Task 6- Job Roles In The Media

Luke Smith

The Media Industry

• In the UK, the media sector employs 550,000 people of a variety of sectors, these are animation, computer games, film production, interactive media, radio and television.

• Terrestrial TV and independent TV production, together employing approximately 56,000, radio employing 23,000 and interactive media employing 40,000

MEDIA

Creative

Technical

Research

Financial

Organisational

Management

Job Sectors

Creative Job Roles (Animation)

• Animation-In total, the global market for all forms of animation is currently estimated to be 300 Billion US Dollars

• Around 4700 people work in animation in the UK, nearly half of them work on a freelance basis.

• More than 300 companies producing a range of animated work, in television, film etc.

• More than three quarters of the animation workforce are graduates.

• The main places to find highly successful animation companies is outside of London in Bristol or Manchester.

The Animation Industry • The Animation Sector can be divided into four main job roles: • 2D drawn or traditional; • 2D computer generated • stop frame; and • 3D computer generated.

The employees work on freelance, contract based and permanent fixed jobs, it shows the range of employment in the animation industry.

The budget for an animation production is around £60 million.

Most of the money spent on animation is associated with the advertising industry. However the UK is a lead runner in the pre telling storytelling and design. These areas include:

• feature films • children’s programmes • games • music promos • titles and idents • CD-Roms (for educational purposes) • Adult comedy and drama

AnimatorJob role‘An animator produces multiple images called frames. When sequenced together rapidly, these frames create an illusion of movement known as animators’ Animators tend to work in the sectors of 2D, 3D picture animation or stop motion.

SalaryNew animators could earn around £70 to £140 per day. However if available entry salaries usually start between the prices of £12,000 to £15,000, yet are higher in computer animation with a maximum entry salary of £18,000.

Entry RequirementsGraduate Degrees are the most common level of entry. However postgraduate courses and some foundation courses are also acceptable. In the animation industry it is believed that having an artistic background is more important than IT skills.

They expect Candidates to show evidence of thefollowing:talent - in the form of a show reel or portfolio; networking skills and commitment to projects through previous work experience; an engagement with the industry from submitting work to festivals and competitions; the flexibility to switch between several projects at once.

Technical-(Facilities)• Collective term for the employers and freelancers which offer support

services, equipment, and labour to an intended purpose or function.• 3900 companies• Over 45,000 employees- A third of which work on a freelance basis• 33% of the workforce are Women • The facilities spectrum are job profiles ranging from Post-Production to

Transmissions and Outside Broadcasts.

What The Industry Expects Of Its Employees?

• ‘Employers cited a preference for a well-rounded member of staff over a technical able, but less socially accomplished member of staff’

• Customer service-Entrant must ensure they are taking care of the customers, meeting their needs and desires in a professional and courteous manner.

• Speaking and self presentation- ensuring the customer can understand what is being said, allowing them to take in the necessary information. Being well presented and helpful to your customer

• Good timekeeping and self organisation- Being able to keep track of time, making sure deadlines are met to accurate detail.

• Good numeracy / literacy skills and attention to detail

Network Broadcast Assistant

‘Network Operations Assistants co-ordinate the movements of programme materials in and out of satellite and cable broadcasting organisations’ They are usually all in full time employment

Job Description- Network Operations Assistants work with materials for a number of programmes. They have to keep accurate and up-to-date records for each project.  And are responsible for acquiring materials from production companies, checking for problems and making materials available for transmission deadlines. 

Salary£15,000 to £28,000 dependent on level of experience.

Entry requirementsThere are no formal entry requirements to this job profile, however as expected levels of higher education degrees are useful in the application process, candidates must ensure they have a understanding of post production, media production and technical operations.

Research (Advertising)• ‘The Advertising industry generates £6.2 billion annually for the UK

economy’

• There are 13,000 companies in the UK

• 250,000 individual employees

• 70% of the industry is based in London

• The Industry itself funds:• Commercial television- 75%• National Press- 95%• Magazines- 80%• Commercial Radio- 95%

What The Industry Expects Of Its Employees

• Customer service-Entrant must ensure they are taking care of the customers, meeting their needs and desires in a professional and courteous manner.

• Speaking and self presentation- ensuring the customer can understand what is being said, allowing them to take in the necessary information. Being well presented and helpful to your customer

• Good timekeeping and self organisation- Being able to keep track of time, making sure deadlines are met to accurate detail.

• Good numeracy / literacy skills and attention to detail• Transferable Skills- The ability to use the same thought process to another

level of advertising industry, This is a vital in the advertising industry sector.• Management and leadership - A formal level of business training is

desirable.

Market Research Executive Job DescriptionMarket researchers collect and analyse information on behalf of organisations, Such as businesses, governments and charities.They usually remain and work in one sector, such as consumer or social research. And a the majority of their time is spent on planning and implementing research projects, and assessing their results from the public response.

SalaryStarting salary- £18,000 to £25,0003-5 years experience- £32,000- £38,000Significant experience- £45,000- £100,000Self employed, freelance and short contracts are sometimes available however are not popular within the advertising industry.

