TASK ONE
Preparing for a career in the Media industry
Research
For this unit, I will be researching into career opportunities and roles in the media industry. I have chosen the Film industry as my specialised sector, this is because I am most passionate about filmmaking and aspire to create and write films as my occupation.
I personally have already invested into researching the varied ways of how I can become a director, and have been highly interested in either attending London Film Academy to gain a Bachelor's degree in Practical Filmmaking, which means going down the route of further education. However, I am equally as interested at working on a production set as an intern or assistant, in order for me to learn first hand tricks of the trade and to help me understand the process of creating a film by working my way up through production.
I personally have already invested into researching the varied ways of how I can become a director, and have been highly interested in either attending London Film Academy to gain a Bachelor's degree in Practical Filmmaking, which means going down the route of further education. However, I am equally as interested at working on a production set as an intern or assistant, in order for me to learn first hand tricks of the trade and to help me understand the process of creating a film by working my way up through production.
My chosen three roles that I shall be researching are the following, production assistant, screenplay writer and director. I chose these occupations as I feel they all link within each other and show the progression from an entry level role, being a production assistant, where you learn the basics to then advancing into writing and directing your own films.
Production Assistant
A production assistant, also known as a runner, is a freelance job, and their responsibilities are very varied, depending upon what project they are working on. The purpose of the role, is to help production run more smoothly, by working alongside a production secretary, production coordinator, production manager and line producer, on a film set.
Responsibilities
Production assistants need to organise production paperwork, email call sheets, help with health and safety notices, distribute paperwork to the crew. These all involve dealing with office supplies, such as stationary, toner and printer paper. Production assistants also have the responsibility of cleaning a kitchen area, if one is present on set, and take food orders from the crew. Another requirement that may be asked of the runner, is to organise and prep equipment.
To conclude, the key part about being a runner is keeping production staff and the crew in general, satisfied and refreshed as it will allow them to have trust in you as a production assistant, which helps build connections with those on set, as they may be able to help you progress into the industry.
Key skills
The key skills that are required to become a production assistant are to be productive, as the employers expect the runner to be organised by using their initiative and thinking practically to get their tasks complete. The other key skills are to be confident, approachable and adaptable, these are very important as the job is fast paced and a runner needs to stay focused and be able to adapt to changes, as well as keeping an enthusiastic and positive mindset, because if they want to progress, they need to learn how the industry works. A runner also need to be able to prioritise, this is skill is needed as a runner because they have many responsibilities from various crew members and have to determine what order of tasks need to be checked off first, and have good reasoning for this.
Some recommend knowing how to drive, because depending upon the production type, the production assistant may need to drive to and from locations to either retrieve paperwork, meet crew members, especially as the job requires long hours and early starts.
To expand upon my research, I watched a video below that discussed 'How to become a successful runner', the video was uploaded by a channel called FutureLearn. The presenter gave his advice on how to be a good runner and said that you should respect your role, even though it is at lower scale of production, it will still give you lots of experience and try learn as much as you can. He also stated that you must be punctual or early, be reliable and trustworthy as these will allow for your employers to give you more responsibility as they know you will complete your tasks to a high standard. The presenter also advised that a production assistant read the script and learn everyone crew members name, as this helps build trust and respect. Lastly he advised that a runner should always offer more, that way you can be given more work and get the most experience out of pushing that role.
Some recommend knowing how to drive, because depending upon the production type, the production assistant may need to drive to and from locations to either retrieve paperwork, meet crew members, especially as the job requires long hours and early starts.
To expand upon my research, I watched a video below that discussed 'How to become a successful runner', the video was uploaded by a channel called FutureLearn. The presenter gave his advice on how to be a good runner and said that you should respect your role, even though it is at lower scale of production, it will still give you lots of experience and try learn as much as you can. He also stated that you must be punctual or early, be reliable and trustworthy as these will allow for your employers to give you more responsibility as they know you will complete your tasks to a high standard. The presenter also advised that a production assistant read the script and learn everyone crew members name, as this helps build trust and respect. Lastly he advised that a runner should always offer more, that way you can be given more work and get the most experience out of pushing that role.
All of these skills are important as they allow for a production assistant to excel by learning how to approach the crew socially, which helps them achieve and build stronger relationships and trust with those in the industry.
Qualifications, CV, Research and Portfolio
To become a production assistant, production companies accept people with degrees and A level qualifications, however, it is not mandatory, as this is a entry level job and employers look for people who are wiling and passionate about progressing into the industry, but most of they want someone who is hard working.
For a runner to help learn and educate themselves more about filmmaking, it can be advised to take a media based course in sixth form education, or do a degree in film and tv as you can build a portfolio of work and use it to give evidence of your skills in a creative sector.
However, a CV is vital, as a runner needs to shape it around the career they want to progress in and gain as much experience as possible, such as taking on an internship, which will show on paper that they have knowledge of working with people and have soft skills, as these are very much needed to become a successful production assistant. Showing their passion and interest by gaining work experience also attracts production companies, as they want runners who are invested in achieving a career in film and experience shows this in the best way.
Another way in which a person can succeed as a production assistant is by researching the directors of the companies they're applying to. They should learn who are the preferred companies at the time and learn about the competitiveness between them, as it shows they've researched and are aware of the current dynamics happening in the industry. Also researching creative agents and learning how movies are made commercially will give them a full scope of understanding how the film and tv industry works and having that knowledge is key, as they need to understand the type of environment that will come with the job.
When researching websites that are useful to gather informative information on the film and tv industry, the company 'My First Job in Film', on their website, recommend using the following web pages to learn about the new changes and updates happening in film currently. The links below are useful for people who want to become a production assistant, as they will help them gain knowledge of the varied people in the creative media industry and they can look up certain production companies to find out more about the film and tv sector.
https://www.shots.net/the-news
https://www.campaignlive.co.uk
https://www.broadbandtvnews.com
http://www.lbbonline.com
https://www.marketingweek.com
If a runner is interested in becoming a director, and are applying as a production assistant to start out, having a show reel attached to your CV is recommended, as it shows you're passionate about progressing in the industry as this is hugely why they want to employ runners, to help give opportunities to those who want to achieve a career in the film and tv and work their way up.
Environment of the work place
The environment, when working on a production set is incredibly fast paced as the production crew tends to be small and they work long hours; having to fit short deadlines. The production assistant may even receive a promotion if they have shown commitment and can adapt to the set's environment well.
To learn more about the environment on a film set that production assistants face, I watched the Youtube video below from a channel called Rocket-jump Film School, they interviewed a runner and he spoke and documented a 'day in the life of a production assistant'. I found this source of research most useful as it showed what the atmosphere, treatment and tasks a runner face throughout their role.
The interviewee spoke about how in his job, as a PA (production assistant) he is always in-between being on set and off set and that the tasks are very practical and hands on, as he had to collect water for crew members, organise food stands, hold part of the camera dolly etc. He also stated how the assistant director is your boss and that you need to always be present and listen, in his case, he used walkie talkies to communicate with the crew; which are used on most production sets as a way of conversing in different locations. The interviewee said that if there is anything wrong on set, you as the runner have to tell the assistant director and he also said that there is usually more than one PA on set as the hours are long and they share their tasks to allow others to rejuvenate their energy.
The interviewee also stated that there are code names for certain phrases, for example, if a runner is using the lavatory and can't respond to a message via walkie talkie you say '10-1'. The phrase 'hot bricks' is also used to refer to needing new batteries for the walkie talkies. Another code word he spoke of was 'lock up' which stops crew who are unneeded to go onto set when they are rolling.
The interviewee said that to be a good runner, you need to listen and 'think of what people need', that way you can be called up again for another production if they are observant and listen well, people will want them to be a PA on other future projects, if they are known for using your initiative and listening. He also stated how he regularly cleans the set, both throughout the day and at the end once everything's wrapped. When it comes to eating lunch, he said how the PA's tend to go last and that you should prioritise others in the queue as sadly the production assistants are at the lower end of the crew and are given less priority.
