an attainable solution. The manager's solution was to give the customer a further refund, despite the fact I later found out he comes in all the time to get double refunds, and I must of pissed him off by not going from previous experience.
At Indigo Film & TV I would report to the Managing Directors PA, who I could liaise with if I were having difficulties with something or had a request (having time off, leaving early etc).
I also had a line manager who sometimes I would help relieve her workload by helping input contracts into our rights software.
I would usually try to go to the Managing Director's PA first if I were having a problem, but if I felt that a solution hadn't been achieved I would take it further by talking to the MD himself.
1.4 Explain the impact of different behaviours and conduct in the workplace
In the workplace behaviours should always be kept professional, and you should never bring your home life into work. Despite sometimes having a lot on my plate at home, I always keep these emotions at bay and a smile on my face at work. I find this is important as a smile can do so much in the workplace as it's quite a contagious emotion, if you were working in a negative work environment with a low morale then I'm sure the company would suffer in it's productivity and also financially.
Sometimes swearing can be used in my workplace, but despite this it's not in a way to cause offence to people. As discussed in college, swearing can express how passionately you feel about a certain topic 'I fucking love American Beauty' - and so you should!
Friday, 2 September 2011
Professional Behaviour in the Creative Media Sector
3.1 Explain what is meant by ‘continuous professional development’
3.2 Create and justify a personal development plan
3.3 Describe opportunities for training and development and explain the relevance of those choices
When I think of Continuous Professional Development, learning springs to mind. This learning development should equip you with the knowledge and skills that allows you to perform in your current job role and also prepare you for future job opportunities.
Continuous professional development can be as informal as, reading a newspaper, journal, or even watching something on the TV, or as formal as attending a course. It's always a good idea to keep a record of what you have done, however small this may be - thus using it when it comes to your Annual Review of Pay (ARP) with your management, you can reel all your progress off to them and hopefully get that reward you were looking for!
At your ARP you should also have clear goals set by your management, this will involve telling you what you may need to improve or learn to achieve in your future continuous development.
A few questions to ask yourself before having your Continuous Professional Development Evaluated could be -
Where am I now?
Where do I want to be? What new skills, knowledge and attributes will I need to get there?
How might my work change in the next few years?
How can I achieve my goals?
These four questions allow you to have a clear and direct plan on how you can improve and move forward with your career or even your personal life.
For my own Continuous Professional Development, over the past year I have achieved and learnt a great deal and moved forward in the film world. I have done this through being with Indigo Film & Television - when I started it took me much longer to progress on work and found certain tasks tedious. However if I hadn't of been willing to learn and progress I would not have got the positives out of this great opportunity.
I learnt about Distribution and how this process worked including updating avails and pitch documents for territories worldwide, also it greatly improved my telephone and professional manner which means a great deal to people.
Below is my Continuous Professional Development plan for this year -
Where am I now?
Currently working for Cyclops Vision, an independent production company, as well as doing an Advanced Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media at City of Westminster College and working part time at Waitrose.
Where do I want to be? What new skills, knowledge and attributes will I need to get there?For my development I would like to become more confident and experienced in Final Cut Pro, this will allow me to take on more challenging tasks in my workplace. I would also like to learn how to breakdown on budgets and understand what needs to be done without having to ask.
How might my work change in the next few years?
This question isn't so easy to answer, due to the fact the industry is constantly changing and adapting to peoples needs. But I would hope I was out of Waitrose and doing something full time in something that I enjoyed in film production. Towards the end of this year the company I work for will be entering production on there up and coming low budget feature film - this is a very exciting step in the right direction for me.
How can I achieve my goals?
I feel the best way to achieve my goals is by talking to others within the industry, this will allow me to digest what I need to learn and improve on. Another thing will be out of work learning, that could involve working on short films with friends or doing a film camera course, allowing me to learn more technical information on the equipment I will eventually use.
