UNIT 8 - Understand Legal and Ethical Obligations

Understand Legal and Ethical Obligations

Equal Opportunities

Equal opportunities provide a fair and equal system to everyone, no one is seen as a minority with this neither are they discriminated for their background. This gives everyone the chance of taking up a role and brings diversity into the media industry. By doing this it brings in ethical values to everyone within the industry. This applies most within the media as it is one of the few areas which can be seen worldwide, the media has a wide variety in terms of roles from the news to film production to editing and advertisement. All of these things involve showing a specific audience something. So by involving different races, backgrounds and genders into this it creates an image of equality amongst these different areas. It can also bring together the different cultures and involve them in further depth. In comparison from about 50 years ago to now you would not see as much diversity within the media, most of the attention had been on or mostly was, the white man. Nowadays it can be seen to have more of a variety especially on TV. More and more films are featuring foreign actors to feature. This all comes from opportunities given to everyone and not just one specific group. It can also attract different races if they see people who share the same background getting involved in the media. For example in hollywood there has been a growth in the diversity of actors in terms of race:






















Although most of the percentage can be seen as white, this has changed compared to decades ago where there would only be white actors and actresses. It was not common at all to see someone of another race to be seen on the big screen. 

In terms of age and gender, age can really be argued against as people tend to take experience into consideration. However more young teens have taken interest in the media industry through platforms such as Youtube etc. Gender has always been considered a positive when it comes to media, however just like different races females were looked down upon in the media industry many decades ago. This has of course changed with the years that have gone by. Women can be seen throughout the media industry in many different roles, from actresses to news reporters and chat show hosts. In terms of cases that have been brought against media there has been a lot, this can be seen when Countryfiles Miriam O'Reilly won her claim for ageism but not sex discrimination. She had taken legal action by taking the BBC to an employment tribunal where her case was heard. She had appealed against the BBC for discriminating her rights and gender as she had not been treated in a professional standard. This showed that even though the media can be seen as very diverse there are still some grey areas in which there is a lack in equality. 

Belonging to Trade union

The Trade Union is an organisation made up of members who are in trade together. Their aim is to protect the interest of their workers within the workplace. Most trade unions are independant. They try and develop close working relationships with employers. This can sometimes take the form of a partnership agreement between the Trade union and employers. Here are some things the Trade Union cover:  

UNIT 8 - Exclusive Agreements

Exclusive Agreements

Exclusive agreements are deals set between two companies or individuals where one party has to fulfil a certain criteria specifically just for that company and no one else. This effectively only provides the company with a specific service from the one to the other. This keeps a form of "business" and can help boost both companies profit. This can be a mutual agreement between the two companies/individuals. By being in a Exclusive agreement you can only receive or give good specifically to that one soul partner, it is unlikely that there could be a break in agreement as both companies benefit highly from this.

The benefits this can have on a certain company would be that they can keep a healthy relationship with maybe a competitor and work together to boost profits. Or two companies could work together to increase their publicity which in effect gains them both some profitable income. This will bring more customers as it brings a form of "more variety" into context in terms of sales. By bringing two companies together it can also bring two sets of customers who can learn more about the other. This type of agreement can sometimes benefit the primary company more as they are the one that is most likely to be asked to join this form of agreement. By bringing both sets of customers together it will always have a positive effect in terms of numbers. Economically speaking in terms of price elasticity and demand it depends on the customers elasticity which means how much they are willing to spend. If a company increases the price of something extremely then they are more likely to lose a higher number of customers. If the price increases slightly then fewer customers would be lost, by introducing another company within another and increasing the price, the company will always gain from this.

An example of this can be seen in Sky Sports and their Exclusive Agreement with UEFA Nations League to show any English games including the National team in the Euros.

Another example can be seen with Apple and Amazon when they made an exclusive agreement with Audiobook. However this had recently ended. 

Confidentiality agreements are agreements that are kept between two parties or companies that is legally protected. The deal will have confidential information that is disclosed and only available to the two parties. this keeps a calm relationship between the two parties without any other third party knowing. Confidential agreements can be a sign of "mutual" benefit as both parties would be restricted to the use of their own produce. 