To conclude, I found this video most useful as it captured a real day in the life of a PA and showed the varied tasks they have to complete, the hard work that goes into the job and the expectation set for those who are interested, like myself, as starting their career in the industry as a production assistant.
Salary
A production assistant is paid a salary, which is not permanent as they only freelance. To find out the salary of a production assistant, I looked on a legitimate employment website called 'Indeed' and found that the average salary is £19,382 per year, in the UK. However, they range from £9,000 to £33,000 a year, depending on the scale of the production. The link to the Indeed website, listing the statistics is here: https://www.indeed.co.uk/salaries/production-assistant-Salaries.
To learn more about the financial income that a production assistant earns, I watched the video below from the website, 'My First Job in Film'. The woman who spoke about her experience as a production assistant and stated how she recommends those who are working as a runner, particularly those on a feature film set, should have one or more part time job to cover them so that they are economically self-sufficient, as the salary for being a runner is very low in comparison to the average person who works full-time which is £35,423.
The statistics for the average salary are from the following website link:
https://www.findcourses.co.uk/inspiration/articles/average-salary-uk-2018-1410
Career opportunities // Progression opportunity
Starting out as a production assistant can give you opportunities to go down the production route of the industry and you can progress to become a production coordinator or production manager. However, if they want to become a director, it is much harder as runner can only watch and listen to the directors you see on set. If a runner want to go down the directorial route, they need to make connections, create their own films and collaborate with writers, but it is possible.
As the job is only freelance, it limits your opportunities to creating your own business, especially as it is an entry level job, however if you work your way up production and keeping learning, you could create your own production company in the future.
To conclude, becoming a production assistant is very useful for those who want to pursue a career in the production side of filmmaking. As it is an entry level job, it is accessible, but only when you have the soft skills and mindset to back yourself and succeed under pressure. To become a runner, they have to be competitive too, as these entry level jobs are high demand for aspiring youth who want to work in the industry, and you have to be willing and passionate to stand out from the crowd.
When researching websites that are useful to gather informative information on the film and tv industry, the company 'My First Job in Film', on their website, recommend using the following web pages to learn about the new changes and updates happening in film currently. The links below are useful for people who want to become a production assistant, as they will help them gain knowledge of the varied people in the creative media industry and they can look up certain production companies to find out more about the film and tv sector.
https://www.shots.net/the-news
https://www.campaignlive.co.uk
https://www.broadbandtvnews.com
http://www.lbbonline.com
https://www.marketingweek.com
If a runner is interested in becoming a director, and are applying as a production assistant to start out, having a show reel attached to your CV is recommended, as it shows you're passionate about progressing in the industry as this is hugely why they want to employ runners, to help give opportunities to those who want to achieve a career in the film and tv and work their way up.
Environment of the work place
The environment, when working on a production set is incredibly fast paced as the production crew tends to be small and they work long hours; having to fit short deadlines. The production assistant may even receive a promotion if they have shown commitment and can adapt to the set's environment well.
To learn more about the environment on a film set that production assistants face, I watched the Youtube video below from a channel called Rocket-jump Film School, they interviewed a runner and he spoke and documented a 'day in the life of a production assistant'. I found this source of research most useful as it showed what the atmosphere, treatment and tasks a runner face throughout their role.
The interviewee spoke about how in his job, as a PA (production assistant) he is always in-between being on set and off set and that the tasks are very practical and hands on, as he had to collect water for crew members, organise food stands, hold part of the camera dolly etc. He also stated how the assistant director is your boss and that you need to always be present and listen, in his case, he used walkie talkies to communicate with the crew; which are used on most production sets as a way of conversing in different locations. The interviewee said that if there is anything wrong on set, you as the runner have to tell the assistant director and he also said that there is usually more than one PA on set as the hours are long and they share their tasks to allow others to rejuvenate their energy.
The interviewee also stated that there are code names for certain phrases, for example, if a runner is using the lavatory and can't respond to a message via walkie talkie you say '10-1'. The phrase 'hot bricks' is also used to refer to needing new batteries for the walkie talkies. Another code word he spoke of was 'lock up' which stops crew who are unneeded to go onto set when they are rolling.
To conclude, I found this video most useful as it captured a real day in the life of a PA and showed the varied tasks they have to complete, the hard work that goes into the job and the expectation set for those who are interested, like myself, as starting their career in the industry as a production assistant.
Salary
A production assistant is paid a salary, which is not permanent as they only freelance. To find out the salary of a production assistant, I looked on a legitimate employment website called 'Indeed' and found that the average salary is £19,382 per year, in the UK. However, they range from £9,000 to £33,000 a year, depending on the scale of the production. The link to the Indeed website, listing the statistics is here: https://www.indeed.co.uk/salaries/production-assistant-Salaries.
To learn more about the financial income that a production assistant earns, I watched the video below from the website, 'My First Job in Film'. The woman who spoke about her experience as a production assistant and stated how she recommends those who are working as a runner, particularly those on a feature film set, should have one or more part time job to cover them so that they are economically self-sufficient, as the salary for being a runner is very low in comparison to the average person who works full-time which is £35,423.
The statistics for the average salary are from the following website link:
https://www.findcourses.co.uk/inspiration/articles/average-salary-uk-2018-1410
Career opportunities // Progression opportunity
Starting out as a production assistant can give you opportunities to go down the production route of the industry and you can progress to become a production coordinator or production manager. However, if they want to become a director, it is much harder as runner can only watch and listen to the directors you see on set. If a runner want to go down the directorial route, they need to make connections, create their own films and collaborate with writers, but it is possible.
As the job is only freelance, it limits your opportunities to creating your own business, especially as it is an entry level job, however if you work your way up production and keeping learning, you could create your own production company in the future.
To conclude, becoming a production assistant is very useful for those who want to pursue a career in the production side of filmmaking. As it is an entry level job, it is accessible, but only when you have the soft skills and mindset to back yourself and succeed under pressure. To become a runner, they have to be competitive too, as these entry level jobs are high demand for aspiring youth who want to work in the industry, and you have to be willing and passionate to stand out from the crowd.
The links I have listed below helped have helped contribute to my research into learning how to become a production assistant:
Screenplay writer
A screenplay writer also known as a scriptwriter, is a freelance job. The role for a scriptwriter is to a write screenplays and create storylines for media based outlets such as film, TV and games. This job is based upon writing skills and creativity as the writer has to come up with the plot, characters, dialogue and action or you can adapt screenplays from novels, memoirs, articles, plays and a general idea by a producer. Scriptwriters also have a handful of production requirements they can write, such as, writing a feature film, short film, and TV drama.
Scriptwriters are sometimes commissioned by producers to create a screenplay, then once it is drafted a development producer will prepare it for production and some other screenwriters may collaborate on the script too.
Responsibilities
Being a scriptwriter requires a lot of creativity and they need to do a lot of reading, including fiction, non fiction, biographies, articles, poetry and scripts. Whether these forms of literature are good or bad, although they must read successful written pieces, it is mandatory that they as a scriptwriter have a vast knowledge of written works and understand the sector of creative work you want to pursue a career in. Screenwriters are usually given deadlines so they have to make sure they are a disciplined with their writing as it will make them a more punctual writer and improve upon their speed at getting scripts finished and moving onto the next project. As scriptwriters sell their work off to production companies and it ends up going out of their hands once it reaches production.
A route that a scriptwriter can take to expand their reading is becoming a script reader for a production company. As a script reader, they critique other peoples scripts; these screenplays are varied in genre and style which helps advance their reading consumption in terms of broadness. Being a script reader, they can also read for independent producers, film sale companies, distributors, film finance companies, TV production companies, actors and agencies.
Key skills
To be a screenwriter, one of the main skills they need is to be passionate, as they have to find pleasure in writing, watching films and need to have a yearning for wanting to create stories and studying them. The next skill is to be persistence because they'll need to persevere through writer's block, which will occur, and they need to be able to overcome challenges and take criticism from others without letting it effect their work, but instead allow them to improve upon it. Scriptwriters also need to be able to collaborate, as they will have to redraft their scripts with producers and directors to hit deadlines and be able to adapt their film for production.