Opportunities available for me to further my learning involve DIVA, this company set up the Apprenticeship Scheme in Partnership with the City of Westminster College. The Advanced Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media has taught me alot so far, including what to expect in the industry and how to develop my learning further by acquiring new skills.
My part time job also allows me to progress to a higher position at the company thus offering me opportunities to become a wine specialist, horticulture specialist, cheese specialist, fish specialist and meat specialist. These opportunities are really one of a kind, as not many people work for a company that will pay for them to get pissed up on wine while getting a Connoisseur qualification out of it?
Ciao
3.2 Create and justify a personal development plan
3.3 Describe opportunities for training and development and explain the relevance of those choices
When I think of Continuous Professional Development, learning springs to mind. This learning development should equip you with the knowledge and skills that allows you to perform in your current job role and also prepare you for future job opportunities.
Continuous professional development can be as informal as, reading a newspaper, journal, or even watching something on the TV, or as formal as attending a course. It's always a good idea to keep a record of what you have done, however small this may be - thus using it when it comes to your Annual Review of Pay (ARP) with your management, you can reel all your progress off to them and hopefully get that reward you were looking for!
At your ARP you should also have clear goals set by your management, this will involve telling you what you may need to improve or learn to achieve in your future continuous development.
A few questions to ask yourself before having your Continuous Professional Development Evaluated could be -
Where am I now?
Where do I want to be? What new skills, knowledge and attributes will I need to get there?
How might my work change in the next few years?
How can I achieve my goals?
These four questions allow you to have a clear and direct plan on how you can improve and move forward with your career or even your personal life.
For my own Continuous Professional Development, over the past year I have achieved and learnt a great deal and moved forward in the film world. I have done this through being with Indigo Film & Television - when I started it took me much longer to progress on work and found certain tasks tedious. However if I hadn't of been willing to learn and progress I would not have got the positives out of this great opportunity.
I learnt about Distribution and how this process worked including updating avails and pitch documents for territories worldwide, also it greatly improved my telephone and professional manner which means a great deal to people.
Below is my Continuous Professional Development plan for this year -
Where am I now?
Currently working for Cyclops Vision, an independent production company, as well as doing an Advanced Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media at City of Westminster College and working part time at Waitrose.
Where do I want to be? What new skills, knowledge and attributes will I need to get there?For my development I would like to become more confident and experienced in Final Cut Pro, this will allow me to take on more challenging tasks in my workplace. I would also like to learn how to breakdown on budgets and understand what needs to be done without having to ask.
How might my work change in the next few years?
This question isn't so easy to answer, due to the fact the industry is constantly changing and adapting to peoples needs. But I would hope I was out of Waitrose and doing something full time in something that I enjoyed in film production. Towards the end of this year the company I work for will be entering production on there up and coming low budget feature film - this is a very exciting step in the right direction for me.
How can I achieve my goals?
I feel the best way to achieve my goals is by talking to others within the industry, this will allow me to digest what I need to learn and improve on. Another thing will be out of work learning, that could involve working on short films with friends or doing a film camera course, allowing me to learn more technical information on the equipment I will eventually use.
Opportunities available for me to further my learning involve DIVA, this company set up the Apprenticeship Scheme in Partnership with the City of Westminster College. The Advanced Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media has taught me alot so far, including what to expect in the industry and how to develop my learning further by acquiring new skills.
My part time job also allows me to progress to a higher position at the company thus offering me opportunities to become a wine specialist, horticulture specialist, cheese specialist, fish specialist and meat specialist. These opportunities are really one of a kind, as not many people work for a company that will pay for them to get pissed up on wine while getting a Connoisseur qualification out of it?
Ciao
Friday, 26 August 2011
Unit 8-1.2 - Describe cross-industry ownership in the Creative Media sector
Unit 8-1.2 - Describe cross-industry ownership in the Creative Media sector
The creative and digital media industry has grown significantly over the years, especially with the use of the internet and smartphones that allow the audience to access there favourite newspaper, magazine, radio station, program whenever they like. This technology advance has put a lot more power into the hands of such people as Rupert Murdoch, Richard Desmond, and Silvio Berlusconi (to name a few in particular!) And I feel this has some very worrying consequences. I feel this way because due to the fact these big media moguls owning such vast chunks of the media playground they can play whatever propaganda they fancy to the public, and then recycle this onto many of there various other ventures. This then poses the problem of 'is what I'm reading true anymore? -This should be the question that people are asking themselves but unfortunately this is not the case.
