Job role research

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Employment types:

Different department types:

Creative: writer/scriptwriter/designer/concept
artist/soundtrack composer
Technical: location sound/camera operator
Marketing: advertising co-ordinator
Managerial: runs a film company
Legal: deals with contracts/copyright
Financial: accounts/cash flow

Within these department there are other job

Job employment types:

full time
voluntary
part time
fixed time
freelancer

How can you find jobs in media?

National press
Trade press
Trade fairs/exhibitions
Personal contacts
Apprenticeship
Networking
Word of mouth
Internet/social
media

Different job roles/work experience/lessons that I'm interested in:

Editor:

https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/film-and-tv-drama/post-production/editor-film-and-tv-drama/

An editor cuts footage and puts them back together, ultimately removing video footage so that the final outcome can be easier to watch. This may help decrease the overall time making it a more comfortable product to watch in its entirety. They also modify voices so they can either be heard better or heard less. Editors put together all the collected music and footage to make the final product. Editors set the pacing for films and tv. Having level 3 OCR or BTEC is what will help me get this job.

A lot of the time an editor will get all the footage they need in a random order, its their job to put all the pieces in order in a way where the final product will be more enjoyable and easy to watch. They also make the decision in removing certain footage that they don't think is necessary or make that much of an impact the on story the final video is trying to make.

In pre-production

In pre-production editors work closely with the director in writing the script. They usually go on set to have a better understanding of where the story is going as well as the performances. After each scene is filmed the editors will try to make it look better by maybe adding sound effects or trimming down certain scenes for the purpose of time.

In post production

In post production the editor and director will work closely to make a directors cut of the a film or TV episode which would be approved by the producers of the project. Once this is done the editors can add music and sound effects to the film.

What do editors need to have in order to be good at their job?

understanding of storytelling as well as pacing
visual awareness of style and what matches
Being able to use editing software
Good communication so they can be open with the director and create a good connection

Who do editors have to work with?

first assistant editor
second assistant editor, third assistant editor and editor assistants
supervising sound editor
dialogue/ADR editor
colourist
VFX visual effects supervisor
post production runner

How to become an editor:

Most editors are post production runners before actually becoming actual editors. This is the traditional way to get this job role. It's common before working in high productions to work your way up and work at lower budget films as an assistant editor. This is so that they can gain experience and have time to prove their abilities for the job.

If you were to go to university A-levels or higher in:

art and design
photography
drama and theatre
English
film studies
graphic design
graphic communication
media studies
physics
psychology
computing science

These are all good to have. These will help provide the skills and knowledge over time to become a good editor, helping develop skills such as a keen eye for style. You can also take level 3 courses instead if you really wanted to. If so these are the qualification you'd need to take:

NCFE Level 3 Applied General Certificate in Art and Design
BTEC National Diploma/Extended Diploma in Art and Design
BTEC National Extended Diploma in Creative Digital Media Production
UAL Applied General Diploma/Extended Diploma in Art and Design

If you wanted to go straight in to an apprenticeship instead these are the level 3 vocational qualifications that would help you:

Aim Awards Diploma in Creative and Digital Media
OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma in Art and Design (3D Design)
OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma in Art and Design (Graphic Design)
OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma in Art and Design (Photography)
OCR Technical Diploma in Digital Media (Moving Image and Audio Production)
BTEC National Diploma in Film and Television Production
BTEC National Diploma in Film and Television Visual Effects
BTEC National Diploma in Photography
UAL Diploma/Extended Diploma in Art and Design
UAL Diploma/Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production and Technology

Apprenticeships are good because they provide job experience and take courses while getting paid, plus they provide a job at the end of the course. Before applying for college's you may want to check what set of skills they'll be teaching you and if it matches with whatever industry you wanna work for.

Network:

Go to open events and communicate with other editors or companies. Create accounts on multiple job application sites for companies to try and find you. If you can't find job opportunities they might be able to find you with multiple accounts of you with your job experience/portfolio linked.

I think I'd be quite good at being an editor, I can talk with people quite easily and I enjoy watching films so I have a passion for what I'm working to help make. I also have an art GCSE so there's some artistic background already in my CV. Also I'm currently taking level 3 media so there's experience in editing and animations. I think I'm on the right track to taking this as a career path. I quite enjoy gathering and ordering footage. So there's already a passion for editing.

Animator

https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/animation/production/animator-animation/

An animator creates digital performances to be watched or used in films/TV or video games. The animator takes verbal and physical representations of what they're being asked to do. They then make digital models, these models can have their bodies interacted with. Moving the digital models arms help with creating scenes. Since you can move them around like puppets. To become this I will need a level 3 degree art and design.

Animators usually work in large teams taking different parts of a scene as their responsibility and making it on the computer. Then when all the sections are complete all of the different work each employee did is used in a composition.

I quite like the 3D/CG animation more than the 2D. Using computer frames to put together character models and making different digital character skeletons. The process just sounds quite fun and interesting. When creating characters the 3D animators create a model of the character where their limbs and body parts can be adjusted for the scene to happen. They basically are making digital puppets. You can find a lot of changes in the characters face where facial expressions are made.

2D animators will usually get given character body parts that can be moved creating movement, these parts are given by the art department. Here the 2D animators will be able to add create an animation with the models using the storyboard (given by the artists) as reference to create an animation.