It is also key that a writer is flexible because financial issues may occur with production, directors may change, which will follow with script adjustments and they must be prepared by being flexible with their script, time and patience. The next key skill is being knowledgable, in order for a writer to create a good screenplay, it is vital that they obtain comprehensive knowledge in their field of storytelling, and they must know how to convert narrative ideas into script formats by educating themselves on the basics, such as writing dialogue, action, slug lines and parenthetical, as these components make up the foundations of a screenplay.
Next, an aspiring writer needs to be consistent, this means they must make sure they organise their time and hit deadlines, as some projects give writers very little time and they need to be punctual when writing their screenplay. As a scriptwriter it is also key that they are always writing, this is because they need to be documenting their ideas, adapting and redrafting your scripts. Although they may struggle to continue with an idea, it is important to persevere, otherwise they'll never complete their work. The website I here https://www.gcu.edu/blog/performing-arts-digital-arts/7-skills-you-need-be-screenwriter, listed these skills and also recommended setting goals for yourself, such as, writing six pages a day. One very important point is allowing time for oneself to have breaks, so that they can reflect upon their work and continue writing with a refreshed mind.
Lastly, as a scriptwriter, it is compulsory for you to network, otherwise they will not be economically self-sufficient. Meeting with producers, agents and studio executives will allow them to find like minded creative people that can help sell their script and produce it into a movie. However, networking can be very hard as having connections is very helpful, but if they're struggling, there are film festivals that writers can attend to connect with people in the industry.
Qualifications
Qualifications are not compulsory when becoming a screenwriter, however they must have knowledge of the english language. There are many routes a writer can take into becoming a screenwriter and it can be useful for some to study English and Film. One way into becoming a screenplay writer is to continue further education and study three A levels, or an equivalent, then progress onto University where they can take a degree in creative writing, English, Journalism etc. Another route they can take is by attending a Film school and pursuing a screenwriting or filmmaking degree, this can be useful as they can collaborate with creative people who want to work in the same industry, as it is an easy way of networking by collaborating and making connections.
The top film school in the UK is called the National Film and Television school. They offer short courses in storytelling which would be beneficial to aspiring screenplay writers. They also offer master degrees in writing and filmmaking.
The link below states the top film schools in the UK:
https://www.freelancevideocollective.com/best-film-making-courses-uk/
Another route into becoming a screenplay writer is networking, this is hugely important as you have to pitch your script and then if it's successful, it will be produced into a film. To network well you must be honest, friendly and approachable. Online networking is available, you can create a LinkedIn profile and join media groups with people who work in the industry. Also attending film festivals will also help you network with people in the film industry too.
The main thing you need to have as a screenwriter is a portfolio, this will showcase pages of your best scripts which you can show to admission tutors and employers. This website link https://www.screenskills.com/careers/building-your-portfolio/build-your-writing-portfolio/ described how to build a portfolio as a screenplay writer, it stated that you should say whether you have been in either shortlisted or long listed competitions, as it helps demonstrate you pursuing your aspirations as a writer and subject only a few pages of your top scripts into your portfolio.
Environment of the workplace
Screenwriters work from a home office and have to organise their own hours and schedule to fit deadlines. The image below I thought captured the 'Day in the life of a Screenwriter' briefly but clearly and helped cover the tasks a writer completes on their script, on a day to day basis.
It is also key that a writer is flexible because financial issues may occur with production, directors may change, which will follow with script adjustments and they must be prepared by being flexible with their script, time and patience. The next key skill is being knowledgable, in order for a writer to create a good screenplay, it is vital that they obtain comprehensive knowledge in their field of storytelling, and they must know how to convert narrative ideas into script formats by educating themselves on the basics, such as writing dialogue, action, slug lines and parenthetical, as these components make up the foundations of a screenplay.
Next, an aspiring writer needs to be consistent, this means they must make sure they organise their time and hit deadlines, as some projects give writers very little time and they need to be punctual when writing their screenplay. As a scriptwriter it is also key that they are always writing, this is because they need to be documenting their ideas, adapting and redrafting your scripts. Although they may struggle to continue with an idea, it is important to persevere, otherwise they'll never complete their work. The website I here https://www.gcu.edu/blog/performing-arts-digital-arts/7-skills-you-need-be-screenwriter, listed these skills and also recommended setting goals for yourself, such as, writing six pages a day. One very important point is allowing time for oneself to have breaks, so that they can reflect upon their work and continue writing with a refreshed mind.
Lastly, as a scriptwriter, it is compulsory for you to network, otherwise they will not be economically self-sufficient. Meeting with producers, agents and studio executives will allow them to find like minded creative people that can help sell their script and produce it into a movie. However, networking can be very hard as having connections is very helpful, but if they're struggling, there are film festivals that writers can attend to connect with people in the industry.
Qualifications
Qualifications are not compulsory when becoming a screenwriter, however they must have knowledge of the english language. There are many routes a writer can take into becoming a screenwriter and it can be useful for some to study English and Film. One way into becoming a screenplay writer is to continue further education and study three A levels, or an equivalent, then progress onto University where they can take a degree in creative writing, English, Journalism etc. Another route they can take is by attending a Film school and pursuing a screenwriting or filmmaking degree, this can be useful as they can collaborate with creative people who want to work in the same industry, as it is an easy way of networking by collaborating and making connections.
The top film school in the UK is called the National Film and Television school. They offer short courses in storytelling which would be beneficial to aspiring screenplay writers. They also offer master degrees in writing and filmmaking.
The link below states the top film schools in the UK:
https://www.freelancevideocollective.com/best-film-making-courses-uk/
Another route into becoming a screenplay writer is networking, this is hugely important as you have to pitch your script and then if it's successful, it will be produced into a film. To network well you must be honest, friendly and approachable. Online networking is available, you can create a LinkedIn profile and join media groups with people who work in the industry. Also attending film festivals will also help you network with people in the film industry too.
The main thing you need to have as a screenwriter is a portfolio, this will showcase pages of your best scripts which you can show to admission tutors and employers. This website link https://www.screenskills.com/careers/building-your-portfolio/build-your-writing-portfolio/ described how to build a portfolio as a screenplay writer, it stated that you should say whether you have been in either shortlisted or long listed competitions, as it helps demonstrate you pursuing your aspirations as a writer and subject only a few pages of your top scripts into your portfolio.
Environment of the workplace
Screenwriters work from a home office and have to organise their own hours and schedule to fit deadlines. The image below I thought captured the 'Day in the life of a Screenwriter' briefly but clearly and helped cover the tasks a writer completes on their script, on a day to day basis.
The video I watched below, is from a YouTube channel called Film Courage, in this interview a screenplay writer called William C Martell spoke about how writers isolate themselves from conflict, emotion and society in general, when they are writing. This allows them to extrude all their internal emotions and thoughts, into their story and create what they are lacking in real life, by writing it into their own narrative (if you discussing writing your own original script).
Salary
Scriptwriters are freelance/self-employed, so there income is based upon each script that they sell. In the UK, the average salary for a screenwriter is £18,935 per year, however this ranges from between £18,000 to £20,000. These statistics are found in the link below:
To find out the cost of how much scripts sell for in the UK, I went to the website 'My First Job in Film' which states statistics of the following:
- A film with a budget under £750k, the screenwriter should earn a minimum fee of around £18,900.
- A film with a budget between £750k, and £2 million, a screenwriter can earn a minimum of £25,650.
- With a budge of £2 million or more, a screenwriter can earn a minimum fee of around £42,120.
To be financially stable as a screenwriter, they need to sell scripts frequently and be networking consistently as it is a very competitive role and the income varies.
Career opportunities // Progression opportunity
It is common for screenwriters to progress on to becoming directors, as they already have a natural passion storytelling and have to form and learn the art of structure, characters, dialogue in their scripts. Directing can be alluring to writers, as it allows them to bring their exact vision to life, on screen. Also when they progress to become a director, it allows them to be in control of what happens in production and they alongside the producers become the main person responsible for the film. Some example of screenplay writers who have gone on to become directors are Charlie Kaufman, Randall Wallace, David Koepp and the list continues.
