Jobs in the creative media industry

Screen Writer
A Screen Writer is a profession in the media industry that requires no education to become a professional screen writer but requires the ability of good story telling, the majority of screen writers are freelance and start their careers with spec writing, which is where they are not hired or paid to do so.

Creative Director
A Creative Director is a vital role in any media and entertainment based jobs and they need to possess a wide range of skills including leadership skills and management skills.

Art Director
Art Directors are responsible for the art department budget and schedule of work, and help the production designer to maximize the money allocated to the department.
An art director must have qualifications in art in order to fulfill the job.

Technical Jobs
Technical jobs in a whole are the more complicated technology based side of the media industry, such as operating the cameras and programming computers, jobs such as these are usually full time but can also be freelance. Some roles include:

• Camera Operator
• Lighting Technician
• Sound Engineer
• Computer Programmer
• Boom Operator

Editorial
Editors are responsible for selecting and preparing written, visual, audible and film media through the process of correction, organisation and condensation and other modifications performed with the intention of producing a correct, consistent and accurate piece of work.
There are many different types of editor opportunities out there, some include:

• Script Editor
• Newspaper/ Magazine editor
• Copy Editor
• Publishing editor
• Art editor

Producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant hosts while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed. Many film producers are also talent (directors, screenwriters, actors) but that is not always the case.
The producer is often actively involved throughout all major phases of the filmmaking process, from inception and development to completion and delivery of a film project. However, an idea or concept for a film can originate with any individual, including a screenwriter, a director or a producer.
A Producer requires qualifications in business more than anything else as they are the financial back bone for any project, as they hire the director and all other essential roles in the project, and also finds the venues for the project to be shown in.

Managerial
This is a job that has authority over others, for example, a director directs the cast and crew and turns the script into a sequence of shots and decides how the project should look once completed.
A film director is in charge of all the major decisions in a film such as major changes in the script and what type of shots should be made in certain scenes, also they work very closely with cast and crew to shape there film into anyway they want.
In a lot of cases a director will do more than one job on set at a time, for example Quentin Tarrantino often acts is his film and Robert Rodriguez often acts as camera man as well, meaning that being a director can be a tasking a busy job.

Location Manager
A location manager is someone who is responsible for the place of photography and filming, some films have a lot of different setting for shots which require research which is done by the location manager along with research. The location manager is in charge of what shots happen on the site and usually health and safety and also time and budgeting that is spent on a single set.
Most location managers are free lance and are not contracted to a specific company and they also act as producer when working on stills.
Most Locations managers do not require any qualifications but having them makes it easier to get a contract, the main thing a location manager needs is connections, knowing people in the media industry is a key way of getting jobs.

Legal Jobs
The legal side of the media industry consists of anything involving law, like copyright and lawyers which will ensure that the policies and rules of the company that they work for are enforced. Some roles include:

• Media Lawyer
• Legal Commentator
• Intellectual property lawyers
• Copyright Lawyers

Executive Producer
Sometimes called executive in charge of production, is a producer who was not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process in the original definition, but who was still responsible for the overall production. Today, the title has become ambiguous, particularly in feature films.

Contract Types
There are different types of contract you can acquire depending on your job role. These include:

• Full Time - This is when an employee is expected to work approximately 40 hours per week. Dependent on the employer they can also choose to pay over time, which is when an employers works over their designated hours.
  Some job roles would include managerial, editorial or financial roles.
• Part Time - This means you only work a fraction of the full time hours. You receive shifts and hours you are supposed to be in each week, but it will be considerably less hours than full time.
  Some roles would include financial or marketing roles.
• Freelance - These contracts are temporary and only last for a certain amount of time. Freelancers are responsible for their own arrangements and can choose when to work as long as it fits with their requirements.
  Some job roles include technical, creative or sales and marketing.
• Shift Work - This means that your shifts are at a set time of the day. They can be both during the day or overnight, and are often used/needed for 24 hour services such as broadcast centers.
• Office Hours - These are traditionally from Monday to Friday, 9am until 5pm. This is a very common contract for many employees working in administration and office based jobs.
  Common roles would include financial, sales and marketing, but can also be assistant jobs.
• Irregular & Anti-Social hours - This is similar to overtime, when a person is paid extra money on top of their normal wages due to them working more than their designated hours or working into unsociable hours. This is common in the media industry as production work can be irregular and unpredictable.
  This can range to basically any job role.
• Salaried - This is a set annual wage that is broken down into monthly payments. A salary will be advertised, which is then divided by 12 giving you the monthly payment. This is very common and mostly managerial, technical and creative roles have these.
• On Completion - This is a common method of payment in the media industry, especially for those commissioned to do work. The contract outlines what is required for you to do and upon completion you receive the agreed fee.
  This is most common for creative and sometimes technical roles.

Behavior Expediencies 

Just as with any job the employers are expected to be reliable, committed and punctual.
Dependent on your actual job role you will require different sets of skills, a director will need to be creative, have very good communication skills, be able to lead a team and encourage people, be good at making important decision, have good time and budget management and awareness. Whereas a producer would require to be up to date with the latest technology and multimedia, have a background in photography, film and/or television, and have good communication and do media studies.
There are also certain codes to follow which is dependent on the company, but are mostly consistent through each company, some include:

• Equality
• Dress Code
• Performance
• Bulling and harassment
• Gambling
• Obscenity