The guide to popping your employment cherry in the film industry

Introduction

The following article will take you on an adventure full of unfathomable knowledge, unceasing intrigue and of course a lot of unfunny comments throughout the piece, so if you think that you can handle the unfiltered and unbridled idiocy and lunacy of someone who has a unhealthy obsession with pop funks. But never the less I will move on too the topic of the article which is the different jobs available in the film industry. How I am going to approach this subject is through a system of stating job role, breaking down what that person does and then listing some examples of people who have that role in the film industry. But First I need to think of a fun transition, what about job roles with pot holes?? Forced maybe but what ever.




Job Roles in the creative side of the film industry.


Director

The Directors role on a film is to oversee the project and make sure that the production goes smoothly. The director works with every department to make sure that the project can be put together and can be completed. The Director has To deal with everyone from actors to accountants. The Director is very much the glue that holds the whole project together. The Director is responsible for translating and adapting the screenplay from page to screen, turning the screenplay from words on a page into video and audio footage. The Director carries a majority of the responsibility of the films success both critically and commercially. This can mean that even one element of the films shoot goes wrong the blame will more than likely fall onto the director. Sometimes the director will also write the screenplay for the film. Examples of Directors who both direct the film and write the film are James Gunn, Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino and James Cameron. The Director is heavily involved with the film all the way from Pre Production all the way through to Post production. The director will work on the technical aspects of the film as well as the creative aspects, The director will work with cameras, lighting, sound design and even the special effects. The Director is responsible for making crucial decisions throughout the production of the film. The Director is responsible for the motivating the cast and crew throughout all stages of production. Directors must exhibit leadership skills as well as have the ability to motivate and inspire people to work. Directors must also have good communication skills and be able to work intensively for Long hours on end. The Director needs to be a strong and confident leader as to keep everything in order. 





Producer 

A producers role on a film is similar to a directors except at a lesser level and have a heavier emphasis on the business side of things, where as the director will have a heavier focus on the creative side of things.
The producer will also have a big hand in managing the finance of the project and will also have a large involvement in negotiating with the production company funding the project and depending on the type of production they
can also be negotiating with investors. A producer also 
ensures that the codes of practice are upheld. A producer has overall control on every aspect of a film's production, they will bring together and approve the whole production team. A producer is usually the first person to be attached to a project, The producer similar to the director is involved in all phases of production. During the early stages of development the producer is often responsible for selecting a screenplay or coming up for an idea for the production, producers will often be the ones who will claim the rights to the project and will retain those rights until they sell or give them to someone else. The Producer also handles the arrangements for financing and supervision for the project. Another role that producers fill is approving locations for the project to be shot in, the producers also have a say in the post production all the way up to the last minute. Qualities that a producer should display are a good sense of business as well as have excellent communication skills. They also have to be good at both negotiating and motivating people as well as problem solving, Producers need to able to secure finance for the production as well as control and manage the productions budget. Producers are in control of the majority of the business side of the production and so they should be able to understand both the creative process and the financial process of filmmaking.    




Screenwriter

A screenwriter creates the creative basis for 
the project, What I mean by this is that the screenwriter will write a script for a movie or a tv series and will create a story, characters, plot and a world for it to take place in. The screenwriter has an understanding of what works within a story and also knows how to connect with audiences on a personal and emotional level. The screenwriter will also be able to present their stories using sound dialogue and visual description as to support the medium 
that the project will be adapted into. Screenwriters 
should be able to write their script in a way that the person 
who reads it will be able to imagine the work as a film in their head. The Screenwriter needs  to be able to work with strict deadlines while producing work that has too have some form of quality as screenwriters will face a lot of competition when finding work as production companies will receive several screenplays at a time and so screenwriters have to make their script stand out from the rest and make it better than the other screenplays. Sometimes however an additional screenwriter is brought in to read over the script and make changes and improve elements of script, these additional screenwriters will be given a credit alongside the original writer.



Director of Photography/Cinematography

The Director of Photography and similarly the cinematographer are responsible for the technical side in regards to the camera and filming side of things. Directors of Photography are responsible for creating the desired visual look of the project, this includes lighting, framing and camera movement. During filming the director of photography will work closely with the lighting team as well as the production designers and the costume departments and the Hair and makeup team. The Director of photography will work with these departments closely as to ensure that the visual look of the film is in line with the vision of both the director and the director of photography. The Director of photography will also be working with the director as so that their two visions for the projects visual look are the same and don't clash. Qualities that the director of photography must exhibit is to have a good understanding of the equipment being used and have substantial technical knowledge of the camera equipment that they will be using. Skills that are needed when being a director of photography include strong communication skills, good knowledge, understanding and experience with the camera equipment as well as other film equipment.


Production Designer 


A production designer is responsible for not 
only coming up with the concept for the look 

of the set as well as developing it through the stages of set design which go as follows: coming up with the idea, drawing concept art, modelling, building final design. A production designer is behind the different sets and location that you see in films, for example in the harry potter franchise the Hogwarts castle had an enormous model that was used for the wide shots, now that model that most people who watched the films didn't even realise that it was a model was conceived, developed and built by a production team who was lead by a production designer. A production designer is important when making a film, especially a big budget film because a production designer's job is basically taking the description of locations in the script and then turning those word into a physical model. Turning something from merely words into a tangible representation of that description. Also if you are making a film and there is a location within the story that you are unable to get a hold of without the help of a production designer and a production team to build it. Skills that are required when becoming a production designer are good art skills, good attention to detail as well as a lucrative imagination.   