If a writer progresses to becoming a director, they can also start their own production company. Directors like Rigley Scott have started many small productions to expand themselves as a film content creator and produce other aspiring filmmakers, writers and producers to have give new creatives a place in the film industry.
To conclude, I've learned that becoming a scriptwriter takes patience, talent, hard work, social skills and most of all a writer has to be a good storytelling, to sell successful screenplays. The only way writers can improve is reading and non stop writing, documenting their ideas, practise re writing scene from films they like in their own style, because practise leads to improvement.
Career opportunities // Progression opportunity
It is common for screenwriters to progress on to becoming directors, as they already have a natural passion storytelling and have to form and learn the art of structure, characters, dialogue in their scripts. Directing can be alluring to writers, as it allows them to bring their exact vision to life, on screen. Also when they progress to become a director, it allows them to be in control of what happens in production and they alongside the producers become the main person responsible for the film. Some example of screenplay writers who have gone on to become directors are Charlie Kaufman, Randall Wallace, David Koepp and the list continues.
If a writer progresses to becoming a director, they can also start their own production company. Directors like Rigley Scott have started many small productions to expand themselves as a film content creator and produce other aspiring filmmakers, writers and producers to have give new creatives a place in the film industry.
To conclude, I've learned that becoming a scriptwriter takes patience, talent, hard work, social skills and most of all a writer has to be a good storytelling, to sell successful screenplays. The only way writers can improve is reading and non stop writing, documenting their ideas, practise re writing scene from films they like in their own style, because practise leads to improvement.
The links I have listed below helped have helped contribute to my research into learning how to become a screenplay writer:
https://www.screenskills.com/careers/job-profiles/film-and-tv-drama/production-management/production-runner/
https://www.gcu.edu/blog/performing-arts-digital-arts/7-skills-you-need-be-screenwriter
Although the job of being a director is freelance, they are still employed by a producer or executive producer, because they have to be granted funding for their film, to then start on production. Director works closely with the producers, after being financed, in order for them to form a crew and choose their assistant directors, cinematographer, production designer, costume designers etc. Producers are also equally important because they are in charge of production. Directors also have a huge say in the casting process and the production design too.
Filmmakers also need to edit the screenplay and collaborate with their editor and cinematographer, to make the screenplay come to life. Some directors, such as Noah Baumbach, on his film Marriage Story, work very closely with their production designer to have more say on the technical aspects of creating the physical set.
Directors have lots of dominance in all aspects of pre production to the final cut, as their main duties are to visualise the screenplay so that they can direct the actors, lighting directors, make-up artists, editors etc to capture their overall vision.
Responsibilities
Directors have many responsibilities, the sole responsibility they have is to work with producers to finance their film and they have to communicate and collaborate with their whole creative team, to get their direction across. Some directors are shown the final draft of a script, as their producer will send it to them, once it has been re visited by writers. Once the producers have settled on a director, they become responsible as being part of the pre production process and they help either edit the script or work with a scrip editing team to adjust the screenplay so that it is shifted to their vision by enhancing the characters or narrative. As directors have to understand the motives of the characters and find the sole purpose and meaning in the storyline to visually direct and capture it on camera.
To get to the production process, after editing the script, the next responsibility of the director is to get financing for their film. To do this, the director will have frequent meetings with the producers, who will meet with production companies to be given a budget on how much the film will cost to make. There are many ways a film can be given finance at it is through the following:
Equity - Equity financing is when investors give money to production, in exchange for ownership interest (sale of shares).
Pre-sales - Pre-sale finance is when investors have pre-arranged binding contracts that are based upon the quality of the project. The filmmaker, when using this strategy is required to repay the loan based on the pre-sales or direct payment from the distributors, before they promote the film.
Loans - Loan financing is when money is lent to a filmmaker, they have to pay interest until their debt covered and repaid. It is common for filmmakers to obtain loans for their films, however, these are only given if other financing has been put in place.
Tax credits - Tax credit finance can reduce the amount of money a tax payer owes them. In film, the filmmaker has to shoot a significant amount of the production in a local area or hire crew from a local area, so that they can run payroll through local services.
Crowdfunding - Crowdfunding finance is when a filmmaker will ask people, most likely on social media, to donate a large or small sum of money towards their film. However, there are three ways you can crowdfund, the first is a reward based way, which means a filmmaker can ask for small amounts of money towards their film, in order for them to return some kind of reward, but this type of crowdfunding is not used in film financing often. The second way of crowdfunding is donation based funding by asking a large number of people to contribute small amounts of money. The third way you can crowdfund finance for a film is called 'peer to peer' lending and is when organisations will fund the filmmaker's film through online services that are fit lenders with borrowers.
These three ways of crowdfunding are shown below:
Deferred payments - A deferred payment is a loan or arrangement to finance a film with local authority that is secured against a fixed interest rate. However, the issue with this is that the producers will be paid after the loans and investors have regained subsequent profits. This type of finance can be risky, as the crew work for 'free' as they have to rely on the income of money the film makes to receive profit.
The information I gained to learn about the varied types of financing options were produced by the following link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/legalentertainment/2016/06/08/how-to-finance-an-independent-film/
To continue, some directors, such as Rigley Scott and Steven Spielberg, become producers or executive producers on their own film, which gives them more control in the production process. However, this only tends to happen once a director is reputable and respected in their craft over a period of time.
During pre production, a director will work with the following, to make the film come to life:
The website I researched that gave me this information is linked here: https://www.myfirstjobinfilm.co.uk/resources/careers-guide/detail?page_id=11
The last of pre production, after financing, the director is responsible for deciding on storyboards, shot lists, casting costume, locations etc. Then after those parts of pre production have been decided with the producers, the production process begins. Rehearsals for filming can happen either on set or off set, depending on the directors preference. This helps prepare the actors have direction from the filmmaker and allows them adapt to the people and environment that will be on set. In production, the director can change and experiment with their creative decisions, but they are mainly responsible and focused upon what happens on camera.
After the filmmaker has wrapped from production, they start on post production. In this part of filmmaking, the director is responsible for working closely with the editor, VFX supervisor (if one is used), composer and sound designer to use transform their footage into a film; adding more creative components. Once the film is finished in editing suite, the director's next responsibility is to have studio executives and producers watch the final cut and have their approval. Then once the film is complete in all sides of production, the filmmaker's last responsibility is to do press tours and market the film to audiences.
Key skills
The key skills to be a director depend equally on both a persons soft and hard skills. The first key soft skill to become a successful director is to have leadership qualities, this is incredibly important as a filmmaker has to share their vision with both their cast and crew, but they also need to be able to motivate and inspire their team. Directors also need to be to adapt to change, as in the film industry many finical issue and production decisions change dramatically, during a short period of time and the director needs to be prepared and know how to shift and deal with the circumstances, while continuing to produce their film.
Hard skills a director has to obtain is to be imaginative and passionate, this is vital as filmmakers need to transform a screenplay into a film through their own vision and they need to bring their depiction to life by directing their crew and cast. Being passionate allows them to excel as they enjoy their work and find a purpose in the content and stories they create and represent on screen.
Filmmakers need to also have a vast knowledge of their industry, this includes film and tv across all scales of the pre production, production and post production process. Directors also need to be educated on filmmaking as a craft, learn from historical context of how film has progressed, learn from the most successful filmmakers and try experiment with finding their own style of filmmaking and teach themselves different techniques. Directors have to also understand the dynamics and production process in order to know how to even create a film. Filmmakers need to have knowledge of history as many films draw from historical and social contexts and include these informative parts of life, into their storytelling.
Another soft skill that filmmakers need to have is good judgement and communicative skills as they all play a part in the role of directing, as it is a collaborative job. The job is high in pressure, so directors also need to be able to cope with stressful circumstance that may occur, to briefly put it, they need to be good dealing with pressure. Filmmakers also need to be able to form trust with their crew and the only way to do so is by forming friendships with everyone on set, so that the crew members have faith in the directors vision.
