DSS Professional practice
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Week 1: Jobs and skills
There are hundreds of different roles to explore in the TV
and Film industries.
Write down at least five jobs that interest you.
Carry out some secondary research into each of those jobs.
What do they actually involve? And what skills do you think you
would need?
Record all that
information in a table like the one below and post it to your website.
Don’t forget to add references.
Job role What does that What sort of
job involve? skills do you
need?
First ADs plan the
first
filming schedule,
assistant working with
director the director, director of
photography and other
heads of department to
ensure an efficient shoot.
they run errands, convey messages,
floor look after cast and crew, make
drinks and provide food, drive and
runner deliver kit. Runners report to
the first assistant director and are
usually supervised by the third
assistant directors.
set decorator Set decorators are storytellers.
They create the background of the
action, explaining the context,
adding mood and visual interest as
the drama unfolds. While prop
masters deal with the placing of
Week 1
Not sure where
to start? Use the
credits from a
TV show or film
for inspiration.
Good sources of Potential career routes
information
(references)
Visualising the This is a senior role that requires
many years of experience. Most
Beoming a director on set
script, Planning,
Multi-tasking,
first assistant directors start out
as trainees or floor runners and
Innovation, work their way up. Go to our
floor runner job profile for
Communication details of how to do this. You
can to apply to
ScreenSkills’ Trainee Finder.
Communication, Multi- A-levels or Highers in art and Alternatively, you could consider be
tasking, Watching film and design (photography), drama a receptionist or runner in the unscrip
TV drama, Learning by
watching and asking,
and theatre, and English are
useful to grow your knowledge
TV industry.
Taking initiative, around aspects of film and
Reliability filming.
Understanding film, Style, If you want to go to university, could work as a theatre set
Historical knowledge, A-levels or Highers in art and
Communication, design, architecture, designer.
Organisation photography, theatre, graphic
design or graphic communication
are useful.
DSS Professional practice Week 1

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
objects an actor holds, set
decorators are concerned with the
walls, floors, vehicles and
furniture.
prop master A prop, or property, is any Understanding film, If you want to go to Being a production buyer or
moveable item that can be seen
Historical university, A-levels or decorator in film and TV dr
on a film. It could be a hat, gun,
cushion, wine glass, lightsaber, knowledge, Highers in art and or in unscripted TV.
carpet, kitchen unit, tree or Craftsmanship, design, photography,
aircraft. Prop masters run the Moving items, theatre, graphic design
property department which
makes, stores and transports the
Communication, or graphic
props as well as preps the props Organisation communication.
for each day’s shoot.

director of  They then research how to
photography create the look through
lighting, framing and
camera movement and what
they will need in terms of kit
and crew to achieve this.
Photography, Technical If you want to go to
knowledge of cameras, university, take A-levels or
Editing knowledge, Highers in a combination
Making decisions, that includes art, art and
Organisation, design or graphic
Communication communication with maths
and physics.
Being a director of photography
in unscripted TV (entertainment,
documentary or sport.) They mig
called camera supervisor (in mul
camera productions) or lighting
camera operators (in single came
productions)

Now reflect on your own skills. Underneath your table, add a short
write-up tackling the following questions:
Which jobs do you find most interesting and why? I find the floor
runner the most intresting because its great to start off with and can
see all the different selections before going into one and can learn
before hand what its like and how bissy/ stressful it can be and if im
prepared to go into that bit of work and if I will enjoy it

This list of skills will be useful

when we look at CVs in a few If you found really good sources
weeks’ time! of information, post links or
screen grabs to your website.
They will be useful in future!