Some examples of cross media ownership could be Rupert Murdoch, who I have only realized on what a giant scale News Corporation controls the media and other ventures that influence public decisions, a few of his ventures include 20th Century Fox, Fox News, Shine Group, Star TV, Sky, BSkyB, AmericanIdol.com, The Sun, The Times, Sunday Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post. The ventures listed don’t even amount to 5% of what News International own or have a stake in.
Murdoch previously owned News Of The World but after recent events the paper was convicted of a phone hacking scandal, this blew the doors off the whole organization and how it had hacked politicians, heads of police, parents of deceased children and there own personal mobiles, upon other numerous organizations.
Murdoch previously made this statement ‘Our reputation is more important than the last hundred million dollars.’ – I don’t agree with what he’s said here, obviously he must have been cared about the last hundred million dollars as he was greedy and in the end was found out and his corporations name has been smeared, also this man must have been aware these hacking's were taking place. And still he let the reputation of the News Of The World go to dirt, just so his whole corporation was kept away from the falling shares. Selfish!
The scandal also incriminated corrupt police who took bribes, and not to forget Andy Coulson who was the head of communication for the Conservative Party. Andy was still on News Corporations’s payroll and hadn’t declared this at the time of his appointment – would delicate information could this man have seen?
Silvio Berlusconi is also a very powerful man, in a very powerful position. As Italy’s current prime minister and also the founder of company MEDIASET, this man owns a vast empire of television channels including the vast company Endemol. The power that is occupied by this man is crazy – this man could produce such political propaganda through his news platforms, just to benefit his campaign to remain as prime minister. Bunga Bunga Party!
A slightly different cross media ownership would be that of Sony Corporation, despite the fact this company isn’t the product of one man, the list of subsidiaries connected to goes on and on. Here are some ventures owned by Sony and I’m sure you’ll agree on the fact that it’s crazy on what they own.
Here’s some of the big ones Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, MGM Pictures, MGM Music, MGM Television, United Artists, Sony Music Entertainment, Columbia Records, Syco Music. And a few I’m sure you haven’t heard Sony Energy, Sony Chemicals, Sony Finance, Sony Marketing, and Sony Semiconductor. And again this is just naming a few.
When thinking about the fact Sony Corporation produces all aspects of the entertainment and technology industry therefore selling products by advertising something else. For Example -
• Sony Pictures or Columbia Pictures Produce a film
• Sony Music then use there catalogue on the soundtrack
• Sony Pictures then Distribute the film on through there links with cinemas
• Sony Home Entertainment then produce DVDs, Blue-ray and soundtracks
• Sony Corporation also have a massive control over it’s PR
I mean sure there are public organisations in place (OFCOM, ASA, Press Complaints Commission etc) these bodies are there to make sure that these organizations are doing things legally and by the book. One recent notable occasion is OFCOM having to investigate News Corporation's bid for a controlling stake in BSKYB after the controversy surrounding the phone hacking scandal at News of the World.
Here’s a statement on Ofcom written in a BBC article, it highlights their responsibilities as a governing body of those holding a broadcasting license.
‘Ofcom has a statutory and continuous duty to ensure that any holder of a broadcasting license is fit and proper. It can launch an investigation into this question at any time of its choosing.’