Qualifications, Experience & Show reel
There are many ways in which someone can become a director, some begin as screenplay writers, cinematographers and then showcase their work to producers and end up directing their own films.
However, aspiring directors can take the route of education and study a filmmaking degree, that way they can make connections through collaborating with peers at University.
The link I have shown below is a website that has many University degrees that evolve around Film and TV and would be useful for someone like myself who want to pursue a career as a director, to search through as educating oneself on the varied degrees available gives them more option. https://www.whatuni.com/degree-courses/search?subject=film-video-production
Another route is to go to Film school, which directors like Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Ang Lee, Spike Lee have all benefited from. This is because Film schools specialise in the film industry environment and try give their students opportunities to work in a film set, and many, like the Met Film school, shoot their student films in real production studios. Film School also allows students to collaborate as the degrees offered are all evolved around the same industry as have degrees that range from directing, wiring, cinematography, which when working in film, all collide. However, many film schools only offer bachelor degrees in filmmaking and you have to take a masters a degree in directing. Although aspiring filmmakers still learn about film, it means they have to retain a bachelors before they can even specialise in their role off choice. For example, London Film Academy, Met film school only offer a filmmaking bachelors and their directing is a masters degree. The National Film and Television school only offer master degrees in filmmaking and directing, they offer no bachelor degrees. Their decision for this is to allow maturer students into their Universities, so that they gain experience in studying film and end up knowing which career they are truly interested in pursuing within the film industry.
It is also advised that aspiring directors take short courses that Film schools offer, an example of this is shown at the National Film and Television school, where they showcase workshops in filmmaking, have 2 day courses that allow aspiring directors, like myself, to work on collaborative projects with like minded creative people to create a short film. The short courses also teach people how to learn basics in storytelling by showing them how to avoiding cliches, learn narrative structure, camerawork and allow them to learn from their mistakes to improve themselves as a filmmaker.
The link below leads you to a website that shows the short courses the Nation Film and Television school offer: https://nfts.co.uk/courses?search=&field_type_of_course=42&field_area_of_interest=622&field_location=All
However, these short courses do cost money and many successful directors recommend aspiring filmmakers to shoot short films using their phones as they already have cameras and improved technology to showcase stories through the lens of a camera.
Another route a person can take to becoming a director is by gaining experience, this can be done by starting as a production assistant (runner), or they can work their way up from assistant director to director. However, the downfall to this is that it can take years to build your reputation, although it teaches a person the practical side of being on set and gives them the most experience.
The most important part of becoming a director is creating a show reel and finding an agent. An agent is needed so that the director can present their work to employers that fit the directors style of filmmaking. A show reel is vital as it showcases a collection of a filmmakers best work to their clients or producers. To help myself understand how to create a show reel, I watched the video below from a youtube channel called DSLRguide, the video covered 'how to create a show reel' and I found it listed some very useful points.
The video I watched that showed me how to make a show reel is below:
The first point the video spoke upon was that a filmmaker should put a variety of their shots into their show reel, this is to represent themselves as a director and allows them to express their full body of work, by showing a range of experience, and not limited themselves to one style or genre.
The next point that the video recommend was that when a director is creating their show reel, they should try and create a narrative around the footage they use, this doesn't have to be plot based, because its purpose is to convey more of the directors storytelling skills. An example the video gave was that if a director has a few different shots with water, cut them together to create a fluid collection of shots, that tell more of a story.
The next point the video made was that when someone creates a show reel, it is recommended to use music, but it has to fit the tone and atmosphere of the shots used, e.g melancholic/piano music if the shots reflects emotions of despair or sadness. However, the video said to not cut the shots in time with the music as this can be distracting.
The next point the video stated was that it is recommended to use sound in a show reel, especially as a director because they will have to showcase performances of actors they have shot and dialogue will be necessary to reflect the emotion, tone and narrative. The video also said that if the natural sound quality is poor in the footage (shots without dialogue) then edit a foley sound on top in post production, as sound can make a show reel more entertaining.
Lastly, the video stated that a filmmaker should create custom reels to fit their employers taste as it will allow them to show how they as a director can give their unique touch to film, but to their employers liking and preferred style.
Environment of the workplace
A director's work environment is vary much varied depending upon the set that they are working on. For instance, some films like The Revenant were shot in Canada and Argentina, as they changed location depending upon the setting of the scene. However, some films are also just shot in one studio location.
To discuss more about the atmosphere on a set, directors tend to be in a pressured environment as they have to direct everyone on set and make sure that production runs smoothly, in order to hit deadlines and complete the film. Depending upon the project, directors and crew have to shoot both during the day and night, again, in order to be punctual with time and it can also depend upon the time of day and lighting in a scene. Directors also shoot their films either chronologically and non chronologically, but it all depends upon their different approaches to filmmaking.
The general environment of a set, for a director, is focused around the actors, as the filmmaker needs to ensure that they are capturing their vision on screen, and actors are a huge part of portraying their story. The bullet points I researched below, gave a clear and useful reflection upon how unique an atmosphere of a film set, because it all comes down to the project, time and approach of the filmmaker.
Directors have to work tirelessly to shoot their films, especially when it is a big project with a large budget that requires a short deadline. The change in locations and finance can impact the environment on set in terms of the physical surroundings, as the sets in production may have to be lowered in quality and some even create their own physical stunts because it is more affordable than using visual effects. The workspace is very much dependant upon the budget of the film too and whether it is necessary for there to be a large crew.
The image below, I found online and thought it was very usual in terms of summarising the varied conditions directors face when working.
Some filmmakers are right next to the camera while admiring the actors perform. An example of one is an American filmmaker called Greta Gerwig, I have linked a video feature of her directing to show the atmosphere and environment on her film set of the movie 'Ladybird'. Not all directors take this intimate approach, however it is very common for filmmakers to be watching through a LDC screen that shows the camera's perspective as it is rolling, as seen in the video below.
To conclude, filmmakers work environments change because of their project, scenes and location. Also as directors work alongside the pre production, production and post production, they face all kinds of different environment as each side of the creative process varies in focus, intimacy, passion and space.
Salary
The salary for being a film director varies as it is all dependent upon their experience and the budget of their films, as we've seen with finance, it depends upon what route they take in order to get their film produced. If a filmmaker is in the early stages of their career (1-4 years of experience) the average salary they will earn, including bonuses, tips etc based on seven salaries is £25,000 in the UK.
An experience film director can earn an average of £38,974, based upon eight salaries in the UK. However, if the director writers their own screenplay and direct it, they will earn a higher salary as they had more creative control in the filmmaking process. Also, the more reputation a director earns, as in the more successful their films are, the higher their salary will be for their next films.
The statistics I found from my director salary research are linked below:
https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Film_Director/Salary
The Business Insider stated that Hollywood directors roughly earn $60 an hour and shoot their films for around 14 weeks. This statistic gives an insight as to how much directors can ear if they become successful in Hollywood making big budget movies.
Career & progression opportunities
Once a filmmaker has become a successful and economically self-sufficient. There is little they can 'progress' in, when discussing careers in filmmaking, as it is one of the most competitive highest roles you can become in the film industry, besides being a producer or studio owner/production owner.
However, as I mentioned earlier, a director can progress onto starting their own production company and can go onto to financing their own films or become a producer/ executive producer in their own movies.
To conclude, becoming a filmmaker is incredibly difficult, but not impossible as a career in the film industry. A director needs to be confident, well educated in terms of their knowledge within Film and TV, but most of all they need to be a good listener and leader as directors are the 'boss' on a film sets and have to lead their crew and cast in a controlled, trustworthy and comfortable manner. A filmmaker needs to ultimately be creative and have a burning passion for storytelling, because filmmaking is remotely a tool for transforming stories into live action movies by capturing them on camera. Out of all three media careers I have researched, directing is the one that requires most energy, patience and control.
https://www.gcu.edu/blog/performing-arts-digital-arts/7-skills-you-need-be-screenwriter
Film Director
A film director, also know as a filmmaker, controls the creation of a film and directs and supervises the cast and crew. Directors begin their film with a screenplay and collaborate with a script writer, or script editing team. Many directors also write their own screenplays.Although the job of being a director is freelance, they are still employed by a producer or executive producer, because they have to be granted funding for their film, to then start on production. Director works closely with the producers, after being financed, in order for them to form a crew and choose their assistant directors, cinematographer, production designer, costume designers etc. Producers are also equally important because they are in charge of production. Directors also have a huge say in the casting process and the production design too.
