In this piece of coursework I will be focusing on digital publishing and the three main types of finance including private
finance, public finance and joint finance.
Private finance is a way of financing public sector projects through the private sector. This is usually from other production companies and the government. For example 'Guardian Media Group' is a private sector which gains its finance independently. An example of this is where producers design online projects for people according to their likes and interests (print production). An advantage of private finance is that you can choose your own investors. This increases the chances of having investors with similar objectives to you and means they may be able to provide business advice and assistance, as well as funding. However, there are many disadvantages, for example a limited number of potential investors, who may not want to invest substantial amounts individually. The impact private finance can have on the finished product is huge as they are the ones spending their money so would like to have some sort of input. This may be against the wishes of other people involved in the production of film such as the director. An example of where this has happened in the past is in Star Wars where the director wanted Han Solo to die and not be in any more episodes however, the investors wanted him to continue living as they felt as if he had a large role in the series.
Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics which assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities. An example of public finance in digital publishing such as in magazines and articles is the BBC, it is publicly financed through tax payers. This means that the BBC needs to air things even only a small group of people would want to see as they have to ensure they cater to everyone's preferences. The impact of public financing would be they become boring for people to read due to them being repetitive or similar.
Joint finance is an arrangement is a means of ensuring the availability of funds for the development of a facility, a service or a full range of air navigation services. An example of joint finance in digital publishing are where magazine companies choose to partner with other businesses. The impact of joint financing on magazines and articles is they may have to be changed if the company they are partnering with aren't happy with what they want to put out/publish.
Private finance is a way of financing public sector projects through the private sector. This is usually from other production companies and the government. For example 'Guardian Media Group' is a private sector which gains its finance independently. An example of this is where producers design online projects for people according to their likes and interests (print production). An advantage of private finance is that you can choose your own investors. This increases the chances of having investors with similar objectives to you and means they may be able to provide business advice and assistance, as well as funding. However, there are many disadvantages, for example a limited number of potential investors, who may not want to invest substantial amounts individually. The impact private finance can have on the finished product is huge as they are the ones spending their money so would like to have some sort of input. This may be against the wishes of other people involved in the production of film such as the director. An example of where this has happened in the past is in Star Wars where the director wanted Han Solo to die and not be in any more episodes however, the investors wanted him to continue living as they felt as if he had a large role in the series.
Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics which assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities. An example of public finance in digital publishing such as in magazines and articles is the BBC, it is publicly financed through tax payers. This means that the BBC needs to air things even only a small group of people would want to see as they have to ensure they cater to everyone's preferences. The impact of public financing would be they become boring for people to read due to them being repetitive or similar.
Joint finance is an arrangement is a means of ensuring the availability of funds for the development of a facility, a service or a full range of air navigation services. An example of joint finance in digital publishing are where magazine companies choose to partner with other businesses. The impact of joint financing on magazines and articles is they may have to be changed if the company they are partnering with aren't happy with what they want to put out/publish.
Why might
owning a magazine or newspaper make commercial sense?
They have
influence on the audience. For example, 'The Sun' had a massive impact on the
general election where Labour and Conservatives were really close. It convinced
people to vote for the conservatives and they ended up winning the election
which shows how much of an influence newspaper can have on the consumer. Sales
in print media products are declining but they are still being published to
create influence.
License Fee- An annual fee, used to finance the BBC, which is payable by each household in which television programmes are watched. The BBC has to cater to everyone's needs and have something that is for everyone such as the deaf, blind, young and old. Also, to cover things even if only a small group of people would watch or affect, as they are paying for their licence fee so should get something out of it.
Newspapers- The way they are produced and distributed hasn't changed since the 1970s. They've declined in sales as they already know what they will say because of the internet. You get the news instantly and don't need to wait the next day to see what has happened. The BBC also posts news for free so if people want to read about something that has happened they'd rather not pay. Newspaper producers still want to own newspapers as they hold influence on the public.
Magazines-
Declining in sales as there is an increase in the consumption of social media,
more people use things such as Instagram which they can see news on.
