LO1 Funding…

British TV Presentation

Terrestrial Channels Funding: BBC is heavily funded through the TV licensing which we, the general public, pays for, because the channel is a public service broadcast it has guidelines it has to follow like it has to be` promoting education and learning; stimulating creativity and cultural excellence; representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities For ITV Channel 4 and Five funding is self provided through the use of advertising, programme sponsorship, dvd/video sales (through ownership of merchandising rights). Channel 4 used to be funded by ITV but around 1990 the Broadcasting Act came into fruition and the corporation was able to fund itself.

Ownership: Every channel is owned by some sort of company that set it up, The Crown owns BBC, and through that BBC owns BBC2 BBC Three, BBC Four etc. ITV is owned by ITV plc which is a result of Granada plc and Carlton Communications merging together in 2004, ITV then owns the sister companies ITV2/3/4. Channel 4 is owned by by the Channel Four Television Commission, it’s mostly self funding but evidently is public owned. Channel 5 is owned by Northern & Shell who is owned by Richard Desmond, Channel Five (rebranded Five in 2002) owns 5* and 5USA.

Technology: With the digital switch over happening in 2012 all analogue channels will be instinct, which will improve the quality and signal but requires a digital sky box. Also over the past 10 or so years internet technology has improved beyond recognition, all of the Terrestrial Channels have catch up features which are accessible through a set up website or youtube. For example 4 On Demand, BBC iplayer, itv player, Demand 5.

TV Providers Funding: The main three service providers are BskyB, BT and Virgin, they are all mainly funded by their

monthly subscriptions packages and also the sale of their Sky box and Sky+ box, Virgin and Sky also have a pay per view feature which which requires a single set rate to watch a box office film or sporting event.

Ownership: BskyB is owned by News Corporation who owns Fox Entertainment Group the chairman and CEO of Fox Entertainment group is Rupert Murdoch and his song is the Chairman of Sky. Virgin Media is owned by Sir Richard Branson who also owns other Virgin ventures such as Virgin Mobile and Internet. BT Vision is owned by BT Group which was founded by William Cooke and John Ricardo when they founded Electric Telegraph Community.

Technology: Each of the providers use different methods to provide their TV services, Virgin media for example uses a fiber optic cable which runs into your house and into the Virgin Box. BT uses a connection in which you connect to your router so you can receive channels and on demand services, using the router doesn’t affect the routers bandwidth. Sky uses a satellite which has to be installed by a technician and a Sky(+) box is installed.

UKTV Funding: UKTV is an example of a commercial TV network, it is mainly funded through

commercial advertising and sponsorships (Old Speckled Hen on Dave), also they are commissioned to play repeat programmes from the BBC.

Ownership: The network is owned through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide (subsidiary of BBC) and Virgin Media, through the network the two companies own channels such as Dave, Living, Yesterday, Really, Watch etc. Like I said above they are commissioned to play repeat programmes from BBC. The channel was originally set up from BBC worldwide and Thames Television, later United Artists Holding Europe (Flextech) became a part owner, flextech was owned by Tele-Communications Inc.

Technology: The channels are available on digital cable and satellite, on the launch of digital television in 1998 two channels were launched, UK Gold Classics (Now G.O.L.D) and UK play (now Play UK, which was shut down due to lack of intereset). In 2007 UKTVG2 was renamed Dave and it was put on Freeview which proved to be successful and led to a campaign to rebrand the rest of the channels i.e. UKTV Gold to G.O.L.D, UKTV Drama to Alibi. By 2009 all of the channels had been rebranded.

American Film Presentation

The American film industry in this present day is the biggest and most influential industryin the world at the moment, it is also the oldest film industry, this is what is known as Hollywood. Americans film history is considered to be split into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period. The american film industry started booming in 1927 with the release of The Jazz Singer which was the end of silent movie’s and the start of classical Hollywood cinema, it was released by Warner Brothers (Owned by Time Warner) the gross profits meant they could acquire a string of movie theatre’s. Incidentally Warner started showing their films in their own cinema which is the third stage of vertical integration, where the company produces, distributes and exhibits their own work so all of the profits goes straight to their own company and nobody else. Warner Brothers used to be a private company until it had the money to start buying other companies until it became a conglomerate.

