U2 Lab

How is the film/TV industry structured?

The film/TV industry usually is set out in 3 specific parts 1st comes the pre production this is things like the writing of the script the casting storyboarding etc, the film industry has tonnes of different job roles all of them being extremely important as the next one, it's important that people who work these roles do efficiently and accurately. After pre production it moves onto the production which is the actual creation of the script this is where you will typically see directors cinematographers and prop masters the most as it's when there needed the most in the middle of the production. Finally it moves onto the post production which is the wrapping up of the film where will see editors and marketing teams doing there work as they need to make the film/TV show clean and ready for the marketing team to advertise it right to generate the best possible profit for the project to ensure it is a success.

Public service media

What is PSM?

PSM is where a company broadcasts content to the public to benefit them other than commercially benefit themselves companies like the BBC do this as they have wide variety of content available to the public like radio and television for the small fee of a TV licence it's idea is that the BBC must educate inform and entertain it's viewers under law.

Commercial media

Commercial media is the opposite of PSM as commercial media are heavily interested in making a profit for their programs so they heavily monetise there programs and commercials usually commercial media is owned by massive corporation or large companies examples of commercial media could be companies such as Amazon and Netflix as they have premium memberships that the viewer must pay for in return for exclusive shows.

Independent media

Independent media is a type of media like television or an internet based blog or news website independent media always is free of government and corporation input it allows whomever runs it to have freedom and not have to follow a bunch of strict guidelines independent media have been proven that it lowers the chance of corruption.

Vertical integration

Vertical integration is when a big corporation owns or buys out the competition that is in the same production as themselves an example of this would be the mega tech company apple buying out the beats by Dre company by rapper and music producer Dr Dre as apple are into technology and maximizing their fleet of products they bought the headphone company to go alongside their signature air pods ear buds in 2014 they acquired beats for a whopping 3.2 billion dollars or 2.3 billion pounds it was apples biggest and most expensive acquisition that the company had ever made in its history, in 2018 the company also bought Shazam the music recognition app which is now integrated with iOS this supports their recent interest in music over the past few years.

Horizontal integration

This is where a certain company will increase its production of a certain item or service in the same field as it's products this is most commonly find with acquisitions and mergers if find correctly the certain company can become dominant in their field of business and control the majority of the market an example I can think of this would be when the Walt Disney company merged with 20th century fox in 2017 taking over the majority of the assets and rights to films and television shows etc.

Cross media

Cross media is where you advertise your product or service with the help of other services for example companies put out adverts on YouTube for viewers to see or it can be promoted other ways by putting the product/service on another companies website if the other party is willing to do so. an example I can think of this is when YouTubers advertise their merchandise on their own channels at the beginning of videos as they are advertising their own product on a separate platform other then the website they use for example.

Multi platform

Multi platform is when a company creates a service or product and intends for the said product or service to be distributed in multiple platforms I can think of a few examples of this one being video games, video games are greatly targeted at multiple platforms as they are nearly always released on playstation Xbox and PC for example. Another example I can think is streaming services as these can be used on multiple different devices and platforms ranging from smart TVs to pc and games consoles.

Multinational

Multinational is where a large company or corporation owns several different businesses or divisions worldwide the film business is a perfect example of this as the big film studios own smaller ones worldwide ranging from Universal's UK division to Warner Bros Australia studios. Another example could be Amazon as they own warehouses all over the world and offer there delivery services worldwide.

B2 Career Opportunities in a media sector

The following sector I will be looking at will be the film industry

The nature of the film industry is well putting it bluntly making movies which of course is obvious however there is a of lot smaller details that are forgotten about when talking about film making The roles in the film industry sound almost endless as the industry itself is so large generating billions and billions of pounds on a yearly basis with ease roles including screenwriter cinematographers directors are the main ones most people are aware of then you have other extremely important roles like marketing teams and location scouts which don't get the real recognition they deserve. The way the film business regularly works is that someone will pitch an idea and the higher up executives will decide if they think it's worth the risk to green light and fund, if green lit then the movie moves onto the pre production phase.

Size of the industry

The industry is on the largest on the planet as it has multiple massive companies like Universal, Warner Bros, Paramount just to name a few the film market is massively competitive and hard to get recognised in if your wanting to get into this business you have to want it badly and fight for it people like Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino who were not taken seriously at first until the films that got them recognised properly for Spielberg it was Jaws in 1975 and Tarantino reservoir dogs in 1992. Like mentioned the revenue is extremely high in the film industry generating billions of pounds yearly making it a very good industry financially last year it was reported it was worth a whopping 120 billion taking a small loss due to the covid 19 pandemic as most places like cinemas closed and work was put on hold. A crazy 2.1 million jobs are available in the film industry 456 thousand people in America alone work in the film industry which makes sense as America is one of the largest film producing countries worldwide.

Ownership of the companies

Most of the companies in the film industry are privately owned people do own shares in some of the companies but they are mostly owned by one or two people who run the show, they could also been seen as multinational as they own several other companies like Disney for example gaining ownership of 20th century fox and all of there content they have studios and divisions all over the globe ranging from here in the UK to Australia and Canada just to list a few examples.

Regulation

Mergers and takeovers are a common thing in the film industry like listed previously Disney acquired fox for a large sum of money and gained a lot of rights to their content, this is important as you must have the correct licenses to use content otherwise you would be committing copyright and then legal action would be taken against the creator for example if someone tried to make a Spiderman movie without the proper permission then it would be illegal and a lawsuit would most likely happen.

