Unit 8

Unit 8: Creative Media Industry Awareness 

1.1: Describe the industries within the creative media sector

There are a lot of industries within the creative media sector and unsurprisingly, is one of the UK's biggest ever sectors with it contributing £71.4 billion per year to the economy. This is the reason why a lot more jobs are being created in this sector because it is expanding. These industries are television, film, music, radio, advertising, computer games, interactive media, content creation and publishing.

Nearly everyone uses media in their lives daily with some not even knowing they do. Most people own a TV which is a form of media. Many read newspapers, read books, listen to music, play computer games and watch films. All these activities are media related industries. But why are they used in our day to day lives so much? It is because media is the main mass of communication and we need it in our lives to function.

The entertainment industry is part of the tertiary sector of the economy and includes a large number of sub-industries devoted and focused on providing entertainment to the public. The sub-industries are the film, TV, animation, music, photo, radio, web, advertising, and publishing industries.

1.2: Describe cross-industry ownership in the Creative Media sector

                                

1.3: Explain the relevant relationships between a range of industries within the Creative Media sector

Most industries within the creative media sector intertwine with other industries because it is beneficial for both parties. The relationships between different industries can vary depending on what industry you are in. For example, a small production company who started out on YouTube making successful short films has gained enough public attention, bigger companies may want to help the smaller company develop and grow in a very momentous way. One thing a big film company like Warner Brothers could do is provide equipment, staff and even invest money into the small company to expand its production. The main reason any big company would do this is to gain more profit. Both companies are benefiting from the relationship. One company is hiring equipment and getting money to produce bigger projects while the other is generating a certain amount of income when the film is uploaded onto YouTube or another form of media. Generally, regardless of how much views the video gets and how much money YouTube gives the small company, Warner Brothers are still going to request a 20% fee of the total profits, for example, and you would have to pay them that amount as it is legally stated in the contract you signed when you decided to become partners. They also have a share in the market which they can help advertise the small film company and promote it so more people are aware of who they are and what sort of content they produce.

As the company expands other industries within the creative media sector such as web design may come into play. A web design company may provide work for the film company by designing a website or by creating a logo for their company. Or maybe a nationwide newspaper wants to write an article on the film company and what they do. This provides great publicity for them.
                                                         

As you can see there are lots of avenues that can be explored when working in the creative media sector to help your business survive and thrive.

2.1: Describe the stages of a specific Creative Media project life cycle

When making a product for the creative media market, there are four stages you will most likely come across. The specific example that I will use in this example is the film industry.

Pre-Production

This is the process of preparing all the elements involved in making a film before any actual filming takes place. This is regarded by many as the most important part of film making because in order to produce a good film you need to plan it out in depth. This includes brain storming by drawing mood boards, spider diagrams and then developing those ideas to create storyboards, scripts etc.

So after the project has been green lighted the pre-production can now formally begin. At this stage, finalizing all the details of the production goes into full string and the producer draws in a whole host of people after certain decisions have been made. This includes deciding who the cast members will be as well as holding auditions for actors to play them. Once financing has been confirmed by the production company the produces will then bring in a director and a cinematographer to assist with the production.

Once the cast and crew have been chosen it is time to start braking down the script into individual scenes and put them on storyboards. This gives the production team visual elements of what the scenes will look like other than just words on a page. Then, after everything has been arranged including the locations, props, costumes, special effects, cast and crew the schedule can be created. This is an extremely detailed plan that basically tells you what you will be filming, where you will be filming, who you need to film and how can you film it (shot types). Having a plan like this set in place will avoid all unnecessary confusion later down the line. Finally, after months of prep work, it is time to start shooting.

Production

Next, we have the production stage which is where most of the film is done. After everything is planned out to the finest detail in pre production shooting should not become to much of a problem. Obviously some things like weather can not be planned months in advance so a few adjustments to the shooting schedule may have to be made in case things don't go according to plan.