The costs associated with media products:
1. Magazines- 'Vogue'
Editor,
Journalist, Photographer, Writer, Publisher, Makeup Artist, Freelancers. The
journalist would also need to be given a salary of around £53k and the
writer would have a pay around £15k they would also need to have money to
afford the journalist to fly out and get a first hand insight on the story and
interviews. Also, if they want to shoot in a particular county they would need to
pay for the model, lighting crew, directors, editors etc to fly out also which
could be costly as a whole. Additionally, they would need to decide on a
setting and pay the owner a fee if they wanted to use it etc.
2. Newspaper- 'The Sun' -
Writer, Photographer,
Publisher, Journalists. They may rent an office which they will need a lot of
money for per year as a large office would be expensive. They would need to pay
for copyright fees for things such as pictures, music and sound effects, these
can be pricey. They would also need to pay for accommodation for their
journalists to stay in. Also, paper and printing costs would be really high.
They don't get bought as much now as they aren't environmentally friendly and
use a lot of paper and on top of that the gas that is distributed into the
atmosphere isn't environmentally friendly and sustainable.
3.Film- 'The Polar Express'
People
who would need paying in films would be the writers, producers, directors,
stand-ins, actors, lighting technician and a makeup artist. Also, if they
rented out a studio or any places to shoot a scene they would need to pay the
owner the fee they ask for.
Costs and Logistics
In 2015 the JJ Abrahams movie Star Wars Episode VII
came across a large problem during filming, Harrison Ford's on-set
injury put significant strain on the production schedule, to the point that
there were discussions of pushing back the release date of the film into 2016.
If this had happened it would have meant the film might have not reached the
correct target audience which could mean a decline in profit.
Section
2: Regulations
Employment regulations are a set of laws which deal with the rights of employees and the responsibilities of employers. They cover a wide range of issues from pension plans and retirement, occupational safety, to discrimination in the workplace. This is important to media production companies as they need to make sure they are legally following specific set laws and rules to make sure their company is not doing anything wrong by putting laws in place to protect workers from wrong doing their employees. Without these laws it would mean that workers would be vulnerable to a number of different threats. The key employment laws include discrimination, minimum wage and workplace safety health and safety laws. The impact they can have if companies don't follow the laws is that they can put the company at risk as well as losing out when producing magazines, and this can lead to consumers becoming less interested in the final product.
Employment regulations are a set of laws which deal with the rights of employees and the responsibilities of employers. They cover a wide range of issues from pension plans and retirement, occupational safety, to discrimination in the workplace. This is important to media production companies as they need to make sure they are legally following specific set laws and rules to make sure their company is not doing anything wrong by putting laws in place to protect workers from wrong doing their employees. Without these laws it would mean that workers would be vulnerable to a number of different threats. The key employment laws include discrimination, minimum wage and workplace safety health and safety laws. The impact they can have if companies don't follow the laws is that they can put the company at risk as well as losing out when producing magazines, and this can lead to consumers becoming less interested in the final product.
HEALTH
AND SAFETY REGULATIONS-
WHAT
ARE THEY?
WHY
IS IT IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATIONS?
WHAT
IMPACT CAN IT HAVE ON MEDIA PRODUCTIONS IF THEY DON’T FOLLOW HEALTH AND SAFETY
REGULATIONS?
OFCOM- OFCOM are the Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the UK government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers across the television, radio, telecoms and postal sectors. It regulates the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.
IPSO- The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) is the independent regulator for the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK. They hold newspapers and magazines to account for their actions, protect individual rights, uphold high standards of journalism and help to maintain freedom of expression for the press. Their regulatory role is to deal with complaints from members of the public and they can control editorial content of newspapers and magazines. It is important that media companies follow the IPSO guidelines as they can get sued and create a bad reputation for their own company. This can lead to their company becoming less popular. For example, if they have lied about something which is completely wrong. The impact media companies will have is getting fines, printing contractions and can be taken to court and get sued. Another impact not following IPSO guidelines can have a negative impact on the companies these guidelines were raised after the phone hacking issue was going on. This could be possibly lead to newspapers and other media texts committing crimes leading to criminal charges and further consequences.
