Television Production Research

Game.gov

Sky Atlantic commisions- the following information is taken from the Sky website.

"We would like half-hour series that have scale, lift the lid on a subject or are unexpected and could sit alongside the best of the US."

"The way we commission is also different. The biggest difference is that, because we are all about quality and providing something that Free-To-Air TV doesn't, we commission fewer projects, and have a much leaner team than other broadcasters to do this. In turn this means we don't have meetings with every Indie who asks for one we're afraid. Not only do we not have the manpower, but also we only tend to use meetings to discuss a project we are incredibly keen on. We have meetings when there is a strong sense of purpose for a project we think we are going to love - we don't meet as a way of briefing people. Instead we brief people through this page; on the Sky Days we have every six months (in big groups for non-scripted, and smaller groups for scripted) and through public talks and briefings throughout the year at lots of public events. "

"We only commission shows we love, and in our experience good shows usually come from good, very clear, early conversations. We see the shows as collectively owned by you and us - we don't just commission and let you get on with it, and equally we don't commission shows and try and make them for you - we both bring something to the party. We think good notes are helpful and make for a better show; bad notes are demoralising, but we don't think notes in themselves are bad. As we said, we don't see ourselves as executive producers - we are the commissioners, there to guide, encourage, inspire, and ensure the show meets the needs of the audience by best fitting the channel on which it transmits. Once you have our commitment, we are in it together, and will work for the best of the show. It's for this reason we won't be worried if you tell us a show is going wrong - all we want is for the show to be the best it can be - so we value relationships where we can all be open, honest and trusting."

"The talent on board is very important to us and we expect to work with the best filmmakers, producers and distributors in the world, or a combination of those people and newer talent."

From the information presented above, I believe that Sky Atlantic is a good channel to air our TV show on as they take ideas from anyone as long as they are detailed enough and I therefore believe that Sky atlantic would be the perfect partners to work with on Game.gov

From research in books I have determined that the two most important factors of television are good producers, and audiences.

The producer allows everyone to see how well the show is going to go by how much they put into the TV show, for example how creative they are and how knowledgable they are in the genre of the show. 

The audiences determine what type of tv is broadcast on a channel as different channels have different audiences- who have different needs. This has been the case since the 1980's. This information was taken from Television and Society

Chapter four- Employment opportunities and job roles in the media sector

The media sector that I am going to explore in terms of available jobs is the Radio sector.There are many different jobs in radio that all link onto each other in some shape or form. 

• Researchers are required to fact check and dig into the subject. 
• Script writers then take the notes from the researchers and write up a script for either the hosts to say on air or for a voice actor to record.
• The hosts need the technicians to work the equipment so that they can go on air easily.
• The voice actors also need the technicians to check the recording equipment is working okay, and then need the editors to put a bed underneath their vocal track in the case of a short recording that needs to grab peoples attention.
• The head of the studio will listen to the pre recorded things before they get put on air. 

These are a small handful of the jobs available in radio. There will be many of the above people, and will also be generic workers such as cleaners and caterers.

Full-time employment is employment in which a person works a minimum number of hours defined by the employer. This could be the employment of a cleaner.

A part-time contract is a form of employment that carries less hours per week than a full-time job. They work in shifts but remain on call while off duty. This could be the employment of a caterer.

A freelance worker is a term used for a person who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer. This could be the employment of a technician.

A voluntary worker is a person who voluntarily offers himself or herself for a service or undertaking. Radio stations get volunteers that want to learn the skills.

Casual employment can be defined as where an employee is employed when and if needed, This could be the employment of a radio host who comes in to cover someone else's show.

An hourly worker is an employee paid an hourly wage for their work, as opposed to a fixed salary. This could be the employment of a script writer.

Piecework is work paid for according to the amount produced. This could be the employment of an editor.

There are a range of job roles in the radio sector, not many of them creative rather than the script writer/audio editor. The technicians role is very technical and hands on, whereas the Studio Head's job is managerial. 

In order to work in the radio sector, work experience always helps as radio stations are keen to see any existing skills you have in any of the areas of work. Radio stations that are community ran or ran by a public service such as a hospital can be a good start to a radio career as you have taken time out of your life to learn the craft of radio. 

Courses that cover Media could also cover radio; courses such as Btec creative media production or Media Production courses in university can have radio modules to offer.

When working in the radio sector you must make sure you have good time management skills as a lot of projects you work on are time sensitive, such as writing a script within a time limit. Punctuality is also important for that reason as being late knocks time off your project time. You must be reliable so that your manager believes they can trust you with certain jobs.