Unit 24 - writing for television and radio

Jobs in the commissioning process

Writer

A writers role in the commissioning process is responsible for the creation of the narrative and the main script. this is extremely important as this is the main embodiment of the entire project as without the writer there is no project to begin with. They are the people who are the backbone for the entire film or television show as they help put the creativity of the director and producer to life in a god and efficient way. Pre production planing is one of the many roles the writer needs to complete, pre production planning needs to be completed throughout the production and before it has even started. they need to be able to script edit so if changes need to be made they can be and much easier. this can also be used if the script needs to fit the target audience of the script doesn't work with a certain scene and can be changed for the better. this is extremely important to the survival of the project if it becomes in danger because of the script and you are responsible for not letting this happen and/or fixing it if it is needed . The director is the person that has the vision of what he wants to make. this means that the writer and the director will work together to create there vision. however there can be complications to this for example a disagreement between the writer and the director can cause problems. the writer can give his advice and his opinions but when it comes down to authority the director is the person creating the vision and its his call weather or not thing get used in the production or not. Page lockdown is where the final plan needs to be completed. this is where they need to look into what is being kept in the final script and what needs to be taken out for reasons that the writer or other authority figure decides that certain things need to be gone from the original script.

The positives and negatives of writers are for example a pro is having one of the best working environments, you get to use your creative vision anywhere to make you comfortable while writing screenplays for film you will be working on you also get to travel a lot more than other jobs as for the most part you are self employed and can spend more time on the screenplay and story to make it perfect. as there are many pros to being a writer there are also cons to the work hours are constant as you have a deadline to get the work finished for the directors and producer so they can begin to make the film. this can cause you to get stressed and over worked while doing this job in the long run. as you are self employed worrying about money is constant the average advance is less than $5000 and then you must factor in the 15% for your agent and 20% for the taxman you will also be paid in 12 to 18 month instalments so overall you do not get a lot to spend on for your salary. there can be the risk that when the finished film could fail because of its writer or other issues this damages your reputation to get other deals and jobs to expand on your writing.

Director

The director is the most important part of the production of filming. they are responciable for making there vision a reality and creating a masterpiece. sometimes the director will write and or star in his films so he can get the right vision more accurate if he is starring in the film

such directors such as Hitchcock are know as some of the greatest directors in history and is know as the master of suspense which is evident in his films such as psycho which shows his ability in directing. Hitchcock is a great example of what the director needs to do and his responsibilities while working on projects that have been funded by companies that could potentially loose money. Zach Snyder is a perfect example of how sometimes a director can fail for example his film Sucker Punch was written and directed by the director and was critically panned because of its story and the over all idea of the movie as well as misleading audiences in the trailers. this is where directors sometimes have too much control over the production and this scan sometimes cause it to fail because of there interference in things they may not have much experience in

The pros of working as a director are that you have the power to make your dream a reality and show the world that you can be a excellent director that can make many more interesting projects. they have a good income if you are known as a good director and have a lot of control to what happens to the project and can do with that as you see fit

The cons of working as a director can put a lot of pressure on them as most of the decisions come down to them and they need to make a good choice when it comes down to it. If the movie does fail the director is often to blame on its failure and this can put a heavy toll on them, sometimes it is not there fault and can be down to company interference and this can cause friction and failure.

Pay Conditions and Agents

Pay conditions - Payment conditions for example royalties are a way writers or other such jobs will be paid for there work. the way they are paid can be very beneficial to the employe as you get a monthly payment when your work is used and when its use for example the stories you write will be used so you get paid every time. this can also be a problem when starting this type of job as it can be hard to live on such a small amount of income as your work will often not be used.

The pros of having royalties are that you don't have to work as often as most people. if your wrk does extramly well that one month or so on you will get more money, because of this your income isnt set in stone and can change depending on the quality of your work and the amount of work you have produced

The cons of this however will mean that if your work is poorer you will not be paid as much as other writers or other things you have writen in the past. this can cause problems on budgeting as you will not be aware of the amount of money you will be earning in the coming moths.

Agents - Agent representation is very important if you are working in the entertainment industry. there job is to find certain contacts to find work for there employer. this can include helping there image to make sure they are seen in a good light and that there reputation dose not get damaged for certain reasons. Agents can help make hard choices for there employers when they can not think of an ideal outcome. the job of an agent is to suport there employer when needed and to defend them when there employer gets into situations where he needs defence. Agents get an pre determined amount of money that the employer decides and takes this from there royalties for there work in the industry and helping the employer in there career.

The pros of an agent are that you always have someone there to help defend you when that is needed and that can suport you when times are tough. this can help out a lot when trying to start out your career as you may run into some troubles while trying to climb the industry as you will have a lot of competition while trying to prove yourself in the industry.  

The cons of having a agent is that they take 15% of your royalties. this is justifiable as they do they job correctly but it can be hard to pay them when your just starting a career when your royalties are low and thinly spaced out throughout the year. they can also by chance be bad at there job in helping your image and could cause negative effects making it worse as there the front man of your image.

Censorship and Plagiarism

Censorship - Censorship is the suppression of speech and options and cause a lot of problems when people have the right of free speech in todays society, in films censorship is often used to suppress certain things which people may find offensive or will otherwise disagree with. One of such examples of censorship in film is "I spit on your grave" which was banned in Ireland, Iceland and west Germany claiming it glorified violence against women which may have been true considering the content of the film. In the United Kingdom was branded a "Video nasty" and it appeared on the Director of Public Prosecution's list of prosecutable films until 2001. although this film may have had valid reasons to be banned this is considered censorship as it is blocking certain media from the public eye.

The pros of censorship are that it can protect younger audiences from viewing inappropriate material that is to graphic or offensive for them to view. films such as Clockwork Orange have been censored from the public to shield them from the content that is presented. The UK watershed was created for such a reason as in the UK after 9 pm most 18 + content can be view and after 10pm everything goes up till 5 am, this is so adults can view the material but younger audiences cannot as the majority of them will be in bed.

The cons of censorship are that it can shield information that is important to the population for example a film that shows someone or something in a bad light in certain countries could and most  likely would be banned because it is damaging to that person or thing. Here in the UK you can say whatever you want about anyone and it is entirely within your right to free speech but countries like Iran would ban things that do not follow there Islamic law which is dangerous because people can not get there differing opinions out there in the world.

Plagiarism - When working in hollywood plagiarism is a big offence in the industry and is frowned upon. this happend to to the film Disturbia which was claimed to be a rip off of Alfred Hitchcocks film Rear Window.  This film showed the story of a man trapped in his home after sustaining a broken leg and proceeds to spy on his neighbours to pass the time but he discovers that one of his neighbours may be a serial killer this is an extremely similar plot to the film Disturbia staring Shia Lebof. because of this a lawsuit was put though but lost but was ruled that it did not infringe on Rear Window. Plagiarism is an important thing to avoid in this industry and it can very much damage your reputation and cause massive fines if caught and resolved.

The cons of plagiarism is that it can damage your reputation in the film industry and can cause conflicts with companies and studios, it can also get you in a lot of legal trouble and can cost the person thousands of pounds in damages the film may also get taken and could no longer be shown. This will cause the film to loose money and can cost the company millions and the jobs off all that worked on that particular project.