The creative and digital media industry has grown significantly over the years, especially with the use of the internet and smartphones that allow the audience to access there favourite newspaper, magazine, radio station, program whenever they like. This technology advance has put a lot more power into the hands of such people as Rupert Murdoch, Richard Desmond, and Silvio Berlusconi (to name a few in particular!) And I feel this has some very worrying consequences. I feel this way because due to the fact these big media moguls owning such vast chunks of the media playground they can play whatever propaganda they fancy to the public, and then recycle this onto many of there various other ventures. This then poses the problem of 'is what I'm reading true anymore? -This should be the question that people are asking themselves but unfortunately this is not the case.
Some examples of cross media ownership could be Rupert Murdoch, who I have only realized on what a giant scale News Corporation controls the media and other ventures that influence public decisions, a few of his ventures include 20th Century Fox, Fox News, Shine Group, Star TV, Sky, BSkyB, AmericanIdol.com, The Sun, The Times, Sunday Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post. The ventures listed don’t even amount to 5% of what News International own or have a stake in.
Murdoch previously owned News Of The World but after recent events the paper was convicted of a phone hacking scandal, this blew the doors off the whole organization and how it had hacked politicians, heads of police, parents of deceased children and there own personal mobiles, upon other numerous organizations.
Murdoch previously made this statement ‘Our reputation is more important than the last hundred million dollars.’ – I don’t agree with what he’s said here, obviously he must have been cared about the last hundred million dollars as he was greedy and in the end was found out and his corporations name has been smeared, also this man must have been aware these hacking's were taking place. And still he let the reputation of the News Of The World go to dirt, just so his whole corporation was kept away from the falling shares. Selfish!
The scandal also incriminated corrupt police who took bribes, and not to forget Andy Coulson who was the head of communication for the Conservative Party. Andy was still on News Corporations’s payroll and hadn’t declared this at the time of his appointment – would delicate information could this man have seen?
Silvio Berlusconi is also a very powerful man, in a very powerful position. As Italy’s current prime minister and also the founder of company MEDIASET, this man owns a vast empire of television channels including the vast company Endemol. The power that is occupied by this man is crazy – this man could produce such political propaganda through his news platforms, just to benefit his campaign to remain as prime minister. Bunga Bunga Party!
A slightly different cross media ownership would be that of Sony Corporation, despite the fact this company isn’t the product of one man, the list of subsidiaries connected to goes on and on. Here are some ventures owned by Sony and I’m sure you’ll agree on the fact that it’s crazy on what they own.
Here’s some of the big ones Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, MGM Pictures, MGM Music, MGM Television, United Artists, Sony Music Entertainment, Columbia Records, Syco Music. And a few I’m sure you haven’t heard Sony Energy, Sony Chemicals, Sony Finance, Sony Marketing, and Sony Semiconductor. And again this is just naming a few.
When thinking about the fact Sony Corporation produces all aspects of the entertainment and technology industry therefore selling products by advertising something else. For Example -
• Sony Pictures or Columbia Pictures Produce a film
• Sony Music then use there catalogue on the soundtrack
• Sony Pictures then Distribute the film on through there links with cinemas
• Sony Home Entertainment then produce DVDs, Blue-ray and soundtracks
• Sony Corporation also have a massive control over it’s PR
I mean sure there are public organisations in place (OFCOM, ASA, Press Complaints Commission etc) these bodies are there to make sure that these organizations are doing things legally and by the book. One recent notable occasion is OFCOM having to investigate News Corporation's bid for a controlling stake in BSKYB after the controversy surrounding the phone hacking scandal at News of the World.
Here’s a statement on Ofcom written in a BBC article, it highlights their responsibilities as a governing body of those holding a broadcasting license.
‘Ofcom has a statutory and continuous duty to ensure that any holder of a broadcasting license is fit and proper. It can launch an investigation into this question at any time of its choosing.’
DiVA Video Viral Campaign: Final
Below is the final version of the DIVA Video Viral Campaign that myself and my fellow DIVA Apprentices worked on! Hit me up with your thoughts. HOWEVER - I have been forgotten and therefore look like i've done shit on this piece (however true)
Describe Art and Photography within the Creative Media sector
Unit 8 -1.1 - Describe Art and Photography within the Creative Media sector
The use of art and photography in the creative media industry has grown significantly over the past twenty years, this is mostly down to magazines and the internet particular the use of fashion photography in magazines and other online publications, such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Vanity Fair these are the most widely circulated fashion publications.