Filmmakers also need to edit the screenplay and collaborate with their editor and cinematographer, to make the screenplay come to life. Some directors, such as Noah Baumbach, on his film Marriage Story, work very closely with their production designer to have more say on the technical aspects of creating the physical set.
Directors have lots of dominance in all aspects of pre production to the final cut, as their main duties are to visualise the screenplay so that they can direct the actors, lighting directors, make-up artists, editors etc to capture their overall vision.
Responsibilities
Directors have many responsibilities, the sole responsibility they have is to work with producers to finance their film and they have to communicate and collaborate with their whole creative team, to get their direction across. Some directors are shown the final draft of a script, as their producer will send it to them, once it has been re visited by writers. Once the producers have settled on a director, they become responsible as being part of the pre production process and they help either edit the script or work with a scrip editing team to adjust the screenplay so that it is shifted to their vision by enhancing the characters or narrative. As directors have to understand the motives of the characters and find the sole purpose and meaning in the storyline to visually direct and capture it on camera.
To get to the production process, after editing the script, the next responsibility of the director is to get financing for their film. To do this, the director will have frequent meetings with the producers, who will meet with production companies to be given a budget on how much the film will cost to make. There are many ways a film can be given finance at it is through the following:
Equity - Equity financing is when investors give money to production, in exchange for ownership interest (sale of shares).
Pre-sales - Pre-sale finance is when investors have pre-arranged binding contracts that are based upon the quality of the project. The filmmaker, when using this strategy is required to repay the loan based on the pre-sales or direct payment from the distributors, before they promote the film.
Loans - Loan financing is when money is lent to a filmmaker, they have to pay interest until their debt covered and repaid. It is common for filmmakers to obtain loans for their films, however, these are only given if other financing has been put in place.
Tax credits - Tax credit finance can reduce the amount of money a tax payer owes them. In film, the filmmaker has to shoot a significant amount of the production in a local area or hire crew from a local area, so that they can run payroll through local services.
Crowdfunding - Crowdfunding finance is when a filmmaker will ask people, most likely on social media, to donate a large or small sum of money towards their film. However, there are three ways you can crowdfund, the first is a reward based way, which means a filmmaker can ask for small amounts of money towards their film, in order for them to return some kind of reward, but this type of crowdfunding is not used in film financing often. The second way of crowdfunding is donation based funding by asking a large number of people to contribute small amounts of money. The third way you can crowdfund finance for a film is called 'peer to peer' lending and is when organisations will fund the filmmaker's film through online services that are fit lenders with borrowers.
These three ways of crowdfunding are shown below:
Deferred payments - A deferred payment is a loan or arrangement to finance a film with local authority that is secured against a fixed interest rate. However, the issue with this is that the producers will be paid after the loans and investors have regained subsequent profits. This type of finance can be risky, as the crew work for 'free' as they have to rely on the income of money the film makes to receive profit.
The information I gained to learn about the varied types of financing options were produced by the following link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/legalentertainment/2016/06/08/how-to-finance-an-independent-film/
To continue, some directors, such as Rigley Scott and Steven Spielberg, become producers or executive producers on their own film, which gives them more control in the production process. However, this only tends to happen once a director is reputable and respected in their craft over a period of time.
During pre production, a director will work with the following, to make the film come to life:
The website I researched that gave me this information is linked here: https://www.myfirstjobinfilm.co.uk/resources/careers-guide/detail?page_id=11
The last of pre production, after financing, the director is responsible for deciding on storyboards, shot lists, casting costume, locations etc. Then after those parts of pre production have been decided with the producers, the production process begins. Rehearsals for filming can happen either on set or off set, depending on the directors preference. This helps prepare the actors have direction from the filmmaker and allows them adapt to the people and environment that will be on set. In production, the director can change and experiment with their creative decisions, but they are mainly responsible and focused upon what happens on camera.
After the filmmaker has wrapped from production, they start on post production. In this part of filmmaking, the director is responsible for working closely with the editor, VFX supervisor (if one is used), composer and sound designer to use transform their footage into a film; adding more creative components. Once the film is finished in editing suite, the director's next responsibility is to have studio executives and producers watch the final cut and have their approval. Then once the film is complete in all sides of production, the filmmaker's last responsibility is to do press tours and market the film to audiences.
Key skills
The key skills to be a director depend equally on both a persons soft and hard skills. The first key soft skill to become a successful director is to have leadership qualities, this is incredibly important as a filmmaker has to share their vision with both their cast and crew, but they also need to be able to motivate and inspire their team. Directors also need to be to adapt to change, as in the film industry many finical issue and production decisions change dramatically, during a short period of time and the director needs to be prepared and know how to shift and deal with the circumstances, while continuing to produce their film.
Hard skills a director has to obtain is to be imaginative and passionate, this is vital as filmmakers need to transform a screenplay into a film through their own vision and they need to bring their depiction to life by directing their crew and cast. Being passionate allows them to excel as they enjoy their work and find a purpose in the content and stories they create and represent on screen.
Filmmakers need to also have a vast knowledge of their industry, this includes film and tv across all scales of the pre production, production and post production process. Directors also need to be educated on filmmaking as a craft, learn from historical context of how film has progressed, learn from the most successful filmmakers and try experiment with finding their own style of filmmaking and teach themselves different techniques. Directors have to also understand the dynamics and production process in order to know how to even create a film. Filmmakers need to have knowledge of history as many films draw from historical and social contexts and include these informative parts of life, into their storytelling.
Another soft skill that filmmakers need to have is good judgement and communicative skills as they all play a part in the role of directing, as it is a collaborative job. The job is high in pressure, so directors also need to be able to cope with stressful circumstance that may occur, to briefly put it, they need to be good dealing with pressure. Filmmakers also need to be able to form trust with their crew and the only way to do so is by forming friendships with everyone on set, so that the crew members have faith in the directors vision.
Qualifications, Experience & Show reel
There are many ways in which someone can become a director, some begin as screenplay writers, cinematographers and then showcase their work to producers and end up directing their own films.
However, aspiring directors can take the route of education and study a filmmaking degree, that way they can make connections through collaborating with peers at University.
The link I have shown below is a website that has many University degrees that evolve around Film and TV and would be useful for someone like myself who want to pursue a career as a director, to search through as educating oneself on the varied degrees available gives them more option. https://www.whatuni.com/degree-courses/search?subject=film-video-production
Another route is to go to Film school, which directors like Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Ang Lee, Spike Lee have all benefited from. This is because Film schools specialise in the film industry environment and try give their students opportunities to work in a film set, and many, like the Met Film school, shoot their student films in real production studios. Film School also allows students to collaborate as the degrees offered are all evolved around the same industry as have degrees that range from directing, wiring, cinematography, which when working in film, all collide. However, many film schools only offer bachelor degrees in filmmaking and you have to take a masters a degree in directing. Although aspiring filmmakers still learn about film, it means they have to retain a bachelors before they can even specialise in their role off choice. For example, London Film Academy, Met film school only offer a filmmaking bachelors and their directing is a masters degree. The National Film and Television school only offer master degrees in filmmaking and directing, they offer no bachelor degrees. Their decision for this is to allow maturer students into their Universities, so that they gain experience in studying film and end up knowing which career they are truly interested in pursuing within the film industry.
It is also advised that aspiring directors take short courses that Film schools offer, an example of this is shown at the National Film and Television school, where they showcase workshops in filmmaking, have 2 day courses that allow aspiring directors, like myself, to work on collaborative projects with like minded creative people to create a short film. The short courses also teach people how to learn basics in storytelling by showing them how to avoiding cliches, learn narrative structure, camerawork and allow them to learn from their mistakes to improve themselves as a filmmaker.