A good example of horizontal integration would be Disney, horizontal integration is similar to vertical integration in the sense that all of the money goes to The Walt Disney Company but through subsidiaries instead. For example; Disney Motion Pictures Group will produce the film then the Disney Music group will make the sound track, then they will show their films on their own Television channel Disney-ABC Television Group, Disney consumer products will then create all of the merchandise in which they will sell at their own Disney Parks and resorts. So all of the profits will eventually go to the parent company The Walt Disney Company through subsidiaries rather than through vertical integration where just the one company will produce, distribute and exhibit it. Disney and Time Warner are both part of the Big 6 Conglomerate, the Big 6 conglomerates are the top of the top, they own everything through subsidiaries and sister companies. Disney used to be a corporation until it became one of the big conglomerates.

British Film Presentation

The British film industry over the years has had a major influence on the Film industry, with auteurs such as Alfred Hitchcock and David Lean who are seen as poets of film production. The first film created was made on celluloid film in Hyde park in 1989 by William Greene, since then the ‘golden age’ of British cinema occurred in 1940’s led by J Arthur Rank and Alexander Korda. There is strong connection between British and American cinema which has sparked debates about Britain’s identity in the film industry, many films have been co-produced with American producers using American and British actors also some American produced films are set in England using English actors.

Because there are no big conglomerates in the British film industry they have to get funding through different ways, there are 3 main ways of acquiring funding in British film. Private capital funding is funding through individuals for example Monty Pythons Life of Brian didn’t have enough money to finish their film and was at risk having to scrap the film, George Harrison opted in and started his own company and loaned then money. Financial aid is money which is given to them through government funding because the government strongly support the development of the British Film Indunstry, the money comes from the UK Film Council (Now it’s form BFI due to coalition government). Warp films get’s most of their funding through the lottery, they’ve produced films such as four lions, dead man’s shoes, this is england etc, this is what we call an independent film company, if we compare them to Fox who is part of the big conglomerate the difference in funding is very evident. The idea is that the British film industry is a house of cards and if you pull out one of the cards (i.e. companies) the whole thing will fall apart.

LO2Understanding job roles

Understanding job roles in the BBC

Working patterns in British TV• Freelance – A freelance is an individual who is self employed and doesn’t hold any commitments to any

fixed term contracts. Freelancers are required to sign a one off contract or a verbal agreement, they normally charge by hour, day or per project basis. An example of a free lancer could be a sound engineer or editor who is hired until the project is finished, this could also apply to fixed term employment as well.

• Fixed term employment - normally lasts for a set period of time (i.e. 6 months) or until the project/job is finished. Most cases somebody doing fixed term employment will work while a permanent employee is on maternity leave or sickness.

• Office hours employment – is a permanent contract, so the employee works there indefinitely or until he gets fired/laid off/leave/sickness etc. Usually the general term for this is 9-5 as these are the most common hours the employee works for. The rate of pay is paid hourly and usually doesn’t change unless the employee gets a raise or promotion.

• Shift Work – Is a work schedule to make full use of the 24 hour clock, usually an employee gets a shift at any time of the day for short term or long term, usually the shift is paid in an hourly rate. One of the main flaws in shift work is health and safety due to stress/anxiety/mental exhaustion which can be dangerous if around a film set due to the electrical equipment and heavy machinery.

Understanding contractual, legal and ethical obligations in the television and film industries

Contracts• A contract is a written (or verbal) agreement between the employee and

employer, it outlines all the rules, regulations, obligations and duties, this is considered a legal document any breakage of the contracts terms can be held up in a court of law.

• Casual work - If the employee has more than one job and is often employed by an individual employer.

• Fixed term – The employer asks you to carry out a task and gives you a set start and finish date, an example of this could be a director.

• Home working – The employer asks you to carry out a task but if the equipment is accessible at home you may carry out the work at home without the need to go to the companies building. An example of this cold be an editor with his own editing suite at home.

• Flexi-time – Employer tells you how many hour you need to work but gives you the flexibility to complete those hours when ever you want.

Employment Legislation, health and safety

Whether or not you’re permanent, temporary or contracted there will also be health and safety issue’s you need to follow. The health and safety act was passed in 1974 and this required that, in this example, a film set meets all the health and safety procedures and is a legal act. Some of the acts include; All workers have the right to work in places where risks to their health and safety are properly controlled. Both workers and employers have a legal responsibility to look after health and safety at work together. Workers who contribute to health and safety at work are safer and healthier than those who do not. Trade union is a group of workers who have banded together enforce the goals such as better working conditions, the Union barters with the employer on behalf of the employees and negotiates labour contracts (Collective Bargaining). BECTU

The equality act came into force on October 1st 2010, this helps people who are discriminated at, be it age, race, sex, creed etc. gain jobs and secure jobs. This act is a legal act and is taken very seriously, somebody who breaches this act can be suspended or even receive prison time. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act was passed in 1988 and it protects individuals intellectual property and stops other people/business’s taking your property and using it for themselves.