This type of agreement is similar to Exclusive agreements as it is mainly only between two companies. The rules of a exclusive agreement is that one company fulfils the product with only one other company and it is strictly between those two and no one else, which is kind of like confidential agreements as both parties are the only ones with access to the product and they work together to boost each others profits. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.telegiz.com/articles/13830/20170122/regulatory-pressure-amazon-apple-exclusive-audio-book-deal.htm

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/10742583/competitive-england-games-live-on-sky-sports-for-uefa-nations-league

UNIT 8 - Types Of Contracts

CONTRACTS

Fixed Term Contract

Fixed Term Contracts are contracts that last a certain amount of time and they can be set in advance. They can be made between businesses that want a long relationship with each other to boost both of their profits. They end when a certain task is completed e.g. a payment being fulfilled or when a event takes place. This can be seen as a form of "terms and conditions" as the person who agrees to the contract has to fulfil the stated writing in said contract. If the contracts says they have to work for a certain amount of time then that must be met or they'd be going against the original contract. In the example of a film set the actors within the production would fill out a contract to say that they will be filmed for a certain amount of time or up till the production is done being filmed. The contract shows the agreement between one party and the other as proof of the agreement/arrangement. The fixed term is a way to keep the deal legit/legally reliable. If the contracts agreements aren't met then it can be taken to legal actions. Another example that can be seen in the media industry can be with the director of a film, the editor would have to have a deadline by which they'd have to be done with editing for a film. The production team would give a deadline so everything is met by that specific time. This ensures that the whole production runs smoothly and is on time with all of its deadlines.

Freelance

Freelancers are workers that are self employed so they have no contracts with other parties to meet deadlines with or complete tasks with other than their own management. They are not committed to an employee so they have the freedom of working with whatever hours they want. They can hire people to work for them and form contracts with them but for themselves they do not have a higher contract with anyone else. They do not have strict hours they have to work from, for example a 9-5 job. They would be able to work on their own accord and do so without having the hassle of working for someone else. Freelancers can negotiate their own rates with companies who hire them. Companies are often prepared to pay freelancers a better rate than most. In affect the more experienced the freelance worker is in their field the more money they would get. Many freelancers in different sections of the media will work full time for years making contacts within their own industry. In terms of the media industry an example of a freelance worker would be a photographer/camera man, they would be able to work around their own hours and handle their own scheme of marketing. They would brand themsleves to their audience so their business grows. This would increase their profit and they wouldn't have the pressure of working to meet someone else's deadlines. Furthermore, another example of a freelance worker could be a graphics designer. They would be able to sell themsleves to a production company that would need them for a specific job, more specifically in post production when editing. Finally one last example of this would be a script writer. This job would take months of preparation and understanding of the actual production itself, script writers can have the idea of what to write themselves or be the people that actually write out the script. Again like the graphics designer they can be called out by a production company to do this specific job. Freelancers would't be under a fixed term contract as this means they'd have to fulfil the terms of another party and since freelancers are mostly independent this goes against the whole ethic of working as your own boss. Another reason why freelancers dont work under a fixed contract is that most of the time being in a contract such as this requires some form of payment to the other party, as freelancers are earning their own money this wouldn't be suitable for them on the most part.

Irregular Patterns

Irregular patterns are similar to freelance however instead of working the hours you want you are only required to work the hours you are needed. this can be seen in many roles within the media, for example if someone like an animator wasn't in for the pre production of a film someone who works an irregular pattern contract would be called in to fill in for them. They are often paid more than others as the hours they are required may be less flexible in comparison to others. People who work irregular patterns can be called up at times where the average employee wouldn't be able to come, this would (most of the time) require them to work late hours into the morning. Anyone who is under this form of contract when called up to help with any area of work within production it would require them to be of assistance as soon as possible. This would make the production run smoother and quicker if there are many people working at different times however someone under this form of contract will have to be dedicated to this as it can affect their lives.

UNIT 8 - Job roles in TV

Technical

This area of work consists of an audio technician, costume designer and the Director of photography.

Audio Technician

This job role consists of an audio technician, costume designer and the Director of photography. The overall  role of the technical team is to help with different parts of production be it before, during or after. More specifically a Sound technician helps operate all audio output into a production, they can work in different areas such as television, radio and other sound recording productions. As well as editing sound onto pieces of work they also need to be able to understand all the different sound equipment for example a sound board on stage for someone to throw a concert. They can help set up events and ensure that everything is running fine by doing sound checks etc.


Director of photography

The director of photography is in charge of all the images shown on a production, they can sort this out by either taking and producing the images on their own or having a team of photographers take pictures and everything would run through the director to see if it would make it onto the actual production. They usually have a degree in Photography or any media related course and the job requires knowledge in the obvious field photography. This job can also include editing visual effects on a certain frame or image. The director of photography is in charge of making decisions on what effects to use and how to apply it to certain images. Some qualities that are valuable in this role are:

• have good technical knowledge of photo-chemical and digital processes
• know all about camera equipment
• have in-depth knowledge of lighting techniques and how to achieve them
• have considerable industry experience
• be flexible in order to adapt ideas instantly
• be able to take decisions quickly
• know about photography, painting and the moving image

Costume Designer

The costume designers job is pretty much self explanatory, they are the people who design and create different clothes and accessories for either models or characters in a production and many more roles. The costume varies depending on who its for the so the costume designer would take that into consideration and create a costume accordingly. As well as creating costumes the director of a production may have told them to, costume designers can also create their own ideas and put those pieces forward as suggestions. This job role requires creativity and attention to detail as the conventions are meant to be realistic as possible when it comes to performance on television.