A typical day's shooting involves the crew coming onto the location first to set up any sets or prepare the lighting which can take many hours or even days. After sets have been built, sound has been checked and the crew are ready it is time for the actors to arrive on set ahead of the director. The production design crews are generally ahead of the camera and sound departments so while the actors are performing on camera, these guys can prepare the next set so there won't be time wasted. The action can be shot in many takes, depending on what the director's vision is of how he wants his film to look. He has the overall authority on the set so when he yells "action" the camera and sound crews have to start recording and when he yells "cut", they stop. When shooting is finished for the scene, the director declares a "wrap" indicating shooting is over.

At the end of the day, the director approves the next day's shooting schedule and a daily progress report is sent to the production office. Call sheets are distributed to the cast and crew informing them when and where the next shoot will take place. Workdays can last up to 18 hours in remote locations so creating a team spirit is needed to drive the crews motivation. Finally, after filming has well and truly finished it is customary for the production crew to arrange a "wrap party" in which all the cast and crew are invited to watch the film in whole before it is edited in post production. This is also the time to thank the cast and crew for their hard work over the last few months.

Post-Production

After production, all the raw footage captured is sent to the editor or rather a team of editors to cut any mistakes stabilize the audio or digitally add CGI. Depending on what type of movie you are making this could be the most important part of the production process and could take the longest time to complete. For example, 12 Angry Men would not need a heavy amount of editing because it is all centered in one room with only 12 main characters. A Micheal Bay film however (movies that are totally dependent on CGI) is another story. Blockbuster movies like Transformers require a ridiculous amount of CGI to capture the explosions and special effects that couldn't be filmed on set. As a side note it was estimated that $30,00000 of the movie's budget went into making the computer generated effects and also making it the longest stage in the life cycle unsurprisingly. All the shot material is edited and music tracks and songs are composed and recorded if a film is sought to have a score. Finally, all sound elements are mixed into "stems", which are then married to picture and then the film is completed.

Distribution

This is the final stage in the life cycle of the film industry. Once the film has been completed it is usually sent to test audiences before it is released to cinemas. Test audiences are a group of people who preview the movie before the general public do. Afterwards they are required to fill out a questionnaire on what they thought of the movie along with any comments they have. These questionnaires are then sent to the director and producer for review. If something about the film proves unpopular by the majority of the test audience the director has to consider whether to act on the feedback their given. It could be as simple as changing the name of the movie to re shooting a handful of scenes. If this is the case the filmmakers suspend the movie's original release date so they can re shoot parts of the movie again. When changes have been made the film can then be released to cinemas, usually after a couple months has passed since completion because the film company needs to get people interested in their movie so they will go and see it and the producers can make a profit. Merchandise (posters etc.) is usually created to promote the film as well as press releases and official trailers are made to try to entice audiences to watch the movie.


Many blockbuster movies (and some short films) usually have a launch party at the beginning of the films opening, or a red carpet premiere as it is sometimes referred to as. For major films, actors are contractually obliged to attend a promotional tour which includes elements of press interviews and travelling around a country in order to gain as much support as possible so people will watch the movie. Finally, once the film is released to cinemas and will normally show viewing's for about 3 months until it is released to DVD and other digital media later down the year. If profits are made, the distributor and the production company share them. If audience and critical feedback is better then anticipated then it is a possibility that a sequel could be made.

2.2: Explain and justify resources required for a specific project

When we make short films, a lot of time, effort and resources go into them. We always try to improve on our previous projects which I hope will show in Short Film #2: The Old Farm under the unit entitled "Projects". So in order for us to create a professional looking short film we require the right amount of people. Each person who works on a short film delivers a certain skill that is beneficial to have. This could be me for storytelling as I have always maintained a passion for writing (I have had a poem published in a national book) and I like to think I have a creative mind. Lee is the main actor as he has a qualification in Drama. Lewis operates the camera for the most part because of his directing skills. Combine these together and you have the people needed to create the film. Additionally, equipment and materials are needed such as cameras, mics a tripod etc, are either our own or our trainer's, John Stockton. It is not crucial to use the Canon cameras that we use. IPhones have a built in camera which does the job perfectly so there are other ways of shooting a film. Software that we use to edit is Final Cut Pro (It is installed on my personal computer as I have purchased it using my own money). We also have a basic working knowledge of how to use Adobe Premier Pro.