An example of this is where Melania Trump who was accused of doing inappropriate things so she was deciding so sue to the companies who wrote false accusations of her. The fine was going to be 205 million pounds, but they published a public apology and gave their fine this impacted Melania has she lost her reputation and the public thought badly of her. ‘The amount of the damages was not specified in this case, but Melania Trump was previously awarded almost $3 million in a lawsuit brought against the Daily Mail for false and defamatory statements about her.’ An example of IPSO guidelines not being followed is a newspaper article which people have be complaining about of how parts of the information is inaccurate. Such as the Bristol post which was reported about but was decided to be upheld as some information was true. This is due to them not following the IPSO accuracy ruling which led to them having to apologise and correct the information they produced. It spoke about the concerns over the rate of deaths by suicide amongst the student population of the University of the West of England.
ASA-The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. They respond to concerns and complaints from consumers and businesses and take action to ban ads which are misleading, harmful, offensive or irresponsible. As well as responding to complaints they monitor ads to check they’re following the rules, as well as conduct research to test public opinion and identify where they need to take action to protect consumers. They have administrated the non-broadcast Advertising Code for over 50 years and the broadcast Advertising Code for over ten and their remit was further extended in 2011 to include claims made by companies on their own websites and in social media spaces under their control. They regulate the content of advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing in the UK.
They do this ‘by investigating’ complaints made about advertisements, sale promotions or any direct marketing. They respond to concerns and complaints from consumers and businesses and take action to ban any ads which are misleading, harmful, offensive or irresponsible. It is important for media production to follow the ASA guidelines as this is a way to raise awareness of any issues after the adverts are released. This is a way to support the producers and to ensure they are happy with what they have produced. The impact this may have on media companies if they don't follow the ASA guidelines as this is a limitation to companies on improving on their production. Its extremely essential to make sure that magazines and other print adverts are not lying about something which isn't true or is misleading.
For example, the tango advert which had the catch line 'you know when you have been tangoed' and someone hitting a can of tango on someone else's head led to children imitating their behaviour in schools. Another example is the 'are you beach body ready' with a picture of a slim woman who had the 'perfect body' suggesting if your body didn't look like hers you aren't worthy enough to go to the beach in your bikini. This upset many viewers and lowered their self-image as they felt as if they weren't good enough how they were and made them want to change their bodies to look 'beach body ready'. After receiving about 360 complaints about the campaign, mostly that it objectified women, the ASA launched an inquiry into whether the ad is offensive.
A spokesman for the ASA explained that it was the health claims that led to the decision not to let the ad return in its current form. “We’ve met with Protein World to discuss its “Are you beach body ready?” ad campaign. It’s coming down in the next three days and, due to our concerns about a range of health and weight loss claims made in the ad, it can’t appear again in its current form.”
OFCOM- OFCOM are the Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the UK government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers across the television, radio, telecoms and postal sectors. It regulates the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.
IPSO- The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) is the independent regulator for the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK. They hold newspapers and magazines to account for their actions, protect individual rights, uphold high standards of journalism and help to maintain freedom of expression for the press. Their regulatory role is to deal with complaints from members of the public and they can control editorial content of newspapers and magazines. It is important that media companies follow the IPSO guidelines as they can get sued and create a bad reputation for their own company. This can lead to their company becoming less popular. For example, if they have lied about something which is completely wrong. The impact media companies will have is getting fines, printing contractions and can be taken to court and get sued. Another impact not following IPSO guidelines can have a negative impact on the companies these guidelines were raised after the phone hacking issue was going on. This could be possibly lead to newspapers and other media texts committing crimes leading to criminal charges and further consequences.
