Roles Within the Film Industry

Producers are the ones responsible for the financial, practical and creative part of the production. A producer needs to be able to come up with different story ideas and hiring writers, cast members, directors, etc - which is also why a producer needs to have good creative skills as well as good communication as they need to talk with the writers and also the director. Due to being in charge of the financial side of things they are also in charge of working out how much of a budget the production needs and where they need to spend it. This also means that they need to be well organised as they need to keep a close eye on the budget of the production. A producer will most likely earn a salary between $72,000 to $108,000 - this based on education and experience.

Directors control a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualise the screenplay while the cast and crew are guided in making it. It's the director's job to work with the producers as well as the casting directors. Someone who is a director needs to be able to keep calm in stressful situations as well as have good leadership skills as the cast and crew won't listen to someone who can't handle it. Due to the fact that a director needs to talk to a wide range of people, they need to have good communication skills. Directors get paid different amounts depending on what type of film they are, for example, low or high budget, shorts or documentaries. High budget films have a budget of more than $11 million - while working on a high budget film directors earn a minimum of $19,143 a week. When filming takes longer than a week then the director will earn a total of $4,786 per day. Well-known directors will earn money in salaries, for example, Tyler Perry who took the roles of directors, producer, writer and actor of several films in 2009 earned a total of $75 million as his annual income that year.


Casting directors are in charge of finding the perfect actors for the role of a character in a film or TV show. This means that they need to be able to see talent in someone and have good communication skills as they will be talking to the directors, potential talent and the writers. In 2011 the salary for casting directors was $32,010 per year, however, the top 10% earned $187,000 per year. The average wage per hour was $44.34 in 2011. Also depending on where the casting director works depends on how much they earn, for example, in California, they earn an average of  $61.92 per hour and in New York, they earn $53.84 per hour. The lower paying states have an average pay of 18.60 per hour - these states include, Montana, Maine and Mississippi.

Screenwriters are in charge of writing the screenplays for films and TV shows, this means that they need to have good writing skills and also a good imagination due to the fact that they sometimes have to think of original ideas, however, sometimes they'll write screenplays based off something that's already in existence, which means that they will need to be able to research different material to write about. They also need to have good communication skills as they will need to talk about their ideas to other people and word it in such a way that they understand. According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, half of all screenwriters earn less than $55,870 a year. Whereas in the film industry they aren't paid a salary but in a fee for the project. A novice writer will most likely earn close to an estimated $56,500 for a project whereas proven writers will earn up to $106,000 for a finished script.

The role of an editor is to put all of the footage that was shot for the production together. Editors obviously have to have knowledge of different editing software as well as being able to work in a certain time frame as the production will have a certain due date. Editors also need to be able to work with the directors so they can make sure they are editing the production correctly, which also means that they will need to have good communication skills as they aren't just working with the director but also other editors. The average salary for a film/video editor is £24,147, which is £12.27 per hour.


A costume designers job is to choose what each character in the production wears. A costume designer must be able to create different clothes and must have good attention to detail, whether its for the clothes or the scenario for the production. The average salary for a costume designer in America is about $13.40 per hour - a costume designer will start off making around $10.11 and it will rise to about $29.68 per hour.



Colourists are the ones who create the mood and atmosphere of productions by using colours. They must be able to know what each colour means so that they can tell what scene it should be used in. They often work with directors so that they can discuss what looks best in the scene and also discuss what is happening in the scene. The annual salary for a colourist is $69,000, also colourists are either freelance or union which means that they either have their own hourly or day rates, or they have set scale rates.

Directors of photography are the ones who work with the director to discuss how the production should look and feel. They need to have a good knowledge of cameras and have good attention to detail. Directors of photography have a salary of $125,000 a year which is $64.10 per hour when starting they earn $39,000 a year and then work their way up and earn $135,000 per year.





Grips are the ones who work out how to make the camera move so that they can get the shot that the director wants. This means that they need to have good communication skills as they will be talking to the director and the directors of photography about the script and what equipment they'll need for each shot. According to Simplyhired.com the average salary for grips was $30,000 however it does change depending on the state. Salaryexpert.com stated that grips earned $28,793, $28,882 and $26,812 in the states of Arizona, Colorado and Florida respectively.


A Publicists job is to manage the publicity for a company, brand or a famous person. They are also responsible for pitching clients to journalists and influencers, arranging interviews and press conferences. The annual publicist salary is $45,862 a year which is $17.02 per hour. A publicist needs to have good conversational skills as they will often be in charge of pitching clients to people which means that they will need to talk confidently about the client.


Sources:
https://www.recruiter.com/salaries/producers-salary/
https://work.chron.com/much-money-film-director-make-7811.html
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https://work.chron.com/casting-directors-salary-4384.html
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/apr/26/game-of-thrones-the-crown-nina-gold-casting-director
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https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Film_%2F_Video_Editor/Salary
https://variety.com/2019/film/features/sandy-powell-favourite-mary-poppins-returns-1203097833/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Murch
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https://careertrend.com/the-salary-of-a-film-grip-13659655.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grip_(job)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publicist
https://www.mediabistro.com/be-inspired/advice-from-the-pros/what-does-a-publicist-do/
https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Publicist/Salary