Editorial

This area of work consists of the News editor, Film editor and After effects Editor.

News Editor

The News editor is in charge of editing all the information given out on the news, they edit the news in a way it comes across as informative and formal. The news editors job requires high editing skills as on screen analytics are most common to pop up during the news. They also have to edit up the videos that come up when news reporters cut to the field reporters. The job requires many different editing techniques and follow a strict time frame. This role is highly specific as the editing has to be on point.

Film Editor

The role of the Film editor is to piece together all the footage captured on camera. They have the important role of editing different parts of a film. This can vary from the scenes being put together to show continuity or some CGI effects that make animation come to life. They spend most their time with the director of the film as they ha would usually have a rough idea on what the film needs to look like. This job is extremely time consuming as the editing takes the longest when producing a film, everything needs to be on point so it has to be done to perfection.





After Effects Editor

The after effects manager is the person who edits a final piece or production to check if its accurately edited and suits the producers standards. They have the job of over viewing the entire production in terms of editing and they can add many effects they think will make the production look better/realistic. They have to have an eye for accuracy as it is one of the most important factors in this role.

 Managerial

This area of work consists of the production manager, Location Manager and the Field Manager.

Production Manager

The role of the Production Manager is to ensure that everything during, before and after the production is running smoothly. They have to make sure everyone is doing their job and they do regular check ups to see where the whole production team stands in terms of their time schedule. They have to manage different clients and have many responsibilities such as health and safety regulations that have to be met.  They require good communication skills and reliable when it comes to time. This job can be very stressful as having such big responsibility can have its toll however they have the freedom of checking every sect of the production and can oversee everything that is going on. 

Location Manager

The role of the location manager is to arrange where and when something will be captured on camera e.g. a scene for a film. The location manager has to find a location suitable to what they are filming and ensure it meets all the standards and safety regulations first. they can have a rough estimate in what they want a scene to look like and they then try to find a location exact to it, or they can have the other production team help them setup a stage at that location. This also requires them to look at the production schedule as the whole team would have to travel to that area.


Field Manager

The role of the field manager is to oversee employees that travel to work or sites while on the job. They supervise the people on set and make sure that everyone is performing their responsibilities so that things can get done quicker and more efficiently. This is an important role as it helps everyone keep up to date with their job and they can stick to the time schedule. This job role also requires good communication skills and reliability as everyone can rely on the field manager to inform them on what to do in the worst case scenario.

Creative

This area of work consists of the Director, Script Writer and the Graphics Designer.

Director

The role of the director is to manage the whole film itself, the directors idea gets turned into reality as they are the ones who control how the film goes. They are the ones who have the original idea for the film and they can tell the editors and pre production team what to prepare and how they want it portrayed. They are obviously the ones who thought of the idea for the film, this can be done with other people to help but they are the main person who thought of the idea for the film itself. During filming the director oversees each scene that is shot and evaluates it as it is being filmed to see if it is good enough or "meets the standards". For example a director like Steven Spielberg has made and directed films like 'Jaws' and 'Saving Private Ryan', both films of which were highly successful and were directed with accuracy and detail to the directors idea.  

Script Writer

The role of the script writer is to of course create and write the script for the production. They have to have the creative mindset as this will be the piece that the actors read off of in a film. They work with the director and can add to the idea. This requires good understanding of the language as the script is what is going to make the film interesting. The script not only tells actors what to say but also tells them what to do, be it on stage or on set. This gives structure to the actors performing and helps them get into the characters zone. The script writers also need to understand how each character is portrayed as they can effect how the audience see them with what that specific character has to say and do. E.g. if the character is playing the villain in the production then what they say and do is going to be different to the heroin. The difference in what they say has a big impact on what the films overall look will feel like for viewers so this is highly important.


Graphics Designer

The role of the Graphics designer is to create visuals by hand or more often;y by computer. they share ideas that can inspire them to create a piece. They can develop the overall layout and production design for advertisements, TV, magazines etc. This role requires a lot of knowledge on digital arts as it is something that will be used in this role. The graphics design team can develop ideas. Here are some of the requirements and qualities that will be needed for this role:

• Meeting clients to discuss the business objectives and requirements of the job.

• Estimating the time required to complete work and providing quotes for clients.

• Reliability with deadlines

• Thinking creatively to produce new ideas and concepts 

• working with a range of media, including computer design and keeping up to date with new emerging technology.