UNIT3: PROFESSIONAL

PRACTICE
BY MORGAN STEVENSON

9/12/2020

Task 1-3
The film production industry has under-gone a lot of change since its beginning in the late 19th
century, an era of film that would consist mainly of producers or directors having majority of
control as a lot of film in the early 1900s produced consisted of Actualities and Non-fiction.

The early 1900s saw the rise of Major Film studios such as Vital and 20th Century Fox. This

time also saw the rise of the star system, popularised by Adolf Zuckor, founder of Paramount

Pictures.

Sound united with film became popular by the 1930s and America saw success distributing their
films to markets worldwide. This would lead to actors having speaking roles, roles in sounds
effects such as Foley artists.

This era also saw the dominance of the Big Five production studios, Paramount, Warner Bros,
MGM, 20th Century Fox and RKO. This dominance lead to the formation of United Artists a
group of independent film-makers who wanted to be free from the shackles of Hollywood.
There was also a large foreign response which saw countries like France and Japan produce their
own films and styles. France also popularised the theory of Auteurs. Critics claimed that the
director was the main source of a film’s value.

Technology has played a major role in how films are made. The entrance of digital technologies
have made many changes to film. Digital cameras eliminate a lot of wasted film, computers and
editing software allows for more complex editing styles and techniques. Film distribution has
also changed, With the rise of social media there are multiple ways for a distributor to market
the film to audiences.

Television has also gone through major change as well. Where there was a point where cinema
and TV worked side by side together, but recently there has been a stronger push away from
standard television to online streaming services that supply a massive collection of TV series
and movies in one place to watch at your leisure. A trend popularised by Netflix has now seen
multiple companies following behind as streaming has become one of the main sources of
entertainment.
future developments, recently there has been the emergence of VR (Virtual Reality) and to a
lesser extent AR (Augmented Reality). These technologies are still in their early stages and
require more development. There are those filmmakers who pride themselves on technical
advancements. Recently famous director James Cameron claimed that his sequel to Avatar will
be 3D but will not require the use of 3D glasses. It’s through innovations like these that push
the medium of film forward in new and exciting ways and as technology advances further the
world of film can only become more engaging.

Professional roles within the film industry are constantly changing. Where there once only a
small handful of roles such as producers, cameramen, directors, screenwriters and editors
covering the majority of the work. The film industry now has a massive amount of roles that
make up a film production.
Despite this wide variety however that doesn’t mean that a single person is assigned to only
one role. In film some of the most well-known practitioners are those who have extraordinary
skills in multiple fields. This use of transferable skills is what keeps creative options open for
professionals seeking new projects.

Some professions in media include…

Producer
A producer is a key role within the film and television industry. Producers in recent times are
seen to have the most responsibility within film and television production. Every major decision
that is made within the production has to go past the producer. The role of the producer has
changed over the years, from the early stages of film to now. Whenever film first started with the
release of the Lumiere Brothers films, the role of the producer technically did not exist as films
were produced independently. The director did all the work of the producer. Overtime producers
started to gain more control over the projects as they provide the funding for movies or television
programmes.

Director
The director is responsible for the creative side of the production. They have the most creative
control within the project. The role of the director has changed dramatically over the years of
film and television. In the early stages of film and TV the director had a number of different
roles. The director would write the script, fund the production, made all the creative decisions
and much more. The role of the director in the early stages of cinema was also doubled as the
role of a producer. Over time the director’s role began to only consist of the creative side of the
production and the technical side would be left to the producer. The director may still contribute
to the writing of the script and will work very closely with the producer to make decisions.

Scriptwriter
Within the early stages of film and TV, there was no need for a scriptwriter as there was no
dialogue and the storyline was in the hands of the director. As the audience wanted more from
film the narrative was pushed to progress and when technology allowed it dialogue was then
added. This then created the need for a scriptwriter, but this task was mainly carried out by the
director. Later as productions began to have a higher budget the need for a scriptwriter grew. The
role of the scriptwriter would be to work alongside the director to write and develop the scripts.