An example of this is where Melania Trump who was accused of doing inappropriate things so she was deciding so sue to the companies who wrote false accusations of her. The fine was going to be 205 million pounds, but they published a public apology and gave their fine this impacted Melania has she lost her reputation and the public thought badly of her. ‘The amount of the damages was not specified in this case, but Melania Trump was previously awarded almost $3 million in a lawsuit brought against the Daily Mail for false and defamatory statements about her.’ An example of IPSO guidelines not being followed is a newspaper article which people have be complaining about of how parts of the information is inaccurate. Such as the Bristol post which was reported about but was decided to be upheld as some information was true. This is due to them not following the IPSO accuracy ruling which led to them having to apologise and correct the information they produced. It spoke about the concerns over the rate of deaths by suicide amongst the student population of the University of the West of England.
ASA-The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. They respond to concerns and complaints from consumers and businesses and take action to ban ads which are misleading, harmful, offensive or irresponsible. As well as responding to complaints they monitor ads to check they’re following the rules, as well as conduct research to test public opinion and identify where they need to take action to protect consumers. They have administrated the non-broadcast Advertising Code for over 50 years and the broadcast Advertising Code for over ten and their remit was further extended in 2011 to include claims made by companies on their own websites and in social media spaces under their control. They regulate the content of advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing in the UK.
They do this ‘by investigating’ complaints made about advertisements, sale promotions or any direct marketing. They respond to concerns and complaints from consumers and businesses and take action to ban any ads which are misleading, harmful, offensive or irresponsible. It is important for media production to follow the ASA guidelines as this is a way to raise awareness of any issues after the adverts are released. This is a way to support the producers and to ensure they are happy with what they have produced. The impact this may have on media companies if they don't follow the ASA guidelines as this is a limitation to companies on improving on their production. Its extremely essential to make sure that magazines and other print adverts are not lying about something which isn't true or is misleading.
For example, the tango advert which had the catch line 'you know when you have been tangoed' and someone hitting a can of tango on someone else's head led to children imitating their behaviour in schools. Another example is the 'are you beach body ready' with a picture of a slim woman who had the 'perfect body' suggesting if your body didn't look like hers you aren't worthy enough to go to the beach in your bikini. This upset many viewers and lowered their self-image as they felt as if they weren't good enough how they were and made them want to change their bodies to look 'beach body ready'. After receiving about 360 complaints about the campaign, mostly that it objectified women, the ASA launched an inquiry into whether the ad is offensive.
A spokesman for the ASA explained that it was the health claims that led to the decision not to let the ad return in its current form. “We’ve met with Protein World to discuss its “Are you beach body ready?” ad campaign. It’s coming down in the next three days and, due to our concerns about a range of health and weight loss claims made in the ad, it can’t appear again in its current form.”
Section 3: Trade Unions
NUJ- The National Union of Journalists is the voice for journalists and journalism. The NUJ is an inclusive union and represents a broad range of media professionals. They strive to improve the pay and conditions of their members and protect and promote media freedom, professionalism and ethical standards. The NUJ is an active union – their members campaign and negotiate to ensure we are properly rewarded for the skilled work we do and the union is represented in towns and cities all over the UK, Ireland and parts of Europe.
BECTU- The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union became a sector of the Prospect trade union in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2017 following the merger of BECTU with Prospect. It is important for media companies to follow the BECTU guidelines as they support print media producers with additional professional support so they can improve their products. If media companies don't allow the BECTU guidelines this can put them at risk and their production would start to fall, which means they will be making a loss as no one will buy their print adverts.
There are 5 stages of production, these include:
1. Development-
This is where the project is birthed. It is the creation, writing, organizing and planning stage of a project. In development, a preliminary budget is made, key cast are attached, key creatives are chosen, main locations scouted and multiple script drafts may be written. It’s all the groundwork to show what the project will be and how much it will cost to make. It starts the moment a Producer thinks of a project or a Writer starts penning words on a page.
2. Pre-Production -
Pre-production (or ‘pre’ as it’s called) is where scripts are amended, budgets are adjusted, actors are cast, locations scouted, crew employed, shooting schedules amended, sets designed and built, costumes made and fitted, and everything to do with the shoot is planned and tested. The pre-production stage can last many months from the initial green lighting of a project to when cameras actually roll. As this date draws closer, the crew grows with many people being employed about two to eight weeks before the shoot starts.