Art has also been a massive selling factor in the creative media industry also, with money being made from exhibitions, collectors and also print and online publications.
Photography and Art have a massive impact on the creative media industry; one especially being that without both these media formats, and others such as websites and print based media would be very plain. And I feel that plain media publications wouldn’t help to coax the target audience into purchasing it, as it wouldn't have that originality that sets it apart from other magazines and other online sites. A photograph or piece of art on the front cover of a magazine is something that can put them ahead of their competition in the market where the public have all so many choices.
Both media formats also have a massive impact on film and television with many seeing film and TV as an artistic outlet that wouldn’t be on the scale it is today without art and photography. Both haven’t always gone hand in hand with one another as in the 1880s many saw fashion photography as an ‘impure application of the art form’ however despite this criticism, fashion photography has grown into one of the most recognisable, provocative art forms of all time.
Here are two examples of very strong visual photographs, however they are both seen very highly in the artistic world due to there nature and what they are trying to ‘say’. Both are very different and provoke a different response – but provoking a response definitely makes an interesting photograph.
The thing I personally love about the Art
& Photography industry is the fact people
can view an image or piece of art, and then
Interpret it however they like. This could
Depend on the viewer’s mood, how they’ve been brought up,
and also there Social Backgrounds etc.
David Lachapelle – One of my favourite photographs by Lachapelle. I find the image so bizarre, but at the same time it’s strangely fun and exciting to look at. Many argue that if you can view a photo for five seconds then it’s photograph worthy otherwise it’s viewed in a much weaker way.
Nan Goldin – A very controversial documentary photograph, targeted more at a photography exhibition audience rather than magazine audience. This is down to the nature of the photograph, as I’m sure most the audience would pick up on the fact this relates to the possibility of a domestic abuse victim.
Nan Goldin – Another similar photograph that highlights the abuse within some relationships, this lady is sporting a bruised thigh in the shape of a heart. This portrays the upsetting message of abuse and people who find themselves trapped in a relationship.
Both are also used very widely in journalism, as this is a key part in reporting on news and getting the information out there to the public.
If it wasn’t for photographs within the media, quite a huge chunk of the population wouldn’t be as in touch with the news, as 14% of Americans can’t read!
Photojournalism can also have a way of getting a stronger message across to the public. One iconic image that does so was taken during the Vietnam War and highlighted the plight of these people. This image provoked such outrage, that it caused numerous demonstrations and anti war rallies.
In conclusion I can see both art and photography growing together and continuing there connecting ties. One thing that does cause uncertainty within art and photography is the rate the industry is going where else can their work and views be broadcast?
The use of art and photography in the creative media industry has grown significantly over the past twenty years, this is mostly down to magazines and the internet particular the use of fashion photography in magazines and other online publications, such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Vanity Fair these are the most widely circulated fashion publications.
Art has also been a massive selling factor in the creative media industry also, with money being made from exhibitions, collectors and also print and online publications.
Photography and Art have a massive impact on the creative media industry; one especially being that without both these media formats, and others such as websites and print based media would be very plain. And I feel that plain media publications wouldn’t help to coax the target audience into purchasing it, as it wouldn't have that originality that sets it apart from other magazines and other online sites. A photograph or piece of art on the front cover of a magazine is something that can put them ahead of their competition in the market where the public have all so many choices.
Both media formats also have a massive impact on film and television with many seeing film and TV as an artistic outlet that wouldn’t be on the scale it is today without art and photography. Both haven’t always gone hand in hand with one another as in the 1880s many saw fashion photography as an ‘impure application of the art form’ however despite this criticism, fashion photography has grown into one of the most recognisable, provocative art forms of all time.
Here are two examples of very strong visual photographs, however they are both seen very highly in the artistic world due to there nature and what they are trying to ‘say’. Both are very different and provoke a different response – but provoking a response definitely makes an interesting photograph.