Entry Requirements and TrainingThere are graduates and diplomas which is the most popular of candidates profiles, in A range of different subjects Maths, business, English, Psychology, languages etc.Pre Entry postgraduates courses and pre entry experience is also taken into account.

Financial (Advertising)

Definition: The management of large amounts of money, esp. by governments

or large companies and the monetary resources and affairs of a country,

organization, or person.

There are many different sectors to finance such as Accountancy, Banking,

Telesales, Charted Management

The highest level of Financial Companies are based in London. Yet the level of

employment is frequent and you can expect to find a job anywhere within the

UK’s array of large towns and cities. The financial industry offer a range of

different contracts ranging from freelance to permanent contracts with a

company.

Sales ManagerJob DescriptionSales managers organise, motivate and lead sales teams in a wide range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, fast moving consumer goods and Finance.They are responsible for ensuring the team make the companies targets whether it being daily or monthly and recording down the employees own individual targets.

SalaryStarting salary- £18,000 to £35,0003-5 years experience- £22,000- £45,000Significant experience- £38,000- £100,000

Entry RequirementsThe job itself is open to all graduates but some increase your chance of employment such as business, media studies, computing etc. Graduate training schemes are also a good opportunity to employment as a Sales Manager.

Organisational (Television)• There are 9 Terrestrial Broadcaster such as the BBC, ITV. These companies are also

called Public Service Broadcasters, with a range of obligations set out in their licences.

• There are also 300 cable and satellite Broadcasters.• There are 1500 independent TV production companies-• The biggest companies make a turnover of around £100m-£ 200m per year

Television is going through a period of rapid and profound change:• Faster than predicted growth of broadband in the home in the UK and the massive• success of mobile media; • Globalisation of the TV and video market; • Traditional TV business models move to advertising to the Internet

• The TV industry is made up of a workforce of over 55,000 individuals. Of which around two thirds of the industry workforce is in London.

What does the television industry need?

The TV industry is highly competitive with two thirds of the workforce being graduates

Key skills for television are generally listed as:• Creative Skills • Communication Skills • Problem-solving abilities • Team Skills • Flexibility • The ability to sell your skills to potential employers • An awareness of the actual and possible applications of • Technology.

The range of contracts in the TV Industry are diverse. 27% of employees in the TV industry are on Freelance contracts. However some take monthly contracts or flexible contracts

Some also take short term courses to keep their skills to its highest potential.

DirectorJob DescriptionDirectors are the main players in the television, film and video industries. The initial idea for a project often comes from a producer, who will oversee each project from conception to completion and may also be involved in the marketing and distribution processes. They are responsible for Facilitating the project beginning to the end and are involved in every stage of production making sure everything is accurate and to the Directors specifics.

Salary Starting salary- 15,000 to 25,000Experienced Salary- 30,000 to 75,000Experienced staff can earn more by freelancing- £900 to £1300 a week

Entry Requirements and TrainingOpen to all graduates, yet diplomas and degrees in certain subject areas can increase your chances such as media studies, film studies, multimedia, Broadcasting. Work experience is also important to employers and could increase your chance of employment. Postgraduate courses are also accepted. However because a director job is so competitive, Candidates are expected to have a track record from previous productions such as assistant director, scriptwriting etc.

Management (Radio)• Radio falls into 3 main categories

Commercial Radio- Radio that is owned by a commercial entity. It

broadcasts advertisements, which helps pay for its programming cost

and funds the radio station.

Publicly Funded Radio- radio outlets that receive some or all of their funding

from the public.

Voluntary Radio- Radio that is run and funded purely by volunteers

• Over 130 different UK radio stations

• Over 22,000 employees- 2 thirds of which are graduates. 25% work on a freelance basis

• Its largest sectors are in London (BBC) yet other clusters are in Scotland, North West and South East of England.

Radio’s Digital Revolution OFCOM

• Radio is undergoing a digital revolution – every bit as profound as that affecting TV - and as with all revolutions many of the eventual outcomes are uncertain. That rapid and profound impact has been experienced differently in different sectors of the industry – creating threats as well as opportunities. It is clear that there continues to be a healthy demand for what the radio industry can offer – high quality, imaginative audio material, live music, live speech, live, dialogue with an audience as well as crafted recorded and edited content –however it happens to reach its audience.

Station ManagerJob Description‘Station Managers are responsible for the day-to-day running of Radio stations leading the management team to ensure they meet the key objectives of the station in terms of output, audience, or revenue’. They ensure that everything within their radio station is run accurately and smoothly, ensuring the audience Is satisfied with the station, and keeping figures up and profit high.

SalaryStarting Salary- £20,000- £23000Average Salary- £24,000- £37,000Senior Salary- £40,000- £65,000

Entry RequirementsOpen to all graduates, however some degrees create a greater chance of employment such as mechanical engineering, business management etc. Postgraduate courses and Work experience is also beneficial to an employer.