The link below leads you to a website that shows the short courses the Nation Film and Television school offer: https://nfts.co.uk/courses?search=&field_type_of_course=42&field_area_of_interest=622&field_location=All
However, these short courses do cost money and many successful directors recommend aspiring filmmakers to shoot short films using their phones as they already have cameras and improved technology to showcase stories through the lens of a camera.
Another route a person can take to becoming a director is by gaining experience, this can be done by starting as a production assistant (runner), or they can work their way up from assistant director to director. However, the downfall to this is that it can take years to build your reputation, although it teaches a person the practical side of being on set and gives them the most experience.
The most important part of becoming a director is creating a show reel and finding an agent. An agent is needed so that the director can present their work to employers that fit the directors style of filmmaking. A show reel is vital as it showcases a collection of a filmmakers best work to their clients or producers. To help myself understand how to create a show reel, I watched the video below from a youtube channel called DSLRguide, the video covered 'how to create a show reel' and I found it listed some very useful points.
The video I watched that showed me how to make a show reel is below:
The first point the video spoke upon was that a filmmaker should put a variety of their shots into their show reel, this is to represent themselves as a director and allows them to express their full body of work, by showing a range of experience, and not limited themselves to one style or genre.
The next point that the video recommend was that when a director is creating their show reel, they should try and create a narrative around the footage they use, this doesn't have to be plot based, because its purpose is to convey more of the directors storytelling skills. An example the video gave was that if a director has a few different shots with water, cut them together to create a fluid collection of shots, that tell more of a story.
The next point the video made was that when someone creates a show reel, it is recommended to use music, but it has to fit the tone and atmosphere of the shots used, e.g melancholic/piano music if the shots reflects emotions of despair or sadness. However, the video said to not cut the shots in time with the music as this can be distracting.
The next point the video stated was that it is recommended to use sound in a show reel, especially as a director because they will have to showcase performances of actors they have shot and dialogue will be necessary to reflect the emotion, tone and narrative. The video also said that if the natural sound quality is poor in the footage (shots without dialogue) then edit a foley sound on top in post production, as sound can make a show reel more entertaining.
Lastly, the video stated that a filmmaker should create custom reels to fit their employers taste as it will allow them to show how they as a director can give their unique touch to film, but to their employers liking and preferred style.
Environment of the workplace
A director's work environment is vary much varied depending upon the set that they are working on. For instance, some films like The Revenant were shot in Canada and Argentina, as they changed location depending upon the setting of the scene. However, some films are also just shot in one studio location.
To discuss more about the atmosphere on a set, directors tend to be in a pressured environment as they have to direct everyone on set and make sure that production runs smoothly, in order to hit deadlines and complete the film. Depending upon the project, directors and crew have to shoot both during the day and night, again, in order to be punctual with time and it can also depend upon the time of day and lighting in a scene. Directors also shoot their films either chronologically and non chronologically, but it all depends upon their different approaches to filmmaking.
The general environment of a set, for a director, is focused around the actors, as the filmmaker needs to ensure that they are capturing their vision on screen, and actors are a huge part of portraying their story. The bullet points I researched below, gave a clear and useful reflection upon how unique an atmosphere of a film set, because it all comes down to the project, time and approach of the filmmaker.
Directors have to work tirelessly to shoot their films, especially when it is a big project with a large budget that requires a short deadline. The change in locations and finance can impact the environment on set in terms of the physical surroundings, as the sets in production may have to be lowered in quality and some even create their own physical stunts because it is more affordable than using visual effects. The workspace is very much dependant upon the budget of the film too and whether it is necessary for there to be a large crew.
The image below, I found online and thought it was very usual in terms of summarising the varied conditions directors face when working.
Some filmmakers are right next to the camera while admiring the actors perform. An example of one is an American filmmaker called Greta Gerwig, I have linked a video feature of her directing to show the atmosphere and environment on her film set of the movie 'Ladybird'. Not all directors take this intimate approach, however it is very common for filmmakers to be watching through a LDC screen that shows the camera's perspective as it is rolling, as seen in the video below.
To conclude, filmmakers work environments change because of their project, scenes and location. Also as directors work alongside the pre production, production and post production, they face all kinds of different environment as each side of the creative process varies in focus, intimacy, passion and space.
Salary
The salary for being a film director varies as it is all dependent upon their experience and the budget of their films, as we've seen with finance, it depends upon what route they take in order to get their film produced. If a filmmaker is in the early stages of their career (1-4 years of experience) the average salary they will earn, including bonuses, tips etc based on seven salaries is £25,000 in the UK.
An experience film director can earn an average of £38,974, based upon eight salaries in the UK. However, if the director writers their own screenplay and direct it, they will earn a higher salary as they had more creative control in the filmmaking process. Also, the more reputation a director earns, as in the more successful their films are, the higher their salary will be for their next films.
The statistics I found from my director salary research are linked below:
https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Film_Director/Salary
The Business Insider stated that Hollywood directors roughly earn $60 an hour and shoot their films for around 14 weeks. This statistic gives an insight as to how much directors can ear if they become successful in Hollywood making big budget movies.
Career & progression opportunities
Once a filmmaker has become a successful and economically self-sufficient. There is little they can 'progress' in, when discussing careers in filmmaking, as it is one of the most competitive highest roles you can become in the film industry, besides being a producer or studio owner/production owner.
However, as I mentioned earlier, a director can progress onto starting their own production company and can go onto to financing their own films or become a producer/ executive producer in their own movies.
To conclude, becoming a filmmaker is incredibly difficult, but not impossible as a career in the film industry. A director needs to be confident, well educated in terms of their knowledge within Film and TV, but most of all they need to be a good listener and leader as directors are the 'boss' on a film sets and have to lead their crew and cast in a controlled, trustworthy and comfortable manner. A filmmaker needs to ultimately be creative and have a burning passion for storytelling, because filmmaking is remotely a tool for transforming stories into live action movies by capturing them on camera. Out of all three media careers I have researched, directing is the one that requires most energy, patience and control.
Current opportunities in the Film industry
For myself as an aspiring filmmaker, I researched into the various ways in which I can give myself better opportunities to have a career in the film industry. This covers the various routes I could take, which include, further education/film school, work experience, internships, film festivals and attending workshops run by people within the industry.
Further education
To research into filmmaking I used the UCAS website and searched through many UK Universities that have different film undergraduate and master degree courses for aspiring directors, like myself. Many of the Universities offer 3-4 year undergraduate degrees in Film Studies, Filmmaking or Screenwriting and majority of the degrees were full time. In the UK, degrees are required to be paid up to £9,250 per year.
The link to the undergraduate film degrees in the UK, from the UCAS website is here:
The master degrees in film that the UCAS website showed were all Universities from the UK and each masters degrees varied from a year to 18 months and majority of them were full-time. The degrees offered were more specialised than the undergraduate degrees and covered Filmmaking, Feature filmmaking, Documentary Filmmaking, Wildlife filmmaking, Cinematography filmmaking etc. To complete a masters degree in filmmaking, I would need to complete an undergraduate degree in film studies or a related subject within the media sector and would need to meet the requirements of my chosen University, depending upon their status and acceptance rate. Also the cost of these master degrees ranged from around £7,000.
The link to the master degrees in filmmaking in the UK, from the UCAS website is here:
The link to finding the top universities for studying filmmaking is shown below:
UK's top five universities for studying filmmaking are:
(The entry requirements for these Universities also included International Baccalaureate and UCAS points).
The University of Kent - Film (BA)
Requirements - A level BBB equivalent in a BTEC extended diploma
Duration of course - Three years, full time.
Cost of degree - £9,250 per year.
London Film Academy (Film school) - Filmmaking (BA)
Requirements - At least three GCSE's in English and Maths at a C grade or above // Three A levels at least two B's and one C or BTEC extended diploma equivalent.
Duration of course - 2 years, full time.
Cost of degree - £37,000, total.
The University of Warwick - Film (BA)
Requirements - A level ABB or BTEC extended diploma equivalent.
Duration of course - 3/4 years, full time.
Cost of degree - £9,250, per year.