The thing I personally love about the Art
& Photography industry is the fact people
can view an image or piece of art, and then
Interpret it however they like. This could
Depend on the viewer’s mood, how they’ve been brought up,
and also there Social Backgrounds etc.
Both are also used very widely in journalism, as this is a key part in reporting on news and getting the information out there to the public.
If it wasn’t for photographs within the media, quite a huge chunk of the population wouldn’t be as in touch with the news, as 14% of Americans can’t read!
Photojournalism can also have a way of getting a stronger message across to the public. One iconic image that does so was taken during the Vietnam War and highlighted the plight of these people. This image provoked such outrage, that it caused numerous demonstrations and anti war rallies.
In conclusion I can see both art and photography growing together and continuing there connecting ties. One thing that does cause uncertainty within art and photography is the rate the industry is going where else can their work and views be broadcast?
Friday, 19 August 2011
Unit 5 - Negotiation
Below is my presentation on Negotiation and how to achieve a positive outcome. Enjoy!
Also for the negotiation unit, Jemel and myself were given a task. But we were both told separately and had different objectives to succeed. The task involved two fruits, me and Jemel had one each and my objective was to have both fruits on my person by the end of the task. That I managed! As the task started i was very cautious and even after Jemel trusting me with his fruit and me having both, I then wouldn't return the favour despite achieving my preffered outcome.
Below you can check out the video!
Conclusion - After taking part in the task above, I was able to understand how crucial trust is, especially in the workplace. Despite the fact we were doing a negotiation task I tried to play my strategy carefully, but by doing so I managed to ignore what the task was all about and not trust Jemel.
Negotiation on Prezi
Also for the negotiation unit, Jemel and myself were given a task. But we were both told separately and had different objectives to succeed. The task involved two fruits, me and Jemel had one each and my objective was to have both fruits on my person by the end of the task. That I managed! As the task started i was very cautious and even after Jemel trusting me with his fruit and me having both, I then wouldn't return the favour despite achieving my preffered outcome.
Below you can check out the video!
Conclusion - After taking part in the task above, I was able to understand how crucial trust is, especially in the workplace. Despite the fact we were doing a negotiation task I tried to play my strategy carefully, but by doing so I managed to ignore what the task was all about and not trust Jemel.
Unit 18.1 - Glossary of Digital Terms
Blog: A blog is a personal website in which you can voice your own opinions, link to other sites, and upload videos and photos etc on a regular basis.
HTML: (HyperText Markup Language) Hypertext Markup Language, a standardized system for tagging text files to achieve font, color, graphic, and hyperlink effects on World Wide Web pages
3G: 3G is a third generation technology, that is present today on most smartphones. This also includes there internet access.
Bluetooth: A low powered mobile radio communication that is used to wirelessly connect mobile and computers (this could involve sharing multimedia content aswell as contact IDs). Has to be within reasonable distance to work however.
Multimedia Messaging Service: Multimedia Messaging Service (abbreviated to MMS mostly) is the way most phones will share media content including video and photo and music. (From personal experience this can be quite an expensive way of sharing content, despite your data plan)
URL: A protocol to access a particular webpage on the internet, you need to use http:// followed by the domain name. Probably one of the most used references in everyday life.
Appropriate Language Conventions for texting a friend:
The way in which I would speak to a friend via text would be quite different to how I would speak to a work colleague, or client of work. A text to a friend would mostly involve abbreviations to save time typing, heres an example.
'Yo, haha that proper made me lol (laugh out loud). What u up 2 2nite? :)"
As you can see this isn't voiced in a professional manner whatsoever.
Appropriate Language Conventions for emailing a colleague:
For the email to a colleague, I would address them by first name or with just a 'hi'. In the example of email below this would be how I would correspond with my MD.
'Hi Alan,
Hope your well.
Was just emailing regarding our conversation earlier, in reference to taking the next steps forward with the post production team for z film.