There is a big push in these weeks to finalize everything that needs to be prepped before cameras roll. Although years of deliberation, concept moulding, writing and staring into space in a dreamlike daze is likely to occur in development, once shoot dates are confirmed the work becomes extremely focused on adhering to budgets and shooting schedules.
3. Production-
The Writer, Director, Producer, and countless other creative minds finally see their ideas captured on film, one day at a time. Production is usually the shortest of the five phases, even though it is paramount to the film and where most of the budget is allotted. Production is the busiest time, with the crew swelling to hundreds and the days becoming longer in order to be as efficient as possible with all the gear and locations on hire.
4. Post-Production-
So you’ve thought of an idea, written a script, raised the funds, employed a bunch of crew to get it made, spent most of your budget and hopefully have shot some decent footage in the process. Now it’s time to move into post-production. This is where the footage is edited. This is where the footage is edited, sound is mixed, visual effects are added, a soundtrack is composed, titles are created, and the project is completed and prepared for distribution. Although the shooting crew has done a lot of hard work, now the post-production crew face arduous hours of work ahead of them to piece together the scenes and craft a stunning story.
NUJ- The National Union of Journalists is the voice for journalists and journalism. The NUJ is an inclusive union and represents a broad range of media professionals. They strive to improve the pay and conditions of their members and protect and promote media freedom, professionalism and ethical standards. The NUJ is an active union – their members campaign and negotiate to ensure we are properly rewarded for the skilled work we do and the union is represented in towns and cities all over the UK, Ireland and parts of Europe.
BECTU- The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union became a sector of the Prospect trade union in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2017 following the merger of BECTU with Prospect. It is important for media companies to follow the BECTU guidelines as they support print media producers with additional professional support so they can improve their products. If media companies don't allow the BECTU guidelines this can put them at risk and their production would start to fall, which means they will be making a loss as no one will buy their print adverts.
There are 5 stages of production, these include:
1. Development-
This is where the project is birthed. It is the creation, writing, organizing and planning stage of a project. In development, a preliminary budget is made, key cast are attached, key creatives are chosen, main locations scouted and multiple script drafts may be written. It’s all the groundwork to show what the project will be and how much it will cost to make. It starts the moment a Producer thinks of a project or a Writer starts penning words on a page.
2. Pre-Production -
Pre-production (or ‘pre’ as it’s called) is where scripts are amended, budgets are adjusted, actors are cast, locations scouted, crew employed, shooting schedules amended, sets designed and built, costumes made and fitted, and everything to do with the shoot is planned and tested. The pre-production stage can last many months from the initial green lighting of a project to when cameras actually roll. As this date draws closer, the crew grows with many people being employed about two to eight weeks before the shoot starts.
There is a big push in these weeks to finalize everything that needs to be prepped before cameras roll. Although years of deliberation, concept moulding, writing and staring into space in a dreamlike daze is likely to occur in development, once shoot dates are confirmed the work becomes extremely focused on adhering to budgets and shooting schedules.
3. Production-
The Writer, Director, Producer, and countless other creative minds finally see their ideas captured on film, one day at a time. Production is usually the shortest of the five phases, even though it is paramount to the film and where most of the budget is allotted. Production is the busiest time, with the crew swelling to hundreds and the days becoming longer in order to be as efficient as possible with all the gear and locations on hire.
4. Post-Production-
So you’ve thought of an idea, written a script, raised the funds, employed a bunch of crew to get it made, spent most of your budget and hopefully have shot some decent footage in the process. Now it’s time to move into post-production. This is where the footage is edited. This is where the footage is edited, sound is mixed, visual effects are added, a soundtrack is composed, titles are created, and the project is completed and prepared for distribution. Although the shooting crew has done a lot of hard work, now the post-production crew face arduous hours of work ahead of them to piece together the scenes and craft a stunning story.
