This document provides an overview of different jobs in the TV industry, breaking it down into key areas such as management, financial, administrative/organizational, creative/editorial, and technical departments. It describes common roles like producer, production manager, production accountant, media lawyer, studio director, sound recordist, and development researcher. It also shares brief profiles of three individuals who work in creative direction, development, and as an underwater cameraman.

1. A Guide
to Jobs in
the TV
Industry
Where to start..
By Lucas Warren
The Television sector offers a huge array of
jobs within independent production
companies, broadcasters and the many
specialist companies that supply equipment
or services to producers. In working out
where to start I’ve broken down the sector
into a number of key areas:
Management
Ever project needs one key person who is
ultimately responsible for delivering and
overseeing the completed project to a high
editorial standard but also on time, on
budget and within legal and regulatory
guidelines. This role is usually taken by the
Executive Producer or Producer, however not
all factual television productions have a
standalone producer rather one person who
is called the producer/director. In any event it
is the Executive and or Producers job to
oversee and manage the whole project from
beginning to end, this role is multifaceted
and there is an editorial/creative vision that
needs to be realized and also a financial,
logistic and organization role that is required.
The producer will normally hire a production
manager or line producer who will usually
help budget and cost manage a project –
they will be responsible for all the logistics
and booking cast, studios, locations,
equipment and facilities as required.
Financial
The work of the Producer and production
manager is closely linked to the overall
financial management of a project. The
producer/production manager will normally
negotiate with a broadcaster to agree a
budget or tariff for a commissioned project
(potentially working with a Head of
Production with in a production company).
The majority of projects for UK broadcasters
are fully funded but some still require coproduction so again the producer may talk to
combination of broadcasters to pull together
the money to fully fund a project. Once all
the funding has agreed the project can be
budgeted and go into pre-production – at
this point a production accountant might
also come on board. They will work to the
with the production manager processing the
payments and receipts of money as required
and also overseeing the ongoing cost
management of the project on behalf of the
producer or broadcaster. A big high budget
project could cost millions of pounds so it is
crucial that it is well managed and tracked.
Administrative /Organizational
Much of what the production manager does
can be classed as administrative or
organizational and the junior positions under
a production manager such as a production
coordinator or production sectary have an
important role in supporting the logistic and
organizational requirements but also making
sure the appropriate paperwork for a project
is completed. This can be call sheets, release
forms, location agreements, music cue
sheets, archive clearance forms and the final
paperwork on a project that needs to be
completed and submitted to the broadcaster
before transmission. On complex projects a
media lawyer might also be engaged to help
draft complicated agreements with
broadcasters, co-producers, contributors or
to advise on legal issues such as compliance
or litigation. This is a specialized area and is
usually undertaken by trained lawyers who
have chosen to specialize in Media.
Creative/Editorial
The Creative or Editorial refers the creative
vision and evolution of a project and those
that lead or have a key role in this area.
Primarily this sits with the Producer, Director
and Editor but depending on the nature of
the project there may be many other people
creatively involved in working out what the