Art Director 

An art director is responsible for art department

of a films production, art directors will be 
responsible for creating designs for everything from characters, locations etc. The art department will adapt the description of the world presented within the script into a visual media. The art director has the same duties in regards of the art department the same way that the director has in regards to his cast and crew. Art directors will work closely with the director and the production designer to create a world for the film to take place within. Skills that are required for becoming an art director include the following: good art skills, good communication skills, good leadership skills and being able to work as part of a team well. 


Costume Designer 

a costume designer is responsible for designing, sowing and fitting all of the costumes that are needed within the filming period of the project. Costume designers are responsible for creating a varied amount of clothing that suits each character as well as being able to work within the world of the film. Costume designers are also responsible for taking the concept art for the characters from the art department and then taking those and turning them into real clothing that the actors will where, Costume designers are also very likely to alter the costume designs either slightly or more noticeably, costume designers will do this If they feel like the costume will work better with the character. However another reason is if the costume is going to need tweaks so that it is more comfortable for the actor to wear. Skills that are required to become a costume designer are a good sense of fashion, being able to make clothes efficiently and effectively and being very skilled at tailoring clothing and adapting concepts slightly to improve the pieces. 


Editor

An editors job is to take the raw video footage from the filming period of production and then taking that footage, and move it around and play with it to turn it into the final project/the final cut of the film. An editor can make or break a film, an editor can be given some great footage and if they don't edit it correctly you can end up with a bad final product, where as if an editor is given some bad footage if you the editor is good enough and is able to work their best they can take the footage and make the final product a good film. Skills that are required if you are going to become an editor. These are good computer skills, good knowledge of how to colour correct, add music to the footage and other basic editing abilities. Another skill that is needed is that an editor needs to have communication with the director when editing the footage into the final product. So editors need to be able to work well with other people. 

Actors


Actors are the face of the film industry, this is because they are the people that we see on screen. The majority of people know more actors than they do about directors, 
writers or even camera operators. Actors are given the script and just have to take that and become the character. Actors are the people that everyone knows and the people that everyone remembers. Actors are the most well known people in the film industry and so they are one of the main draws to a project from audiences. Skills needed to be an actor include: Good communication skills, good listening skills, good memory and confidence.   


Composer 

The composer of a film is responsible for adding to each scene of the film to add music to each scene which will emphasise the emotion within the scene. The composer is there to create music that not only conveys to the audience the emotion that is being displayed throughout the scene. The composer will try to make music that best fits best fits the film and or projects that the composer is working on. Skills that are needed to be a composer include: good understanding off computers as well as good musical talent and/or experience. Another reason that the composer is able to produce music that they are responsible for making sure that the music lines up correctly.


Visual effects supervisor 


A visual effects supervisor is responsible for the
same duties as not only a special effects supervisor as well as an art director as well as production designers. Visual effects supervisor is responsible for digitally recreating characters that are larger than life as well as creating special effects and occasionally backgrounds for specific scenes. Skills that are required to become a visual effects supervisor include the following: a visual effects supervisor needs to have good computer skills as well as good leadership and communication skills. A visual effects makes the action shots on different planets look really cool.  




Special effects supervisor

A special effects supervisor is similar to the visual effects supervisor. The biggest difference between the two of them is that a visual effects supervisor is responsible for generated special effects that could only be made through a computer. Now whereas a special effects supervisor like Stan Winston. A special effects supervisor is responsible for creating and building everything from animatronics all the way to a still model. Special effect supervisors are responsible for the creation of the props used within the film this includes the weapons, vehicles etc, as well as creating models of characters as well as animatronics that can be used while shooting to act as what it is supposed to be. E.g. the velociraptors in Jurassic park. Special effects supervisors will also create suits and like the predator suit of the suit for beast from x men first class which the actor will where during takes. Skills that are required if you are planning on becoming a special effects supervisor include the following: Good technological and mechanical skills and other skills that are in relation to the construction and operation of the animatronics. 

Concept Artist


Concept artists are most of the time either 
commissioned to draw concept art or are apart of the art department on a project. Concept art is the first stage of the majority of the art and special effects  departments in the project. The departments that require concept art to begin their work are, the art department, visual effects, special effects, hair and make up and costume department. Concept artists if commissioned will work as freelancers. Concept artists job revolves around drawing interpretations of moments from the script as best they can. Skills that are needed if you want to become a concept artist include the following: Good art skills and a creative imagination.


Stunt Performer

Stunt performers are responsible for performing the dangerous stunts that will be featured within the film. Stunt performers will carry out stunts and action scenes within films.  Stunt performers and coordinators have to plan the stunts down to the smallest of moments. Stunt performers job mostly consists of jumping off of tall things as well as doing things that can kill you in not the most pleasant of ways. Skills that are needed to become a stunt man include the following: A death wish, good communication skills, a substantial understanding of both health and safety as well as how to perform the stunts without causing injury or at least with the intention to avoid injury and good athletic skills that allow you to perform stunts that require things like run ups and flexibility.