Media Job Roles

Media Jobs research 

In media, many times one has to start from a lower job than the one he/she has studied or aimed for. Although this may be seen as a set back, it helps the new worker to gradually grow into his dream position. Although one may have certificates and degrees, working in the real industry is much more difficult and different. 

The media industry has a lot of categories that are packed with different jobs. These categories are 

• Commissioning 
• Corporate Relations
• Development
• Management 
• Finance 
• Human Resources 
• Legal and Compliance 

 The Commissioning Department :

This department chooses which programs are made. They are responsible for for working around the strategies and priorities of the respective channels. Usually what happens is that independent producers or production companies come up with new ideas for programs. They pitch their ideas to the commissioner and he/she decides wether the project will be funded or not.  This is how one can become a commissioner 

Corporate Relations 

This department makes sure that the company’s (or Tv station’s) mission statement is understood by the public, the government and the other important people in the public and private sector of the community.

Unlike other media roles, usually whoever is in this sector has studied it or other similar subjects.

Development

This area is probably the most known among the people. Many say the development is the factory of the media production, especially in the ideas sector.People in this sector are constantly researching and inventing new ideas to pitch to commissioners.

The ‘lowest’ job in the development area is probably the runner. Many people started their career in media from this entry level position.This position is not always the same, a runner can be told to get the coffee and post the mail, or he.she could be placed on a specific program helping the development team get everything ready. A runner has to be enthusiastic and not necessarily a graduate. Usually the job of a runner requires long hours and being ordered about by people above you, but many say that it is a fun and exciting job for people interested in media. Also another plus side is that this job enables you to meet a lot of people that can be crucial to your career in the long run. 

Researcher 

A researcher is a varied role which puts the researcher in the heart of the production. It is a job that requires good team work since he/she will be working closely with the rest of the team. Usually the researchers are those people that are always willing to do something extra for the job. The actual roles may vary according to the size of the project, the style. Another thing a researcher has to be is multi tasking since the roles change so frequently. For example , a researcher might be asked to gather information about a subject, finding interviewees, researching locations for filming, taking photos of places for the director to see, sharing the information with the script writers. Another important aspect of the job is making sure that what is being done has consent and permission. 

Analysing a music Video

This music video is a very typical Take Away Show. Simplicity dominates  both the music and the visual aspect of it. The whole music video is filmed with one camera, and is practically one continious shot after the first minute.
The video starts by establishing who the producer is, who the artists are and the country. The typography is the one used in every Take away show. Shots of the surroundings help us to identify the place and the relaxed atmosphere.
The way that the singer uses sticks to represent chucks, it shows the audience that this is a laid back kind of music video, very informal. From then on , the music video is practically a 6 minute long shot of the musicians playing and walking/running next to a functioning train station. There is no clear story or structure, and most of the things that happen are probably spontaneous, like the person going down the stairs and the trains passing.
The camera moves constantly, circling around the artists , running after them, like a game.
One can immediately tell that perfection was not a priority in the making of this music video, but this imperfection is what makes it so special.
It is strange that for a live music video such a noisy place was chosen, but the reason for this can be to create contrast between the relaxing music to the hectic noise created by the passing trains.
At the end , information about the artists and the producers themselves by giving the websites .

Advertising

I came across this billboard while searching for unconventional advertising. This 65-metre wide billboard was created in 2006 just before the World Cup. The person seen is the German goal keeper Oliver Kahn. This billboard was placed on the bridge leading to the airport of Munich. The actual senders are Adidas. The ball that Kahn is holding was the new adidas creation that was used for that world cup. This definitely got the attention of football lovers, and anyone that saw it. 

Marketing research

Marketing research 

(http://managementhelp.org/mrktng/mrktng.htm)

In one assignment I have the role of marketing a blog created by my team for the MediaCast. Marketing is basically finding ways in which to tell people about your product and making them understand it’s aim. But before actually marketing your product, one has to understand what the customers need and how you can reach their needs. So to start off this project, me and my team are conducting some research about MediaCast. The research is mostly being done in the form of questionnaires and interviews, but I am focusing mainly on marketing this blog. 

Deb Roberts, an expert in product marketing said that ‘ A marketing plan is good for focusing your energy towards the right actions that will deliver on what you want to accomplish’. So an important thing I have to do is create a marketing plan or strategy. Obviously I have to take into consideration that we are working on basically no budget, so I have to plan activities that are cheap. 

To create my strategy, I have to really know my target markets (the audience).I know that my target audience are all the media students attending Mcast art and design. Needless to say, their interest in media is what makes them fall under one category. So to get their attention, I will focus on creating market products that I know will reach this audience easily. For example; I will create posters , make advertisements on social networks that are very popular with these students, advertise the blog by speaking to these students face to face etc.

After conducting more research I will have a proper marketing plan, including deadlines.  

MediaCast

MediaCast

Me and 4 other students from my class, are working on creating a blog for all the media students attending Mcast Art and Design. The main aim for this blog is to have a virtual meeting place for all the students, where they can share their projects, ask questions and know what is going on. Since MediaCast is still new , we have to conduct a lot of research in order for us to actually understand what needs to be in this blog. 

To start of our research we are going to ask some questions to the HND media students. The questions we plan on asking them are :

1)What does MediaCast mean to you ?

2)What to do you think MediaCast has to offer to media students and why ?

3)Do you think it is a good idea to create a blog for MediaCast ?

4)Should the blog be open to media students only or to all students? 

5)How do you plan on using it ? 

With the answers of these questions we can have a clearer idea of what we have to put inside the blog and what the media students are looking for. 

We are thinking about filming some of the interviews . Giovan (a member of the group) has offered to bring his camera, so we can use it. We need to book a pocket recorder from the school ( since not all the interviews are going to be filmed). As a location we are going to use the school grounds to make it easier for the media students that we’re goind to interview and even for us. 

Info-Graphic

This is my info-graphic, explaining in (very simple terms) things like Raster and vector Images, RGB, bit rate etc. 

Photo Montage

This is a photo montage I just did using Photoshop. I used images that come to mind when I think about school in the old days :)

Info-graphic

For another school assignment we have to create an info-graphic, showing the research we've done regarding : Pixels, Raster, Vectoring, Bit Depth and Color Space. After some thinking, I got the idea of creating a 'virtual room', with the research inside. For example, to explain what pixels are, I will use the image of a pixillated lightbulb and so on.

This is a very bad sketch of this idea, I hope the actual info-graphic is better than this .

Ofcom

Ofcom is a Uk regulatory body, that 'controls' television and radio.  It's job is to make sure that people in the UK get the best  out of their communication services, and that they're protected from scams. 
It also ensures that the UK has a wide range of high quality tv and radio programs that are diverse and interest all parts of the community, that it's audiences are protected from harmful and offensive material ( such as violence or nudity ). It also ensures privacy and the protection of people under the age of 18. 


Although it is responsible for the television and radio regulations, it is not responsible for the adverts shown or heard. The adverts are taken care of by another organization - ASA . It is also not responsible for inaccuracies on the BBC networks and BBC's license fees, and for press and magazines, the latter is taken care of by the PCC (Press Complaints Commission). 

Banner Experiment

 This is a banner that I made using Illustrator. This is just a draft for the final banner that will be used for this blog . Next time I think I'll use only 3 colors, and focus the lines around the text.