LO1: Understanding production roles that are available in a media sector

The Screen Writer:

The Screen Writer's key role and responsibility in the pre-production stage of the film is to produce a screenplay for the film. They make sure that it can give the director, producer and many of the other cast and crew an idea of how to have a creative input in the film. The main goal of the screenplay is to allow any viewer of the screenplay script to imagine how the film will work on screen and formated in the conventional style of a screenplay. Multiple screen writers can work on one screenplay to create a satisfactory final product that could be financed and bought to life.

The screen writer do not need much equipment to create a screenplay, they would only really need a computer, a writing document software such as Microsoft Word and a printer to create physical copies of the screenplay.

To be a screen writer, the main skill you would need is a deep understanding of not just english grammar, but also story, plot and narrative and how to structure it into a successful screenplay and story for audiences to enjoy. You need to be very creative to invent believable characters, an intriguing story that keeps audiences concentrated on the film and its characters. You would also need to be able to have an idea of how to makesound and dialogue support the visuals. There are also a few minor skills such as, being organised, cooperative in a teamand be able to work under pressure with strict deadlines.

Film Editor:

The editor's key role and responsibility is to put together the footage taken in the production stage and create a finished product. They work with the director of the film to help make sure they create the vision the director wants for their film and so are definetly a key part of the films production and its crew.

The film editor are typically equipped with: a powerful computer to run the software that they will use to edit and have all the footage stored on, the software that they will use to edit the film (In big budget films they commonly use Avid Media Composer or Lightworks. They also would need premium headphones that have a high audio quility and they also may need external hardrives that they can back up the film's files.

For this job you will need several skills and experience in the post production process and its stages. A few skills would be to have the technical know how and knowledge on how to use the editing equipment and software. They need to be creative with the editing, even if they are under-pressure as they will usually find themselves to be, and so need to be able to keep a cool head. They need to have substantial skill in communication and an awareness of the visuals making sure they fit the aesthetic right. They also need to be able to lead a team and be able to have good organisational skills. 

Comparisons:

Both the film editor and screen writer have quite a few simalarites when it comes to the film's production, the first being that they are important to each other, with the film editor needing the screen writers to have produced a screenplay for them to follow when they edit, and then the screen writers need the film editors to make their screenplay come to life as an actual film. They both also have to work under pressure to complete their part of the production, the screen writer has to work hard in the pre-production stage to get the screenplay done in time for the deadline so the rest of the pre-production stages can start, then the film editor on the other hand also works hard in the post-production stage to get the final cut in for the deadline, so that it can be ready to be premiered. They both are under pressure as they have high expectations from the producers and director as they both need to be creative and innovative so that the film will sell and then also be able to maybe implement their own individual ideas to help improve the film. They also need to have a strong understanding of structures in a narrative and its story, otherwise the screnplay wouldn't make sense to the crew and cast and the final cut would have a story confusing to the audience. Finally, they would also need to have a good sense of making the audio, both deigisis and non-deigisis, fit in with the visuals the audiance would see. The screen writer would need this to make sure when writing the screenplay they include these audio cues in places that would make them effective and then the film editor would also need this sense to make sure they do the same when putting the film together.

On the contrary, both jobs are on the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of the actual production of the film, as the pre-production is the first stage that is worked on and is more methodical and helps the rest of the production go alot more smoothly and then the post production is the end stage and is more technical and helps the entire film come together. The film editor needs to have more of a technical expertise than the screen writer as the editors work more with computers and programmes to create the film, so have to know how to use everything and be able to adjust to difficulties produced whilst editing, an exmaple being the lighting being brighter in one shot than the others in the same scene and so would need to fix that so that it doesn't distract the audience from the narrative being told. The screenwriter would have much more of an expertise in the english language and grammar than the film editor as they do a lot of writing and have to make it clear to the cast and crew who will use it for the rest of the production, they would also need to know all the technical terms for the crew in a certain section, such as the lighting engineers and the camera operators.

References:

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Director' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/758_director [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Screen Writer' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3078_screenwriter [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Production Sound Mixer' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/film/job_roles/3836_production_sound_mixer [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Producer' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/757_producer [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Gaffer' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3793_gaffer_film [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Grips' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3789_grip [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Camera Operator' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3073_camera_operator [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Location Manager' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/2943_location_manager_film [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Production Accountant' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3754_production_accountant [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Casting Director' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3077_casting_director [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Costume Designer' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/1756_costume_designer [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Production Designer' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/737_production_designer [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Prop Master' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/755_property_master [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Film Editor' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/2940_editor [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Make-up Artists' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/300_make-up_and_hair_artist [Accessed 28 February 2017]


CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Music Editor' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3841_music_editor[Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Art Director' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/283_art_director [Accessed 28 February 2017]

CreativeSkills Set (2017) 'Graphic Artist' Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3787_graphic_artist [Accessed 28 February 2017]