The University of Essex - Film studies (BA)
Requirements - A level BBB or BTEC extended diploma at a Merit or above.
Duration of course - 3 years, full time.
Cost of degree - £9,250, per year.
King's College London - Film studies (BA)
Requirements - A level AAB or the equivalent in a BTEC extended diploma.
Duration of course - 3 years, full time.
Cost of degree - £9,250, per year.
Here are two film schools that's offer filmmaking master degrees:
National Film and Television school - Directing fiction (MA)
Requirements - Impressive body of portfolio or lots of work experience in industry or undergraduate degree in related subject.
Duration of course - Two years, full time.
Cost of degree - £14, 800 per year.
The Met Film school - Directing (MA)
Requirements - 2:1 honours degree in undergraduate university.
Duration of course - One year, full time.
Cost of degree - £21,000, total.
Here are two film schools that's offer filmmaking master degrees:
National Film and Television school - Directing fiction (MA)
Requirements - Impressive body of portfolio or lots of work experience in industry or undergraduate degree in related subject.
Duration of course - Two years, full time.
Cost of degree - £14, 800 per year.
The Met Film school - Directing (MA)
Requirements - 2:1 honours degree in undergraduate university.
Duration of course - One year, full time.
Cost of degree - £21,000, total.
If I wanted to attend one of these Universities, I would need to have completed A levels, or an equivalent, to then progress onto studying an undergraduate. Theses are not the only film degrees, however, they are reputable.
I personally am more interested in filmmaking and out of all five, was most drawn to the London Film Academy's degree as it is based in more practical assessments and allowed students to create their own short films, show reels and shot student projects in an on set environment working with professionals in the industry.
Work experience and Paid production jobs
Another way I can pursue a career in filmmaking is by gaining work experience as a production assistant (runner) and working my way up into the industry. Runners work on film sets, big or small, and do handy work that varies depending upon the project. Becoming a production assistant is a great way to learn how films are made as you are on set with the creators and will learn filmmaking practically. Being a runner interests me as I feel I work best being hands on and learning through observation.
To find out more about work experience that is offered to people of my age, being 16, who want to start in the industry as a runner, I researched the following websites shown below and found many available work placements that range from part-time to full-time and some were work experience based and payment based.
Work experience based websites:
BBC Careers - https://www.bbc.co.uk/careers/work-experience
Grapevine jobs - https://www.grapevinejobs.co.uk/jobseeker/mediajobs.aspx
Searchlight recruitment - http://sl.attb.co/#/job-results/all/all/all
Paid production work
Shooting people - https://shootingpeople.org/production/work
The talent manager - https://www.thetalentmanager.com/tv-jobs?size=10&page=1&title=production+assistant&location=&saved_jobs=&match_sector=1&match_genre=1&country=&match_country=
My First Job in Film - https://www.myfirstjobinfilm.co.uk/jobs.html
The most useful website that stated the current production roles going was 'My First Job in Film' and 'Shooting People'. For some websites, like 'My First Job in Film', to get access to apply for the job roles you have to be a premiere member which costs £4.99 per month.
As I am currently researching during lockdown here in the UK, the company role provided below are offering no work experience or internships, due to the circumstances of film sets being put on hold, until further notice.
The following links list companies that provide internships and work experience to aspiring film industry people:
Lucas films - https://www.lucasfilm.com/careers/
Netflix - https://jobs.netflix.com
Warner bros - https://www.warnerbroscareers.com/find-jobs/
NBC careers - https://www.nbcunicareers.com/careers
IMG - https://img.com/careers/
National Film and Television school workshop - Directing
Link - https://nfts.co.uk/directing-short-film-online
Duration - N/A
Cost - Freelance rate £525 Corporate rate £995
Requirements - N/A
Content produced - N/A (More or so a lecture on filmmaking)
BFI Future film festival
Link - https://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/5-19-film-education-scheme-2013-2017/bfi-film-academy-scheme
Location - London Southbank.
Leeds Film festival
Link - https://www.leedsfilm.com/film-festivals/leeds-young-film-festival/
Location - Virtual, online.
Cambridge Film festival
Link - https://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Location - Cambridge.
Norwich Film festival
Link - https://www.norwichfilmfestival.co.uk
Location - Norwich.
London Short Films festival
Link - https://shortfilms.org.uk
Location - London.
The most intriguing festivals to me, out of the ones I have researched, was the BFI Future film festival, as it has a vast range of filmmakers, workshops and speeches from people working in the industry, and at the most recent festival, one of my favourite directors, Luca Guadagnino attended and spoke with Tilda Swinton on filmmaking.
The other film festival that also appealed to me most was the Norwich film festival, as I liked that they took submissions from the public and they have a large range of successful people who work in the industry speak at the festival, rather just showing films.
Work experience based websites:
BBC Careers - https://www.bbc.co.uk/careers/work-experience
Grapevine jobs - https://www.grapevinejobs.co.uk/jobseeker/mediajobs.aspx
Searchlight recruitment - http://sl.attb.co/#/job-results/all/all/all
Paid production work
Shooting people - https://shootingpeople.org/production/work
The talent manager - https://www.thetalentmanager.com/tv-jobs?size=10&page=1&title=production+assistant&location=&saved_jobs=&match_sector=1&match_genre=1&country=&match_country=
My First Job in Film - https://www.myfirstjobinfilm.co.uk/jobs.html
The most useful website that stated the current production roles going was 'My First Job in Film' and 'Shooting People'. For some websites, like 'My First Job in Film', to get access to apply for the job roles you have to be a premiere member which costs £4.99 per month.
As I am currently researching during lockdown here in the UK, the company role provided below are offering no work experience or internships, due to the circumstances of film sets being put on hold, until further notice.
Internships and work experience at companies (outside of the UK)
If I wanted to look further into work experience and internships outside of the UK, I could apply to the following companies I have listed below and work as a production assistant or studio assistant, then work my way up into the industry by gaining experience.
Lucas films - https://www.lucasfilm.com/careers/
Netflix - https://jobs.netflix.com
Warner bros - https://www.warnerbroscareers.com/find-jobs/
NBC careers - https://www.nbcunicareers.com/careers
IMG - https://img.com/careers/
Film festivals, workshops/short courses
Film festivals, workshops and short courses are great ways to learn filmmaking from those in the industry. Film festivals allow for people to network and showcase their short films, feature films to audiences and producers, which is a vital part of becoming a filmmaker. Workshops help also as they teach aspiring filmmakers the basics and show techniques that are used in the industry.
The following links show different workshops, film festivals and short courses available for aspiring filmmakers:
London Film Academy workshop - Directing filmmakers tool kit.
Duration - 1 day, weekend, 7 hours.
Cost - £150.
Requirements - Minimum age of 18.
Content produced - Short films.
Chocolate Films workshop - Digital Storytelling.
Duration - N/A
Cost - N/A
Requirements - N/A
Content produced - Short films.
Link - https://nfts.co.uk/directing-short-film-online
Duration - N/A
Cost - Freelance rate £525 Corporate rate £995
Requirements - N/A
Content produced - N/A (More or so a lecture on filmmaking)
BFI Future film festival
Link - https://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/5-19-film-education-scheme-2013-2017/bfi-film-academy-scheme
Location - London Southbank.
Leeds Film festival
Link - https://www.leedsfilm.com/film-festivals/leeds-young-film-festival/
Location - Virtual, online.
Cambridge Film festival
Link - https://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Location - Cambridge.
Norwich Film festival
Link - https://www.norwichfilmfestival.co.uk
Location - Norwich.
London Short Films festival
Link - https://shortfilms.org.uk
Location - London.
The most intriguing festivals to me, out of the ones I have researched, was the BFI Future film festival, as it has a vast range of filmmakers, workshops and speeches from people working in the industry, and at the most recent festival, one of my favourite directors, Luca Guadagnino attended and spoke with Tilda Swinton on filmmaking.
The other film festival that also appealed to me most was the Norwich film festival, as I liked that they took submissions from the public and they have a large range of successful people who work in the industry speak at the festival, rather just showing films.
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