5. Distribution
Without a stringent and robust distribution strategy, the other four stages of production are somewhat redundant, at least from a business perspective. Distribution is the final stage in a project for producers looking to make a return-on-investment. This can be from cinema distribution, selling to a TV network or streaming service, or releasing direct to DVD. Whatever the distribution plan is, the producers will have spent many hours planning and marketing their piece to ensure the biggest audience and largest return. With the digital age and rapidly converging technologies, viewers are watching content in new and different ways, meaning that the distribution phase is constantly evolving. Although distribution is the final stage of the project, the channel of distribution and marketing of the project will be planned in pre-production. If it is planned badly and fails to garner good distribution, then all the other phases will be wasted as nobody views the final product and covers the cost of the project. Hopefully, a project moves through all stages smoothly and efficiently and thus a Producer begins the cycle again on another project employing both myself (and possibly you) once more.
Without a stringent and robust distribution strategy, the other four stages of production are somewhat redundant, at least from a business perspective. Distribution is the final stage in a project for producers looking to make a return-on-investment. This can be from cinema distribution, selling to a TV network or streaming service, or releasing direct to DVD. Whatever the distribution plan is, the producers will have spent many hours planning and marketing their piece to ensure the biggest audience and largest return. With the digital age and rapidly converging technologies, viewers are watching content in new and different ways, meaning that the distribution phase is constantly evolving. Although distribution is the final stage of the project, the channel of distribution and marketing of the project will be planned in pre-production. If it is planned badly and fails to garner good distribution, then all the other phases will be wasted as nobody views the final product and covers the cost of the project. Hopefully, a project moves through all stages smoothly and efficiently and thus a Producer begins the cycle again on another project employing both myself (and possibly you) once more.
Magazine Mock-Up- Annotate Picture
In manufacturing and design a mock-up is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mock-up is a prototype if it provides at least part of the functionality of a system and enables testing of a design. The magazine editor needs to produce a mock up as it is set design which they follow. The impact of not following a magazine mock up can lead to the magazine being designed in an unsuitable way which an equal a loss of potential sales. There are a range of tools needed for a successful magazine mock up such a thumbnail sketches, annotated sketches, thumbnail sketches and digital drafts. An example of a magazine mock-up is shown above.
IMPORTANCE OF MAGAZINE MOCKUP
WHY ITS ESSENTIAL
WHY ITS ESSENTIAL
Health & Safety (Risk
Assessment)- ANNOTATE PICTURE
Its essential to make sure every digital publishing has a specific risk assessment as there can be risks everywhere and magazine editors should know how to overcome them. An example is working in a studio there could be risks of tripping over wires or getting electrocuted. This can be life threatening to people in the studio. The impact of not having a risk assessment when producing a magazine is it can lead to the company exposing themselves and being sued. Risk assessment is used by magazine editors or anyone who is wanting to do anything where there is equipment used and any hazards can occur. In a risk assessment, everything is broken down and there are explanations of ways of how to control any measures where hazards can occur occasionally.
It is important for every digital media company to have risk assessments in place as there are a number of risks that can happen on set and magazine editors need to ensure they are aware of how to overcome them. For example, on set for a magazine shoot, there could be wires around which people could potentially trip over.
Its essential to make sure every digital publishing has a specific risk assessment as there can be risks everywhere and magazine editors should know how to overcome them. An example is working in a studio there could be risks of tripping over wires or getting electrocuted. This can be life threatening to people in the studio. The impact of not having a risk assessment when producing a magazine is it can lead to the company exposing themselves and being sued. Risk assessment is used by magazine editors or anyone who is wanting to do anything where there is equipment used and any hazards can occur. In a risk assessment, everything is broken down and there are explanations of ways of how to control any measures where hazards can occur occasionally.
It is important for every digital media company to have risk assessments in place as there are a number of risks that can happen on set and magazine editors need to ensure they are aware of how to overcome them. For example, on set for a magazine shoot, there could be wires around which people could potentially trip over.
Copyright Clearances- ANNOTATE PICTURE
Templates and Formats
