It’s hard to talk about Film in Northern Ireland without talking about Northern Ireland Screen and their efforts to find new filmmakers and actors within this country. They are a way for creative people with new and interesting ideas to receive the funding possible to make that idea a reality, they do this buy asking simply for a script, and a plan of action, once both are provided they decide which ideas they will fund and what doesn’t make the cut, obviously some ideas will have more merits than others but it tends to be more of a case of what hasn’t been done before and what will catch the attention of bigger media companies that may be looking for that next wave of directors, writers or editors.
Jobs and Roles
There is a plethora of jobs available to those that enter the Film Industry, however it’s important to understand what the key jobs are and what the key roles within them can be. Below are some of the most important and popular jobs with accompanying salary figures and main responsibilities:
Director – Average Salary £20-£26 Per Hour – One of the most well-known jobs within the Film Industry is that of a Director, this position used to be mainly upheld by experience directors who already have a foothold in the industry however within the past few years there has been a massive surge in up and coming directors making award winning films practically after they leave college, a Directors main role is to make important decisions when translating a script to the big screen, oversee the project and make sure the cinematographers and costume/prop departments are keeping in line with the original artistic idea as well as working with the editor to shape the final cut of the film.
Runner – £7-£14 Per Hour – One of the most popular jobs for film students leaving university because of its market being so huge and also because it serves as a great role for on the job training, a runner is basically an assistant that helps the producer on set, some responsibilities are answering the production telephone, preparing refreshments for the crew and cast, traveling to shoots and helping set up.
Video Editor – Average Salary £12-£14 Per Hour – The video editing industry in the UK has and continues to grow at an incredible rate largely because of the strides forward in editing technology and software made possibly by the neighbouring I.T industry, and editor will be responsible for crafting the film together choosing the best shots from the many takes available making the film the best it can be, the editor can also sometimes be the motion graphics implementer.
Producer – Average Salary £15-£20 Per Hour – In many ways shares responsibilities with the Director but in different categories, while a Director is in charge of lighting and camera crews to make sure everything goes smoothly with the actual capturing on the film, the Producer has the same level of responsibility and power but in other aspects such as finance, its up to them to oversee spending and box office predictions as well as requesting changes to the movie that may affect the age rating.
Cinematographer – Average Salary £20-£24 Per Hour – Just like a Runner, a Cinematographer is an extremely popular job in the UK, with it being the second most popular job for students to progress onto after education, mainly for the same reasons in that it’s great for training on the job and very widely required, in this post you will be required to Work in collaboration with the director and lighting crew to make sure shots align with the mood that has been planned beforehand and making sure each shot is focused right and shot professionally.
Writer – Average Salary £15-£18 Per Hour – Responsible for creating the stories, characters and events, the Writer or Screen Writer as they are also referred to as is integral to getting a project put into full production as they pitch the studios with the idea for the film, their work on the script will have to incorporate the desired mood and tones within the writing so the director knows how to translate the idea to a screen properly.
Lecturer – Average Salary £16-£20 Per Hour – Most colleges and Universities now have film related courses within their creative media departments, this is especially important in the process of creating new creative minds and new capable workers within film, the key responsibilities of a Film Lecturer are to have experience working in the industry and to be able to portray information to a large group of students clearly and concisely.
Intimacy Co-ordinator – Average Salary £15-£20 Per Hour – A relatively new job within the industry is that of an Intimacy Co-ordinator, responsible for monitoring adult scenes within film to make sure the actor/actress is respected and their rights are upheld, they became popular recently because of issues that have risen in Hollywood.
Production Assistant – Average Salary £8-£10 Per Hour – Another job similar to Runners and Cinematographers is a Production Assistant because of its massive appeal to students, in fact a Production Assistant is incredibly similar to a Runner but instead they will have more input in meetings and schedules that need to be organized for shooting.
Location Manager – Average Salary £14-£18 Per Hour – Location is key to a film’s production, both in terms of studios and outdoors, a Location Manager is tasked with finding the best location to suit certain scenes, taking permission, finance and how close to the film studio the location is.
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES NORTHERN IRELAND 