Finance 

Finance is very important in the film industry as it's the way money gets spent licensing fees are something that's crucial as it's what lets you use a specific character or setting in a movie without facing and legal troubles if breached your will look at copyright infringement issues and thats something that should be avoided when working in this industry. Marketing to market a movie in the film industry costs a lot it's estimated that the film companies pay around 5 billion a year on marketing costs for films they do this to try and maximize profits by reaching out to the right people hoping in return they will pay for their product if films weren't marketed correctly the film wouldn't do as well and this would increase the chances of the film flopping or doing badly I'm reviews and box office sales. 

Organizational structures. 

Management organising is a large part of the film industry you must take into account how controlling distribution is important for example distributing into profitable countries is obviously the most common way to make a profit as unnecessary risks are not worth it releasing projects where marketing has been successful is how to help the film do well. Controlling the personal is another large factor that must be taking seriously for a project to go well there has to be some rules if your personal are not working effectively and efficiently as a team the project can suffer and be at risk so it's important that your personal follow a strict but fair layout. 

Developing ideas it's the scriptwriter who comes up with the initial idea however the director or producer can edit things as they proceed if they think it would not work out. The screenwriter will have the script finished before production then during the production things can and most likely will be changed. After this the content will be created going with the script they have on had like said previously things will most likely change its unlikely that the script will stay the same in the entirety of the production. Editing Content when the film is done it will then be handed over to the editors who will clean it up and make it available for cinemas as raw material would not be sufficient for cinemas to show and it wouldn't look at good. 

Technical structure

At the start of technical structure the studio will usually get the equipment ready for the production they will check to make sure it works efficiently and effectively and if any things needs changes they will be sure to do this before the start of filming to avoid issues in the future equipment managers and technicians will be in charge of all of this kind of stuff. After the equipment has been checked and made sure it is fully working it will then be deployed to the shoot location and given to the equipment manager at the shooting location. If problems were to happen on set with the equipment there will be people on set who are trained in fixing equipment or replacements will be given as sometimes mistakes happen and the camera could get damaged for example or a microphone or light. 

Administration structure 

Logistics must be taken care for the well being of the crew and property of the crew it must be made sure their needs are taken care of if this not done it could put the production at risk because the crew is unhappy. 

Contracts if a contract is signed in the film industry they must be taken seriously parties can't back out without proper reason this goes for cast and crew and extra help for example if there is a scene where you need a pilot to fly a helicopter the pilot would have to be hired however if they are not going to be needed till another day there is no point in making them wait they will most likely go back to work and be put on call so if they are needed they will come this is linked with management of deploying your personality as some of your cast and crew will only be needed at certain points of the production so it's pointless keeping them around for them not to be used. 

Distribution structure

The marketing of the product, when the film is done and dusted and it has been edited it will then be handed over to the marketing team to get the film advertised the right way and in the right places to maximize its potential profits. Management of the distribution, after being marketed the film will be distributed to cinemas in countries that the marketing team deemed the best for profits however some films don't go to cinemas some go straight to a streaming platform or straight to dvd/blu ray in this case they would be marketed and distributed straight to the chosen platforms a shops. 

B3 ethical issues for employers in a media sector 

There are a lot of things you must make sure you take in account when making a film you must make sure you think about representation of certain groups or individuals and make sure that during your production you don't offend or attack them in anyway this would cause problems for the group involved and the the individual causing issues a way to prevent this would be to avoid causing any intentional offence. 

Representation of religious beliefs while working in the film industry your going to be working with people who have different religions and different views in this case you must respect other people's views and understand and respect there beliefs. 

Use of language in the film industry it's important to address people with respect and properly if this isn't done you can offend cast and crew which is unacceptable and not right when you are in a workplace and it's not right when your trying to make a film everyone is doing the best of their abilities. 

Accessibility is another important thing that must be thought about in the film industry as certain individuals may need extra help with things for example if someone is wheelchair bound it wouldn't be ideal to have stairs everywhere ramps and lifts would have to be accessable.

Codes of professional practice it's important that everyone in the workplace follows this for the benefit of all its too keep people safe and makes sure that everyone has a good experience in the workplace it helps prevent any danger that may occur. 

B4 legal issues for employees In a media sector 

Content it's important that when making content you take the way you represent other groups or individuals seriously and make sure that you do not offend them in the piece of content and show that you mean no offense by it. Defamation must not be used either as this is unacceptable and can ruin the person's career or reputation that it's aimed towards and can cause problems in their lives. 

The watershed, if your content is seen as not suitable for children it will most likely be put on TV at a later date or it will be given an older rating by the bbfc like a 15 or 18 most graphic or bad language content will fall under this section. 

In your content you must avoid the idea of inciting possible crime committing this could be an issue if in a film or TV it shows a criminals life as a good thing a glamorises it to avoid make it clear that crime is not accepted usually this done by showing the criminal faces justice in the end. 

Copyright in your content you must make sure that it's all original and that you have created it you can't take other people's ideas without their permission or if you have paid for it breaching this you will most likely get sued for copyright infringement and it's something that will affect your reputation in the future best way to avoid this is to create your own characters or stories or to get permission off the owners, the same goes for music if you use a piece of music in your project without paying for it or getting permission you can still get into legal trouble for breaching copyright laws. 

Intellectual property 

This is similar to copyright issues if you use a logo or and certain product name you will need that protecting so it can't be used without permission, inventions and other products fall under this category aswell it must be taken seriously to avoid heavy consequences and problems in the future. 

Libel is similar to defamation you must not say something that is false about something that can affect them negatively in anyway this can affect there reputation and career in the foreseeable future libel is usually written in word where as defamation is verbal so they are very similar and have little differences both can several impact someones life. 

Privacy 

People privacy must be respected in the media sector if not the person is well with in their right to take legal action for example restraining orders and other legal actions you can breach a person's privacy by doing things like leaking private information or photos of themselves which would most likely cause them distress doing this is unacceptable and must be taken seriously and avoided at all costs