My main goal for my one-year personal development plan would be to complete my HNC in
Creative Media studies at the Northwest Regional College. I wish to complete this course with a
good grade and to also continue on to do the second year to start my HND. By carrying out this
course at the NWRC it will help me to gain the sufficient skills and knowledge needed for the
workplace. I would also like to start building up my client portfolio and start working on doing
my own projects outside of college. This would help me to gain skills in filming techniques and
will give me time management and organisation skills that are essential in filmmaking. I also
hope to start a business plan for my media business with emphasis within cinematography. I will
also complete my CV, which will help me to gain work experience with local production
companies and will also help me in the future to obtain a job. I also carried out SWOT analysis
to evaluate what I go well, what my weaknesses are, what are my opportunities and what are the
current threats that could impact my career.
Within this year I hope to develop a number of different skills that will help me on my career
path. I hope to improve my editing skills. I wish to do this through this course and also by taking
on private work and working with clients. This will also teach me how to be professional when
dealing with clients and getting my ideas across to them.

SWOT
Strengths: Weaknesses:
- I have good communication skills and - I am not very good at time keeping.
 find it easy to talk to people I don’t - I find it difficult to carryout research if it
know, due to many years in customer requires a lot of reading
service - I don’t have much experiencing with
- I am dedicated to my work, even if I am editing, as I am usually doing camera
not passionate about the topic. work
- I am creative and like to think of new
ways to do things.
- I can adapt easily as i have worked in
big productions and small class videos
Opportunities: Threats:
- Currently social media is dominating the - Brexit is a big threat on starting up
media industry, it is free and easily businesses and entering into new
accessible. markets as we don’t know how it will
- My course at the NWRC offers me a affect the economy.
number of different opportunities, - Not passing my course.
including going to different events and
building contacts with other people
within the media industry.

Task 4
I carried out a number of different things to assess my skills and knowledge. We carried out a
skills audit and also carried out SWOT analysis as I have mentioned in my personal deployment
plan. This helped me to see where I would need to improve on my knowledge and also areas
where I would need to gain more skills. One area that I found that I needed to improve and work
on my skills was my time management skills. This is a really important skill to have within the
film industry in order to keep to scheduling. I can work on this by planning the night before what
my next day may consist of. This course can also help me with this, as it will push me to meet
deadlines on time. I also found that I am very creative, which I have developed overtime with my
photography. Our class also met with Johnny, who is the careers advisor at the college. He spoke
to us about what we wanted to do in terms of our career. At that point when I met with him,
earlier in the course, I was unsure of what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something
relating to starting a business. He gave me some advice and also look my email address so that
he could email me about future events or seminars that were taking place within the college,
relating to business start-ups.

Task 5
Within film and TV there are many different roles. The career I wish to explore cinematographer
preferably within freelance work. This would mean that I would be able to take projects that I
enjoy and am passionate about meaning that my full effort will be put into the work. To be a
cinematographer they need to have a creative eye, be able to lead a team of camera operators,
have an eye for colour and lighting, have great communication skills and many more.
Photography has helped me to develop my creative skill, that I have worked on over the years of
taking photos at events, engagement shoots and weddings. This has also helped me to gain
knowledge about DSLR’s and how they work, and I am now very confident with using a camera
for both photography and video. Also, by completing the HNC course this will also help me to
gain knowledge about the role of a cinematographer and what skills are required to carry out the
role.
I have developed my communication skills over the years by taking part in a number of different
group activities. When I was doing my A-levels when I was still at school, as part of our business
studies A-level course, we had to set up and run a small business. I was the managing director of
the business, so my role was to communicate to the team of over 40 people about what was
going on within the business and what tasks needed to be done. This helped me to further
develop my communication skills and also taught me skills in leading a large team.
On the contrast to this, there are a number of different roles within film that have skills and
knowledge that is transferable to the different roles. This means that there are skills that a
cinematographer should have that also a director should also have. For example, it is very
important that a director should understand lighting and colour. Directors have most of the
creative control within a TV or film production. The director will be in charge of telling the
lighting, cinematographers, sound etc. what to do. The directors responsible for the overall look
of the film and using the script and developing it to an onscreen performance. Like
cinematographers, directors have to have a creative eye and be able to understand concepts of
lighting and colour. They also have to have great communication skills to get across what they
want the camera work or lighting to look like. They both have to be able to stick to budgets as
they are both leading teams.