3.1: Describe the vision, mission and values of a specific creative media organisation

For this question I have decided to use the infamous Coca Cole company as my example. This may be a strange example however I do consider this company to play a part in the creative media sector even if they are mainly associated with beverage industry. This is because they are involved with coming up with new flavours as well as designs and marketing followed by distributing. These are key factors that come into play within the creative media sector.

On their website they make it clear what vision, mission and values they have. For their mission, they use one key word which is enduring. They want to "refresh the world" and to "inspire moments of optimism and happiness". Personally, the biggest part of the mission is the next line where they say they want to "create value and make a difference" which is obviously no small feat. I like the fact that they want to make a difference in the world because not many companies are willing to set up programs or form partnerships with charities across the world so it is great that they are setting an example.

Their vision is similar to their mission in relation to what they want to achieve. They want to achieve "sustainable, quality growth". They use the six p's analogy which helps them to guide their business down the right path. The six p's are people, portfolio, partners, planet, profit and productivity. These set goals will help them achieve their mission.

According to Coca Cola's website, the company's values serve as a compass for our actions as well as how we behave in the world. They have 7 values which are very important especially to the company's mission. These are leadership, collaboration, integrity, accountability, passion, diversity and quality. All of these skills are needed to achieve success. 

3.2:  Describe how a  specific creative media organisation is funded, governed and regulated

I have briefly answered this in the question above but I will go into more detail here. Coca Cola is a massive cooperation (in fact it is the largest beverage company in the world), distributing their products in over 200 countries. (Fun fact: 94% of the world's population recognize Coca Cola's red and white logo). As you would expect from a company of this size and international success, they need a substantial investment and they get this from share holders. Share holders are basically people who own a share of a company's stock. They have the potential to profit if the company does well. While share holders do not run the company or ultimately decide how to move the company forward, they are allowed to have their say and vote on matters such as who they think should be on the bored of directors. If they are not happy about how the company is being run, the executive manager has to listen to why and any suggestions for improvement they may have because they are the people who are providing the company money.

3.3: Explain the role of a specific team within the organisation

As you might expect, Coca Cola has many different teams operating within its organisation. The specific team I am going to be talking about for this question are the quality control teams. Their job is to make sure that their manufactured products are in line with a defined set of quality testing criteria. Coca Cola takes quality very series in the products they produce. To stay with new regulations and industry best practices quality control regularly reassess their guidelines not only in manufacturing, but throughout their entire supply chain.

If they spot any inconsistencies or health and safety violations while testing the products then it is their responsibility to alert relevant staff such as line managers. A quality control team is arguably one of the most important teams within the Coca Cola Company because they are the last team to check everything is at a high standard before it is then distributed to factories, stores and homes.

3.4: Explain the relationship between the specific team and others within the organisation

The quality control teams may be essential to the company but they obviously could not and do not run it on their own. This huge task is carried out by the thousands of people employed by Coca Cola all over the world. These are the people that help distribute the drinks to clients and thus consumers. Without them, production would halt. Over 4,000 people are employed by Coca Cola in the UK alone. They have 6 manufacturing sites that produce the beverages in the UK.

Not to mention the sales and marketing teams, suppliers, board of directors, the legal teams and so on. The point is all these groups of people work together to bring the drinks to the consumer; it is not just one lone group. Teamwork is planted within the roots of their business model which allows them to expand and continue to produce high quality products that millions of people love to consume.

4.1: Explain the individual roles within a specific team and 4.2: Explain their responsibilities and outputs within a specific media project life cycle

4.3: Describe examples of interdependence between team members 

Most companies have an interdependence that exists between management, staff and the service user and Tees Valley Music Service is no different. The service user (customer) wants the service that we provide, the staff require the service user in order for the company to succeed and the management team require staff to put out their services to the service users. An example of interdependence between team members in my company would be that I have the responsibility to make sure we have enough stock in the supply room to provide our services and if we don't then I would need to order some more. It is up to "Janice" however, to inform me about what stock we need, how much we need and when we need to order some more. Therefore, it is important that we communicate effectively so that we have the correct stock so we can continue to provide our services to our customers.