BECTU

Ethical• The BBC Royal Charter makes sure that the BBC retains their relations with the

public because the BBC is a public service, it needs to make sure it’s ‘…representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities, the Trust must seek to ensure that the BBC’. It also has to make sure it ‘reflects and strengthens cultural identities through original content at local, regional and national level, on occasion bringing audiences together for shared experiences’. And it ‘promotes awareness of different cultures and alternative viewpoints, through content that reflects the lives of different people and different communities within the UK.’ It also has to make people in the UK aware of international issues and the different cultures and viewpoints of people living outside the UK through news and current affairs and other outputs such as drama, comedy, documentaries, educational output and sports coverage.

This basically means by law of the charter that the BBC is forced to show stuff like educational shows, racially aware shows (not just Christianity), it has to have sign language in it and subtitles available and to produce top quality un-biased news to the residents of the UK and the world.

Legal BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) regulates is a non governmental organisation, it is funded by the

film industry, it classifies the age rating and release of films within in the UK. It is also required to regulate video’s, DVD’s and some video games (most of the time video game’s based on films). The BBFC have recently banned the release of The Human Centipede part 2 from theatre and dvd release in the UK completely as they found even to give it an 18 rating wouldn’t be enough as a guideline for even adults, they also said it would risk potential harm within the terms of the VRA they viewed it would be unacceptable to view it to the public. Although the film can be viewed online and bought from Amazon through importing from another country. Some see the BBFC’s banning of this video pointless as it’s just as easy to acquire anyway, I personally feel that this will instead attract more interest to the film because people will want to see why they have banned it completely from the UK.

Ofcom is a government approved regulatory authority for telecommunication in the UK they are responsible for licensing all UK commercial television services, Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act of Parliament 2002, It received it’s proper authority from when the Communications Act in 2003 was passed. Ofcom has a wide range of responsibilities it has to meet, it covers all types of industries, it’s duty (to the interest of the public) is to promote competition and protect consumers from what the public might thing is harmful or offensive. The main areas Ofcom has to preside over are; licensing, research, codes and policies, complaints, competition and protect the radio spectrum from abuse.

BBFC’s certificate rating

Strand 4

Networking

To be able to get a successful job in media you need to have good networking skills, most often in media you will work in fixed term contracts (film shoots, editing etc) so with a job which requires creative skills employers will want to work with people they have worked with before or people who have been highly recommended that’s why it’s important to network and get your name out there and gain trust and contacts with other people.

Trade Fairs

A trade fair is basically an event with brings together professionals, training bodies (Skillsets) and companies and people looking for work looking for people to recruit and people looking to be recruited. This is important for both employers and employees as it lets companies recruit employees with the necessary skills and it gives the employee’s a chance to network and make contacts with each other and skillsets can secure work.

Education and training

To be able to acquire a job in the media/film industry you need certain qualifications to show the employer you have the necessary skills to work in the industry. A good candidate for a runner or assistant would have a level 3 media diploma and good experience in media and with media equipment.

Skills Analysis

(1 personal skills Personal skills involves working well in a team and individually, have a good repor with people and authority,

have a good outlook on life, eager to learn and get better, hard working, generally a happy person.

( 2 technological skills Technological skills involves being already equipped at media based programmers'’ depending on what area of

work you are going into, i.e. camera man needs to know how to operate a camera and have good spacial awareness. Or an editor would have to have good experience on Macs (as they are heavily used in this industry) and Final Cut Pro and other editing software.

( 3 training needs If I was to secure a job in media I would like to work on sound as I have a good experience with sound

technology and have used various music editing software so I’d be easily able to develop to any other software platform easily.

Skillset

Skillset an industry body who supports skills and training trainees/employees and businesses to ensure the UK creative industries maintain their world class position.

Personal Statement

This is my personal statement for the role of Sound Engineer, I feel I am suited for this role because; I am very loyal and hard working; I work well individual and in a team environment, I get on well with people, I have good relations with authority, I’m reliable and good at communicating, I have a wide range of knowledge and skills in sound design, I’ve had prior experience with Mac’s and sound editing software, I’m a perfectionist, I take pride in my work and I’m always striving to learn and progress as an engineer but also as a person.