Job roles
in films
In this I will talk about the different types of jobs in the
film industry, these being Creative, Management, and Technical jobs, and will
talk about 3 different job titles for each of these areas. There are many roles
in Television and Film and as of that I will not talk about all of them, which
is why I have decided to talk about 9 and how they are used in productions.
Technical:
The Technical roles in Television and Film are the jobs that
work with all of the electrical/technical equipment. For example there is the
sound engineer who works with sound editing software and sound equipment in
order to boost/fix the sound levels for the production. This can be something
as simple as a soundtrack to having to record new sounds to lay over the
previous, which is what is commonly known as Foley sound.
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Digital Imaging Technician (DIT): The “DIT” is
responsible for the coordination of the internal workings of the digital camera.
Being under the direction of the Director of photography, the DIT will make
adjustments to the multitude of variables available in the cameras in order to
manipulate the image. Such work has been done in films like the Matrix. When in
the Matrix the image had a hint of green so simulate what it would look like to
be in a simulated world. It is more effective with the green impression as the
computers back in the time it was made had a lot of that in their programming.
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Gaffer: The Gaffer is the head of the electrical
department, responsible for the design and execution of the lighting plan for a
production. Sometimes the Gaffer is credited as “Chief Lighting Technician”.
The Best Boy (Electrical) is the chief assistant to the Gaffer. Work seen by
Gaffers in productions are sometimes un-noticed. But the subtle works of the
make big differences in the production. It is their responsibility to properly
organise the lighting and to make sure that it sets the mood of the production.
Look at the film Donnie Darko. This physiological film used a wide range of
lighting which varied between the scenes. But what is most notable is the
lighting used when Donnie is having some type of illusion. The light focusses
on that he is seeing, for example the auras that come out of people, but also
doesn’t draw too much attention away from the rest of the scene. This is what
made the film so brilliant because you can be completely focussed on what
Donnie is seeing, but also you take in the whole of the room which is done through
the combination of good camera work and lighting placement.
·
Foley sound team: Foley sound is the non-diegetic
sound that is added after filming. For example a horse riding through a street
would be difficult to capture sound for so a common method used is to have
someone on the team get something that sounds like a horse running across
stone, 2 halves of a coconut for example, and have them create that sound to
lay over the horses gallop. Foley sound is used throughout most, if not all
professional productions for all different kinds of sounds. In a film or
programme set in medieval times, such as Game Of Thrones, when a sword is drawn
that sound is not caught on camera. What a Foley team would do is get 2 thin
metal objects and scrape one against the other in a fast motion causing it to
make a ring, much like a sword being drawn. The possibilities for using Foley
sound are endless. It is used for door sounds, ripping flesh, cars, etc.
Without Foley Film and Television productions would be far less entertaining to
watch.
Management:
Management roles are a lot less practical to technical and
especially less practical than creative. Within the management roles you are
overseeing or supervising or supervising areas of the production. There are
many different types of management roles such as the Producer who oversees the
director and other creative aspects of the production. Executive producer who
manages the finance. Even lesser roles such as marketer who focus on the
distribution of the finished product.
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Producer: The producer initiates, coordinates,
supervises, and controls matters such as raising funding, hiring key personnel,
contracting and arranging for distributors. The producer is involved throughout
all phases of the process from development to completion of a project. As the
Producer you are responsible for making sure everything goes smoothly. To make
sure that the talent isn’t acting up in any way that could hurt the production
and to ultimately make sure that the production keeps up to date.
·
Location Manager: The location manager is responsible
for finding and securing locations to be used for the production and
coordinating the logistics, permits and costs involved. They are also the face
of the production to the community. It is important for the location manager to
ensure that those who are allowing you to film in their homes, business, etc,
know how long they will be, and that they may need to return. There have been
productions made where people who let a crew film in their home don’t know what
time they are supposed to start, when they finish and what they do to their
home. This means that they may be woken up early so they can film, will be kept
out of their house upon returning and possibly find holes have been made in
walls for the camera, lighting and other wires.
·
Production Accountant: Production accountants are
responsible for managing finances and maintaining financial records during film
production. They work closely with the Producer and the production office to
manage the day-to-day accounting office functions, and report on the project’s
financial progress against the budgets (cost reporting). They are responsible
for knowing how much a scene will cost if it requires any big special effects
or props. And to make sure that they do not go over budget.
Creative:
As creative is the most practical aspect of filmmaking a lot
of people wish to work on when they first think about starting a career in the
film business. Areas where creative is mainly seen is in the screenwriting,
although not too practical, it plays a big role in the practical work.
Direction is highly creative as the Director must think of creative ways to
make the production more entertaining for the viewers in ways of simple, yet
unusual shots and just telling the actors where to stand and how to perform the
scene.
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Director: The Director is in charge of the creative
part of the production. This means they control the content and flow of the
plot, direct the actors, select what is to be shown on camera, use of lighting,
and the timing and content of the films soundtrack. Directors work to find ways
of making their production more interesting through their use of shots. Take
the Director Gregory Dark for example. He mainly directs music videos, but when
he made the film See no Evil he used techniques he developed in music video
production so when the video transitioned it added a very subtle, but great
effect to the film by using the environment of the sets.
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Set Designer: The set designer is the draftsman, often
an architect, who realizes the structures or interior spaces called for by the
production designer. They are in charge of the overall look of where they are
filming. The Rob Zombie, Halloween remake is a good example in one of the early
scenes. When they first got permission to film in what was used as the Myres
house they found that the owner was a very messy person, as a result the house
was disgusting. They had to clean up the whole of the living room, kitchen and
bedrooms so it would look like a home. When Michael Myres was a kid he lived in
a broken home, the set had to resemble that. So they had to “un-clean” the
house making for a lot of un-necessary work. If the set designer had been there
from the start then it would have saved the group a lot of work.
·
Screenwriter: The screenwriter, or script writer, is
responsible for researching the story, creating the narrative, writing the
screenplay, and delivering it, in the required format, to the Producers. They
are almost always freelancers who either pitch original ideas to Producers in
the hope that they will be optioned or sold, or who are commissioned by a
Producer to create a screenplay from a concept, true story, existing screen
work or literary work, such as a novel or short story. They are very important
to the production as without them, without a script, there is no film.
