Comparing and contrasting three media job roles.

Studio Technician

A studio technician's day to day activities include working with the studio manger doing duties such as attending pre production meetings and overseeing the cameras. They also manage the kit, ensuring that it is in working order before use and during the animation process, the studio technician will ensure that all captured frames are transferred from camera to software on the computers. A studio technician will also supervise the use of studio space, writing out schedules and sorting out any issues that may occur. From the case study we looked at, our studio technician found his way into his career through university where he studied film production, from there he was approached by Aardman for a run up advertisement. After this he found himself working on the front desk before a job came up for studio technician, the rest was history. 

One pro of working as a studio technician is the focused environment you would be working in, the animation process is lengthy therefore all of those working there will always be ready to work and happy to do so. However a con of working as a studio technician is the maintenance of kit, if there is a fault you will be approached therefore a lot of high stress will be involved, yet on the flip side of this you have the ability to play with a lot of kit which may interesting to some. Another pro is being given the opportunity to work on many different projects, no two projects will be the same and using the different kit will also allow your educate you further. Recommended skills or attributes that must be encouraged for the job of studio technician include a positive attitude and patiences as a job like this is very tedious, this is another con.   

In conclusion, I believe that this job role is suited to someone who either has the skill set to work from the bottom up or has enough qualifications and experience to know what they are doing straight away. I do not believe that although our case study did, that university is necessary for this job title but just a passion for learning. This role does not suit me as cameras and equipment are not where my interests lie, the job also seems too tedious and patience testing for me. 

Publicist

A publicist's job duties include working with distributors and producers to help create a unique selling point for films (if that is the type of route chosen to take) if not working in film, publicists generate detailed publicity campaigns which are pitched the media and then to the public and in other cases publicists can be hired by celebrities which convey to the media certain information such as plans, promos and career moves, all in all a publicist's main role is to create or protect the image of brands or public figures. A publicist will also be the first to speak to a media outlets, they have the power to create a buzz about situation or calm a situation down, confirming or denying speculation and sometimes organising events such as galas or premiers.

 Day-day a publicist will be answering emails, phone calls and meeting with potential client to discuss plans or in some cases damage control after scandals as well as dealing with public relations in contrast to a studio technician that does alot of constant physical work. It was recommended that those who want to develop a career as a publicist should have a degree first in a subject like journalism however I believe as the job is about having good relationships with brands and businesses therefore it would be best to work your way up through experience and strong relationships in contrast to working as a studio technician as going to university could help you build upon skill sets. But being a publicist is similar in that once you're in the workplace, this is where your skills will being to really develop, being literate is important therefore a degree in journalism or similar would be helpful.

In conclusion I believe that is a career path I truly see myself doing, its high energy environment is something I am looking for in a potential career, however it is an extremely competitive job to get into due to its perks such as the pay and the potential on working in or with people of a high profile. In contrast to a studio technician, being a publicist is about long hours instead of a 9/5 job and would also involve needing the live close to a city office which can be very expensive. Being a publicist you must be very flexible and spontaneous and so this would be a difficult job to maintain as I get older which contrasts studio technicians who work in typical officer hours. However I must consider the 'high risk high reward factor.'

Journalist

A journalist is a creator of readable content whether that be for magazine, news paper or online publications. Journalism is creative content based on what the reader wants or what a publication requests you to write about in some cases, if you're lucky enough you can be a freelance journalist in which you have the freedom to write about whatever you feel like in hopes that someone will find it interesting or funny enough to publish it. Due to the sensitive matters that journalists often find themselves working on, news related or other, they are expected to do alot of research about the matter before writing a story as a newspaper or other can't publish a written piece of work that isn't factual, it is considered ethically wrong (although someone needs to remind The Sun and Daily Mail of this!). In this sense Journalism is quite similar to being a publicist as they must be knowledgeable about what they're talking about and up to date on all of their facts, unlike a studio technician who must only be knowledgeable in their skill set. 

Journalists are considered 'the middle man' between what people want to read about and their audiences, they have a responsibility to report to the public factual information and must be knowledgeable about a chosen subject as well as this journalists have a duty to express their own opinions in their pieces. Once finding their key writing passion if that be gossip or politics they are expected to continue to write what they know, however journalists have been known in later career to branch out into other subjects, Personally, I believe that as journalism is such a competitive career, many publications want journalists to prove themselves worthy to then take on larger, more important pieces of work. I believe that this is very similar to that of publishing and studio technician as proving your dedication to a job can prove trust. 

Alot of the time Journalists also are expected to be uncovering stories to be the first to report on, this is where alot of money is made as news papers want stories that will sell. This means that journalists must know certain contacts that can provide information accurately, if that be for just a small quote to confirm the story or confirmation from a party involved. Every little helps, much like working as a publicist as contacts are very much needed, in all aspects of the job.

 In Conclusion, Journalism and publicity work are both very similar. It is a job i would really like to one day be doing as writing is what i enjoy and do not see myself tiring from. As for qualifications for the job, as it is such a competitive business, higher education is recommended. It is becoming increasingly difficult to break through the gap as a journalist therefore a degree in English or similar is recommended and also writing your own material to create a portfolio however none of these draw backs put me off of the job of journalism, like most journalists I would like to eventually transition into editorial work if i was to choose this path.