Written Assignment (1500)
There aren’t many jobs in the vast market known as “the media” that can be self-sufficiently successful without the help of other people undertaking responsibility. Apart from solo musicians and filmmakers, all job roles involve the reliance of co-workers and help from others in different job roles. My aspirations in the television industry follow those of a director, arguably the job with the most responsibility and pressure. It is common knowledge that without an organised and level-headed director, the production (wether it be film or television) will suffer greatly and potentially have the project scrapped if the organisation isn’t there.
For our assignment, we we’re asked to divide ourselves into studio roles that replicate industry standards. Although this was useful by showing me what jobs each role has to undertake, it also showed me importance of collaboration and communication. This excersise showed me the importance of key skills, showing me that it was naive of us to simply choose our job roles. Instead, we should have assigned each other roles based on evidence of possessing the key skills needed for each job. This is very much a parallel of the industry, in which job roles are not allocated by random, each person has to show that they have had experience in the industry, understand the process whereby a project flows from pre-prodution into production, and would most likely have had to work their way up the job ladder by proving their skills for each job they undertake. That is why the television industry is no different to many other professions, having inexperienced workers start at the bottom (making tea and coffee) whilst slowly learning about the industry and very slowly working their way up to their desired studio role. This is no different to my plan of action for progression in the industry.
Taking a gap year after my A-Levels gave me an opportunity to divulge in the industry that has attracted me for so long. In September, using a contact i made, i was able to secure myself 1 days work experience running on an ITV television drama production. Although i was thoroughly scared, this was a brilliant introduction into television production as i was able to learn more about the job roles and who was in charge of each aspect of the production. Asking my fellow runners, i was able to understand the hierarchy involved in working in television. This helped me tremendously when i was recommended to a London-based production company for excellent work. My month at “Flynn Productions” gave me even more of an insight into what goes on “behind the scenes”(...quite literally). Although never progressing any further than a runner on shoots, the knowledge i gained about the industry was invaluable because it helped me create a plan of progression in the industry from runner to director. I found that everyone i met and spoke to about careers was in the same situation as me at some point, budding amateur film-maker wanting to turn professional, and i quickly realised that the best progression for me was education, so decided to end my short-lived television career and apply to higher education. I was considering starting my progression into the industry during my work experience but quickly found that a runner with added skills from educational establishments were rated higher than a runner with no skills, just experience. For me, my education at The Manchester College is not about qualifications or certificates, it is about acquiring the necessary skills to give me an edge on my job-competitors.
Although it may appear far away now, the role i would like to persue in the television industry is director. Obviously this idea of directing is just a pipe dream at the moment because there is no way of telling which direction i want to go in the industry, irony intended. I feel that i would be best suited for directing because of my people skills. Wether it be live broadcasting or pre-shot material, i consider myself to have a very direct approach when i want something done from another member of the team.
When i was given the opportunity to direct the recording of a band, although i was nervous, i made sure to give the impression of confidence to the rest of my team as i believe confidence is key to keeping a team on the same page. I was able to analyse the previous directors and learn from their mistakes, something i’ve heard is a crucial learning experience. Before my broadcast, i wanted to make sure my floor manager and camera operators were all on the same page. Instead of taking a backseat role in the control room like some of the other directors, i made sure to give myself a large studio presence, making sure that not only i spoke face-to-face with my crew, but gave them help. I gave encouragement when they were working well and negatively discouraged them when i saw lacking focus and any half-hearted approaches. From this experience, i learnt that being the director for a live broadcast is somewhat like being the mother/father/legal guardian in a house full of children. Wether i was rubbing people the wrong way or ordering them around, i made sure that my main aim was for the greater good and my values were always to make a production of the highest quality. I learnt this from the other work experience i had with LFS (London Film Services).
Whilst doing a week on the film set for “Weekender”, a film based on early 90’s rave culture, i took more of a back seat than i had previously taken on set with Flynn Productions. I was working as “Assistant Locations Manager”, which is an industry role that doesn’t involve much work on set. I was given a radio and spent equal time on and off set. This gave me an opportunity to listen to the chatter on the radio, evaluate the relationships between roles and also gave me an opportunity to see how all parts of the industry came together. I noticed that even though the director was generally disliked by many working underneath him, they were all in the understanding that this word was the last on almost every discussion, which helped me to understand the hierarchy on set. It was important for all working underneath the director to obey his commands in order to successfully work together. The directors approach to any problems that arose on set was very upfront and straight forward. He was always concise with his words and direct about his visions, which i felt i could replicate in industry conditions.
With respect to organisation; although i spent much time on set, i was still unable to fully experience how much pressure was put on the director during pre-production. It is believed that a film/production can be doomed before it has even started shooting. Many think that pre-production is the most crucial stage of production, where one is able to tell wether the production is going to be a flop or a success. Unfortunately, during my work on “Weekender”, i was unable to appreciate any of the hard work that had gone into the film during the pre-production stages. This was slightly different from my experience working at Flynn, where i was present during the pre-production stages of a show reel they were filming for a street magician. The director, Jacob Hyamm, spent 7 days planning for a shoot that lasted 12hours, in which only 2minute of that filming time was used in the final cut. This gives just an example of how time consuming the pre-production stage of any shoot is, showing why organisation is a key attribute to becoming a successful director. I feel that with my confident approach to my previous experiences directing, i will be able to progress through the industry to directing.
Despite saying this, i am very confident that if i was presented the opportunity to direct a multimillion pound film in the next few years that my lack of knowledge in the field would render me unable to complete the task at hand. Although the thought of that is fairly disheartening, it does remind me of the importance of experience in a fast moving industry such as the media, which is why i am more than happy to spend a few years learning the business, running on set and using my skills i learnt from education to give me an edge over the competitors. I am confident in my action plan, and feel that my ability to organise 1 ½ months work experience helps remind me that a confident approach to my profession is crucial. I was able to secure myself the work off my own back, using the contacts that i had made to progress my career.
Whilst organising my work, i was friendly and confident in my contact with companies, during work hours i was committed and communicative with my fellow workers and made sure that i used the experience to learn, and not just to make a bit of money. For these reasons, i have no doubt in my ability to progress through the industry to the most prestigious spot, director Fred Velody!