2D assistant animators will do work such as clean up and lip syncing. Clean up work involves going over drawings and other scenes adding in frames where the work is a little laggy. This makes the scene smoother and easier to watch. Lip syncing is where characters mouths are added and moved in time with the voice actor's sound recording so it look like the character is talking.

What are animators good at?

art, drawing and understanding emotions through character body language
knowledge of animations and the software it runs on
Good at communication, talking openly and presenting creative ideas
good organisation skills, keeping up with deadlines
Having a passion for watching and creating animations

Who do animators work with?

Animators will work with the director and animation director as well as the storyboard artists.

How do I become an animator?

qualifications:

A-levels or higher in:

fines art
art and design
film studies.

level three in:

BTEC national diploma/extended in art and design
UAL diploma/extended in art and design
NCFE applied general certificate in art and design

If you wanted to go in to an apprenticeship instead, then level three qualifications of:

level 3 BTEC national diploma in graphics
UAL diploma/extended diploma in Art and design
OCR Cambridge technical diploma in art and design

will help you get these apprenticeships. This is a great way of getting training and experience for whatever job role you want to pursue. They provide training and a place to work after your training is complete.

Network

You could also practise your animation skills and upload on a professional portfolio. Eventually when applying for a job you could send this to them to show how much experience you have. As well as a portfolio try to upload work on social media platforms such as youtube to gain exposure and get noticed. Or instead you could attend animation industry events where companies would be looking for work.

Ive always found animations to be quite fascinating and I've always liked these types of movies/tv shows. Plus I have an art GCSE so that could help if I were to go on and do these diplomas and A-levels. Overrall I think this job wouldn't be too hard to get because I've done and still doing a lot of classes that relate to these recommended qualifications.

Effects technical director

https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/animation/production/effects-technical-director-fx-td-animation/

Effects technical director makes physics based digital effects. Fire, explosions, water, smoke for the animators to use with their animations. They make the effects look believable. Effects TD works with the lighting artists and the director. They need to match their style of work with the style of the animators for the work to fit well with the project. A level 3 in digital software or creative media helps with getting this job.

What effects technical director's need to be good at

problem solving with creative solutions
Support on junior artists that may aspire to follow the same job path, giving face to face technical help
Have a strong understanding of animation pipelines, coming up with ideas in a group and making scenes chronologically
Knowledge of 3D animation programs
advanced knowledge of coding and programming skills (VEX and C++)

Who do they work with

VFX artists work with the lighting artists and compositors and the director. They also work with other technical directors working on the project

Why would I want to do this?

I quite like the idea of making all of these realistic digital effects, creating fire and all sorts like that. I do have a computer science/python coding history as well which could help if I were to try and get a coding VEX on my CV. If I were to do this though I would have to take a computer science course to further my knowledge and properly meet this job's qualification. I think I would enjoy doing this as a job since I quite like films and fascinated by the work /production that goes in to the special effects.

How would I get a job in effects technical director?

First I would need to have a good amount of experience as an animator in VFX, I'd also need a degree in programming with a good amount of experience. Since it's a senior position a good amount of knowledge and experience will be required to fulfil this role. This is so that I the TD's can oversee the VFX artists and guide them

So in order to get a job role as a VFX artist I would need a combination of drawing skills and a good understanding of science. With some sort of qualification to back this up in either college or school. Having A - levels in maths, science, compute science, art and design or art is ideal.

This can be also level 3 qualifications:

creative and digital media diploma
BTEC national diploma in creative digital media production
BTEC national diploma/extended diploma in computing

If you want to go through an apprenticeship instead then these qualifications may help when applying:

OCR Technical Diploma in Digital Media
BTEC National Diploma in Film and Television Visual Effects
BTEC National Diploma in Computing for Creative Industries
UAL Diploma/Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production and Technology
AQA Technical Level IT: Programming
OCR technical diploma in IT

Network

Practise your skills making special effects and upload it on your professional portfolio, so you can use it as evidence when applying for jobs. But to actually find these job applications go to events for the VFX industry. Here you can meet professionals who are most likely going to look for people to work for them. You could also get to know a few people in case work is needed.

For an effects technical director I would have to first become a VFX animator so I can first get some experience to take on this senior role. But even to get that I'd need to get some form of creative media qualification which is what I'm currently doing. I think this job out of the three would be the easiest to get because I'm currently taking level 3 OCR digital media. From there I would have to either go on for an apprenticeship or university. I'd still have to spend a lot of years gaining experience for a senior position though to become a senior technical director.

Overall

Overall the media industry has a lot to offer. There’s so many jobs out there tagged as a media job. Some identical some completely different to the other job. This is a new industry of work that is highly in demand for new work. Personally I'd like to enter jobs that have something to do with films/tv and gaming but there's so much to offer so I don't think it’ll be hard if I was to look for another media job.

Job role progression review

After thing that I'd completed the first stage of task 1 in project 2 of media I sent my teacher the work I had completed for it to be reviewed.

After reading through the review of my job roles page I started to add more information on the purpose of the three jobs I was reviewing (editor, animator and EFX technical director). Using the website www.screenskills.com I was able to gain more knowledge and have a better understanding of what the three jobs do. I went in to more detail about the jobs than I had before and also typed the journey of how someone would get there as I hadn't included that in my original job task. Talking about what qualifications they needed to have as well as where they'd have to go for those qualifications (college, university, apprenticeship).