Unit 8 Assignment 2

Trade unions

What trade unions can you join if you work in the media and film industry?

BECTU is the UK's media and entertainment trade union which covers people working in broadcasting, film, independent production, theatre and the arts, leisure and digital media.

Why is it important to join a trade union, what can they do for you?

They negotiate pay, conditions and contracts with employers. They can give you personal advice for independent members and can represent you. You can get advice on health and safety and. BECTU provides benefits for its members. Trade unions can also provide training and courses. They do networking events and career development opportunities. 

What examples can you find of strikes or other trade union action (look for writers guild strikes in USA), why did they strike, did it impact any productions?
The Writers Guild of America Strike from November 2007 to February 2008. 

The strike was targeted at the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and they wanted funding for writers to be increased compared to profits of larger studios. They won the strike.

Why did the BBC Strike? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz-2P13IK9E&feature=youtu.be)
They striked because of job cuts, work loads and claims of bullying. Jobs were cut by 2000 over 5 years which most are voluntary redundancies, some were compulsory redundancies. The strike lasted 12 hours.

Freelance contracts

What does it mean to be a freelancer in the media?
It means that you don't work for a production company/conglomerate and are self employed. 

What types of freelance contract are there?

Fixed priced contracts - that means you will get paid an agreed amount of money and when you will receive that money, but if the job costs more than originally planned or you do extra hours you only get paid for what was agreed in the contract.
Time and materials contracts - means that you get paid for your time involved in providing the particular service and also for the goods, software or other materials that you have had to purchase in order to provide that service.

What types of film or media contracts (short term/fixed term/ first refusal)

Short term - contracts aren't for very long periods of time and you don't have to continue doing any work for it once it has ended.

Fixed term - it has a fixed starting date and ending date.

First refusal - you can reject a contract before it is offered to other people.

Advantages and Disadvantages of freelance contracts

Advantages:

• You can work for lots of different companies.
• You are your own boss
• Times and materials contracts mean that you get paid for all the hours you do and materials/softwares that you do.
• You can get work from your own network of people
• You can choose who you want to work for
• You can choose when you want to work
• You can negotiate your own income.
• More job opportunities if your work is of a high standard 

Disadvantages:

• You might not always get work
• If you're just starting out you won't know many people so it will be harder to get jobs
• You have to find your own work and know what to look out for within a contract e.g things you aren't willing to do or things you might think are unfair
• You may often find that you do not have the option to work on the basis of a contract of your own because a lot of companies already have contracts made up already.
• Fixed price contracts mean that whatever you do within the job no matter how many hours you do or the cost the money agreed in the contract is all you will get.
• No sick pay or holiday pay
• If you don't do a good job then you won't get work so you have to make sure you do the best you can.

In my opinion I would rather have a stable in house job rather than be free lance because because I would want a stable income and always have work with set hours etc.

Editorial guidelines

Explain what an editorial guideline is

The editorial guidelines are the values and standards. They apply to all our content, wherever and however it is received.

Look at the following link and summarise the guidelines for two or three of the subheadings

http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines/

Religion 

The BBC supports all religions and respects conscience and freedom of thought. They aren't discriminative towards any religion but still believe in freedom of speech and people's right to their own opinion.They comply with the 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act which forbids a person from using or displaying threatening words or behaviour. 

Harm and offence

The BBC wants to reflect the world whilst being sensitive towards certain subjects and  having a younger audience means they don't want to show things that will impact them emotionally. There are "generally accepted standards" that can be shown but this list evolves over time. 

They broadcast challenging and innovative content that doesn't breach laws or rules but the reaction depends on the judgement of the audience. 

Why is it important for a television producer to work under guidelines.

So that a programme abides by any rules and regulations. 

Under 18s being on tv has laws and rules regarding copywriting. To make sure they don't get into legal trouble they have to comply with the guidelines to protect themselves and the company from getting into any trouble.

BBFC

Who are they and what do they do? 
The British Board of Film Classification who censor films in the UK give them ratings.

What can you/can't you show in a PG, 12A and 15

When was the BBFC founded?
It was founded in 1912.

When was the video recordings act introduced?
1984

What was it?
Any video recording sold in the UK had to have a classification by someone/an authority. For 72 years video was released to the public before age classfication.

What was controversial about The Human Centipede II?
This film is over the top and too explicit. People were saying that horror was being taken too far. It is also controversial that the creator of this film Tom Six said that 'it is art' which a lot of people disagreed with because he is basically saying that violence is art.

Explain the reasons why the BBFC did not rate the film.
They didn't rate the film because it was in breach of the Obscene Publications Acts 1959 and 1964 and any other relevant legislation. The BBFC have said that there is a genuine risk that the film may be considered obscene within the terms of the OPA for the reasons that

• The characters obsessive sexual violent fantasies is in breach of its classification guidelines.
• It poses a real as opposed to a fanciful risk that harm is likely to be caused to potential viewers.
• Even if it was confined to only adult viewers (being rated an 18) it is unacceptable to the public.

My opinion on the decision

I do think that the film is over the top and morally wrong to watch but if you don't like it just don't watch it, because some people aren't phased by some of the features in this film and could potentially see it from the view of the director of this film so in a way i don't agree with the fact that it wasn't rated because then people can't see it at all even if they want to but at the same time it shouldn't have a rating because then it could be potentially too easy for people to see who are under the age of the 18.

I CERTIFY THAT THIS IS MY OWN WORK