In your opinion how do you feel we should approach them, So we can close a deal at the earliest convenience.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Best Wishes
Deri Williams'
HTML: (HyperText Markup Language) Hypertext Markup Language, a standardized system for tagging text files to achieve font, color, graphic, and hyperlink effects on World Wide Web pages
3G: 3G is a third generation technology, that is present today on most smartphones. This also includes there internet access.
Bluetooth: A low powered mobile radio communication that is used to wirelessly connect mobile and computers (this could involve sharing multimedia content aswell as contact IDs). Has to be within reasonable distance to work however.
Multimedia Messaging Service: Multimedia Messaging Service (abbreviated to MMS mostly) is the way most phones will share media content including video and photo and music. (From personal experience this can be quite an expensive way of sharing content, despite your data plan)
URL: A protocol to access a particular webpage on the internet, you need to use http:// followed by the domain name. Probably one of the most used references in everyday life.
Appropriate Language Conventions for texting a friend:
The way in which I would speak to a friend via text would be quite different to how I would speak to a work colleague, or client of work. A text to a friend would mostly involve abbreviations to save time typing, heres an example.
'Yo, haha that proper made me lol (laugh out loud). What u up 2 2nite? :)"
As you can see this isn't voiced in a professional manner whatsoever.
Appropriate Language Conventions for emailing a colleague:
For the email to a colleague, I would address them by first name or with just a 'hi'. In the example of email below this would be how I would correspond with my MD.
'Hi Alan,
Hope your well.
Was just emailing regarding our conversation earlier, in reference to taking the next steps forward with the post production team for z film.
In your opinion how do you feel we should approach them, So we can close a deal at the earliest convenience.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Best Wishes
Deri Williams'
Friday, 22 July 2011
Unit 6
15th July 2011 - Had my first day on the Creative and Digital Media course targeted at Apprentices, organised through DIVA.
Thrown into the deep end. but always a good way to get stuck in!
The task was making a Viral Advertising Campaign in which we trying to get exposure for the DIVA scheme, below is the idea that Robert came up with and also the brainstorm of ideas that we came up with, we then went on to film the idea which was abit of a rush and had a massive pain in the arse with the SD memory cards which constantly needed re-formatting and batteries that didn't have much juice left! :@
However we fought long and hard and got the footage down to a T, this was when every clip had to be edited together (the painstakingly long process) which was actually quite a refreshing process seeing things come together and adding effects and a soundtrack.
Below are some photo's of this task!
Then the edit commences :D
Little bit of cheeky editing!
Cherokee and myself had both liaised with the team on what music we would like to use in the Viral Marketing Video. We managed to find a copyright free catalogue that we cut down our favorite selection from that, and from there we then presented the selected options that were well received!
Thrown into the deep end. but always a good way to get stuck in!
The task was making a Viral Advertising Campaign in which we trying to get exposure for the DIVA scheme, below is the idea that Robert came up with and also the brainstorm of ideas that we came up with, we then went on to film the idea which was abit of a rush and had a massive pain in the arse with the SD memory cards which constantly needed re-formatting and batteries that didn't have much juice left! :@
However we fought long and hard and got the footage down to a T, this was when every clip had to be edited together (the painstakingly long process) which was actually quite a refreshing process seeing things come together and adding effects and a soundtrack.
Below are some photo's of this task!
Robert's sketches of 'Apprentice Man'
More Sketches of 'Apprentice Man' idea.
Mind Map of WHAT WE DO :)
Jemel and myself setting up the camera tripod
Robert and myself setting up lighting
Me havin' a go on the HDV camera
Then the edit commences :D
Group Session on editing.
Another group editing session
Little bit of cheeky editing!
Me having a 'play' with the edit
Cherokee and myself had both liaised with the team on what music we would like to use in the Viral Marketing Video. We managed to find a copyright free catalogue that we cut down our favorite selection from that, and from there we then presented the selected options that were well received!
Friday, 15 July 2011
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