Task 6
In terms of personal professional development, I can look at the National Career skills health
check to keep track of my skills. I can work on my drive towards tasks. In the future with new
tasks or projects, I can set myself a clear plan of what’s required, be sure to acquire all necessary
information in order to complete the task and to ask those who have worked on similar projects
and what drives them.

Time management is an area to which I could improve. Setting out a clear timeline of the work
and when each component should be completed, allowing for ample time to finish the project
and to make corrections where necessary. Within m I y course will have the chance to practise
and improve upon this skill with deadlines for projects in order to produce the best quality work.
This will be a major factor in the professional workplace where deadlines must be met or will
come with serious consequences.

In terms of personal growth, it’s key for me to keep practising with the new software and to keep
up with my creative writing to keep honing my skills in editing and creative writing. It’s
important to take on the advice from lecturers on my course and to do plenty of own research
into these areas, through websites books, short courses etc.

Task 7
When thinking about the year ahead there are a number of different things that I would like to
achieve. I would like to gain more skills within editing. This is a skill that is necessary if I wish
to become a cinematographer as often cinematographers do their own edits of productions.
Throughout the year I wish to further deepen my knowledge within the film and TV industry
through this HNC course. This will give me knowledge and skills that may take me years to gain
if I were to go the route of self-teaching. This course will help me to further understand the
industry, with help from tutors that are currently working within the industry. They will be able
to give me first-hand advise about topics that they have learnt over the years of being within the
industry.

Within the year I also wish to start taking on my own clients to help build up my portfolio and to
also gain skills that I can only learn by doing productions. Through this, I wish to further develop
my editing skills, communication skills with other people on production teams and my clients
and also to help to build confidence with showing people my work. There are certain skills and
knowledge that I will be able to gain from carrying out work within the industry that I will not
gain from education. Like how to deal with clients in a professional manner. This is something
that can only be learnt first-hand by doing.

Task 8
Once I complete my HNC course and then complete my HND course in creative media. These
courses will provide a strong foundation of film knowledge and technical skills to go forward
into the workplace whether it be for work experience or a paid role within the industry itself.

During my time at the North West Regional College and after I leave it is important to build up a
substantial body of work in order to showcase what I’ve learned and present the work I have
made. This will involve updating my CV adding all relevant information gained from the course.
I have set up a Weebly account, (https://morganstevenson.weebly.com/) which is an online
electronic portfolio where I can display any work I have made throughout the course and during
my own time outside of the college. Along with my Weebly I have a LinkedIn,
(linkedin.com/in/morgan-stevenson-4792a3188 )
In terms of employment I would like to pursue a career path towards either editing or
screenwriting. Both these roles don’t have specific qualifications required but they do require a
lot of experience and knowledge of the film industry as whole. Therefore I will need to build a
solid collection of skills, knowledge and content in order to be considered for these roles.

Task 9
Reviewing my personal career goals and what I’ve achieved so far. I feel I have made a good
start and I am continuing to build upon what I’ve learned. While I’m getting good experience
from the course content, where I’m lacking experience is in practical experience within a media
environment, but that is due to COVID19. Hopefully there will be chances for experience next
semester. Reflecting on personal skills an area that needs attention is timekeeping. Whilst I still
hand in work on time, it’s the issue of timekeeping that is preventing me from producing
stronger work. Going forward this will need to be addressed as this is a key skill especially in
professional practise. One of the main goals that I wish to accomplish within the year is to finish
the course with a good grade and to also start up my own business taking on more projects. I still
have areas where I need to improve and skills that I need to develop, but I will continue to keep a
log of my progress to help me with my professional career.