2. vision or idea is for something. Whether the
commissioning broadcaster, the art director
on a big studio show, the camera man on a
natural history series, the VFX team on low
budget TV drama or graphic designers on a
new game show or the editor who assembles
the final show. The overall editorial vision is
usually that of the director but like many
creative industries it is often a team effort
that delivers the best ‘editorial’ on a project.
Technical Departments:
Technical departments are mainly involved
when a project is in production and include,
camera, sounds, grip andelectrical roles,
depending on the project they may also work
closely with special effects teams in studios
or locations. The Director of Photography is
the most senior role after the Director and is
responsible for realizing the vision that
director has and if possible making it even
better! In Action films this area will also
include stunt supervisor and a whole range of
specialties like pyrotechnics etc.
Research:
Research for TV production is a very diverse
area, spanning across all the TV genres.
Every project will need some level of
research whether to help come up with the
initial concept and write a treatment,
researching places to film or historical events
or finding contributors. It is a key part of the
process and is often the place where young
people can first make their mark and get
noticed in the industry.
Overall TV production can be split into
3/4 phases;
Development
This is the early phase of TV
production when an idea is conceived
and developed then pitched to a
broadcaster
Pre-production
A project will go into pre-production
when commissioned and funded. It’s
the planning phase when decisions are
made about how to go about
producing the project and places,
people, equipment are all booked for
the shooting period.
Production/Shoot
This refers to the period in which the
project is actually being shot/or
created digitally. It’s when everyone
comes on board.
Post Production
This refers to the last phase when all
the material has been shot or created
and rushes are edited together, VFX
are added, sound designed and a final
version is created ready for broadcast.
What Do People
Really Do in TV!?
Production Manager or Producer
The production manager supervises the
physical aspects of the production including
personnel, technology, budget, and
scheduling. It is the PM’s responsibility to
make sure the filming stays on schedule and
within its budget. The PM often works under
the supervision of a line producer and directly
supervises the Production Coordinator.
Production accountant:
Production accountants work along-side,
producers, production managers or line
producers to keep track of the day-to-day
accounting on a project and to report on the
financial progress against the budgets (cost
reporting), usually they will have professional
accounting qualifications but have decided to
specialize in TV.
Media Lawyer:
The television industry is regulated in various
ways and in terms of the administrative
elements of TV production thought is given
to the legal and compliance side. Television
programmes in the UK are required present
unbiased and honest representations of
people that do not undermine viewer trust
and lead to ofcom complaints (for which
broadcaster can be fined). With so much
reality television being produced it is
important for a producer to understand their
obligations, guidelines are producers by the
Producers body PACT but it is still a
complicated area and most larger
independent producers have some sort of
legal or business affairs function to advise
and manage these areas.
Studio Director or Producer/Director
The process of creating a studio show is quite
different and many people specialize in this
area. By it’s nature it involves multiple
cameras, a stage or step, actors or
interviewees all of whom need to work from
an overall script. The studio director will work
with the team across a script (whether for an
entertainment show, news shows or drama),
they will decide on the kind of shots and
work out a shooting script so each camera
know what it’s shots are likely to be. IN the
actual record the director is working from a
script and with the support of a team in the
gallery setting up each next shot with the
camera operators and making sure the actors
are primed and ready. A big live show can be
a very busy and nerve racking experience –
especially if something goes wrong!
Sound Recordist
Recording good sound is a key part of
television production whether as part of a
factual programme with a presenter or
contributor or a drama series. A sound
recordist will work alongside a cameraman,
using a variety of different microphones
(boom, radio mics etc) and their job will be to
ensure usable audio is recorded. They need
to not only understand what is required from
a project or situation but also be skilled at
working with sounding recording equipment.
Development Researcher
Programme development is a key part of the
creation of an editorial vision and a
development researcher will often work
alongside a producer, or head of
development in helping to come up with that
killer idea! The development researcher is
the one who comes up with programme
ideas and new format ideas. They will look at
all of the current shows on at the moment
and use them for inspiration to hopefully
come up with a new show, the treatment or
taster tape showing the new idea is then
presented to one or more commissioning
editors at a broadcaster like Channel 4, in the
hope that they will decide to fund the
commission the production.

3. Real people who
ACTUALLY work
in TV technical,
creative, research
fields…
Bart Layton:
Tim Wardle:
CREATIVE DIRECTOR RAW TV
Bart joined Raw TV as Creative Director in
2005. Previously he worked as a producer,
director, and writer for a number of leading
production companies including RDF and
Diverse.
Michael Pitts:
UNDERWATERCAMERAMAN
HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT RAW TV
Tim’s role at Raw is to creative and develop
new programmes idea for the company.
Bart is the creative force behind many of
RAW’s best known programmes. He
originated and directed Banged/Locked Up
Abroad.
He has worked in development for BBC and
Century Films but has also produced a
number of films including for Channel 4
including:
Lifers
Michael specializes in filming underwater and
is regarded as one of Britain's foremost
underwater cameramen.
Michael has over 20 years experience of
making wildlife and science documentaries
for the BBC and Independent Companies.
He started as a camera assistant but also a
still photographer, he has followed his
passion of exploration and trying to capture
some of the most beautiful sights in the
world and by becoming very technically
competent and embracing new technology
has become one of the most sort after
cameramen in the area of wildlife and natural
history. Amongst his many awards he has
received Emmys for cinematography on two
BBC landmark series: David Attenborough's
'Private Life of Plants' and 'Blue Planet'. He is
currently working on a 'Future Planet'
Productions film on plastics in the world's
oceans which is due for cinema release in
2013.
Micheal’s career teaches up to follow our
passions, to be hard work and brave in the
choices we make – and that nothing is
impossible!
Make Me Normal
Most recently Bart directed Raw’s first
feature film, The Imposter, which received
widespread critical acclaim for its originality
and storytelling since its debut at Sundance
in 2012. Bart is a multi-award winning
producer and director, renowned for tackling
controversial and challenging subject matter
with tremendous visual style and journalistic
rigour. He thrives on creating work with
distinctive visual flair, and pushing the
boundaries of conventional story-telling
techniques.
It is clear from Bart’s approach that being
single minded and uncompromising in terms
of following a creative vision is very
important.
Scams, Fiddles and Honest Claims
Tim’s passion of ideas and experience as a
producer means he is well placed when it
comes to researching new programmes ideas
and considering what broadcasters might
want.
He has particular expertise in gaining access
to institutions or to individuals with amazing
stories that can form the basis of great
factual shows.