Unit 10, 2.1 - "Describe the differences between hazards and risks"

Unit 10, 2.1 - "Describe the differences between hazards and risks."

There are a few key differences between hazards and risks, which I have described below:

HAZARD

A hazard is something that can cause you physical or mental harm, whether that be through stress or dangerous chemicals.

RISK

A risk is how great the chance is that a hazard will potentially harm someone. It will usually be rated on a low, medium and high scale. 

Unit 10, 1.3 - "Describe the main employer responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act."

Unit 10, 1. 3 -"Describe the main employer responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act"

While employees have responsibilities to adhere to when it comes to the Health and Safety at Work Act, employers also have to follow the act, too, which is included in a contract that both employers and employees have to sign.

The main responsibilities that an employer has to work by under their own section of the Health and Safety at Work Act are the following:

1) It shall be the duty of the employer to ensure, so as far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.

This means that the employer is responsible for the welfare, health and safety wise, of their employees, within reason.

2) Without prejudice to the generality of an employer’s duty under the preceding subsection, the matters to which that duty extends include in particular— 

(a) the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health;

'Plant and systems of work' mean any equipment that is supplied by the organisation/employee need to be safe to use for the employee or anyone else. 

(b) arrangements for ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;

An employer mustn't put their employees at risk in regards to any physical means of work. 

(c) the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees;

For the safety of the said employee/s, the employer must ensure that health and safety information is available, while instructing the employee/s where necessary, and making sure that training is provided, along with supervision if needed to carry out a particular task.

(d) so far as is reasonably practicable as regards any place of work under the employer’s control, the maintenance of it in a condition that is safe and without risks to health and the provision and maintenance of means of access to and egress from it that are safe and without such risks;

All places of work must be maintained at a standard that is 'safe and without risks to health'. 

(e) the provision and maintenance of a working environment for his employees that is, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe, without risks to health, and adequate as regards facilities and arrangements for their welfare at work.

The working environment for the employee/s must be work-friendly in terms of safety. There should be facilities around if something were to go wrong (fire extinguishers for example) and arrangements made in case of a situation (fire drills, as another example). 

3) Except in such cases as may be prescribed, it shall be the duty of every employer to prepare and as often as may be appropriate, revise a written statement of his general policy with respect to the health and safety at work of his employees and the organisation and arrangements for the time being in force for carrying out that policy, and to bring the statement and any revision of it to notice of all his employees. 

Part 3 states that an employer must revise (where necessary) their general written statement policy regarding health and safety at work for their employers. Whatever organisation it may be must carry out these changes in the policy. If there is anything out of place with the written statement used, it must be brought to the attention of the employees at the organisation. 

4) Regulations made by the Secretary of State may provide for the appointment in prescribed cases by recognised trade unions (within the meaning of the regulations) of safety representatives from amongst the employees, and those representatives shall represent the employees in consultations with the employers under subsection (6) below and shall have such other functions as may be prescribed.

The Secretary of State in the United Kingdom can be a number of people who are in charge of the the Government Department of the country. The most well known Secretary of State is the Prime Minister.

The safety representative will be someone who is employed in the organisation to make sure health and safety rules are followed, and that all employees remain protected. 

5) (a section to sign)

6) It shall be the duty of every employer to consult any such representatives with a view to the making and maintenance of arrangements which will enable him and his employees to co-operate effectively in promoting and developing measures to ensure the health and safety at work of the employees, and in checking the effectiveness of such measures.

An employer must converse with any of the safety representatives to arrange (and ensure) the health and safety at work of the employee/s, making sure that these changes are effective. 

7) In such cases as may be prescribed it shall be the duty of every employer, if requested to do so by the safety representatives mentioned in [F2subsection (4)] above, to establish, in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State, a safety committee having the function of keeping under review the measures taken to ensure the health and safety at work of his employees and such other functions as may be prescribed.

The laws made by the Secretary of State in regards to health and safety in the work place need to be adhered to by both the employer and representative, keeping all in employees safe in the process. 

Unit 4, 2.1 - 2.5

Unit 4, 2.1 - "Describe effective time management skills needed to plan workload."

Knowing how to manage your time effectively is a skill that is invaluable when it comes down to planning your workload.

Time management skills that would be needed for planning a workload can range from a number of things, but most importantly, to ensure a smooth-running plan, it is all about learning, and carrying out, the following:

1) Being aware of what needs to be completed.

2) Setting out a plan of what you are going to do when/where, etc.

3) Going through your plan, one by one, and completing the tasks (remembering to keep note of what you have done and what is left to finish.)

Unit 4, 2.2 - "Describe how to specify and agree timescales, budgets and resources."


Working out what the project at hand is of first importance before agreeing timescales, budgets and resources. Once you are aware of the project, then, you are able to fulfill the rest of the criteria needed.

Ask yourself these questions:

Timescale - How long will it take for you to complete the task, and when does it need to be completed?

Budgets - Do I need anything for the task, and, if so, how much will it cost?

Resources - What will you need to complete the task?

One important task I had to carry out as an apprentice for my appointed company was to get a Digibeta copy of our film, along with a selection of photographic stills stored on some-kind of portable hard drive.

Firstly, I identified the timescale I had to do this in. The package had to be in Germany by the end of the week, and I was asked to do this task on Tuesday night, to begin on Wednesday morning, so it was of utmost importance.

Secondly, I noted that the stills for the film also needed to be transported with the Digibeta copy, so, once I tried to copy the photos to a DVD and that didn't work, I instead used a 4GB USB to store them on. This meant that I went over my estimated budget of £10 for the storage of the photos, but in certain situations like this one, it was needed.

For the second part of the budget (sending the tape and the stills) I estimated around £50 in total for the shipping of the package.

Lastly, for the resources part of the task, I needed someone to be able to send the package to Germany for it to be delivered the next day. Here, I noted that the best place in order to complete my task would be the post office, and so the package was sent through Royal Mail for a next day delivery.

Unit 4, 2.3 - "Explain how to construct a simple project plan."

Constructing a project plan is easy to do once you know how. There are certain criteria that should be followed to determine a simple-to-follow plan, but also one that is effective.

To explain how to set up a project plan, the example I am going to give is all about sourcing, and gaining, the information needed to set up your companies website. This was a task I was set to do at my company, and one that was pretty important for the re-design and launch of our website.

1) Understanding the brief you have been tasked seems to be obvious, but a lot of the time we don't listen or read the brief at hand. For this example, I needed to fish out photographs free-of-copyright that could be used on the site for specific in-development features.

2) Like effectively managing your workload, constructing a simple project plan is no different - you need to be aware of what needs to be completed, the timescale that the project given to you has been set for completion, if there are budgets, and what are the resources that are required from you or anyone else. The more information you are aware of, the easier it will be to complete the task in the end. I had to ask what sort of photos I needed to get for each film, as all of them dealt with different themes and I couldn't find a picture of a rabbit and stick it with a horror film - it would be totally irrelevant and would defeat the purpose of what we were trying to portray for that particular film.

3) Once you are aware of all these details, it is time to make yourself a physical version of your project plan, so you have something to go back and forth to. You can use Word, Excel, or any other program that will enable you to build tables - whatever works for you, really, as long as you have some kind of reference for your project.

4) List out the requirements from you, your timescale, budgets (if any) and resources. Having an electronic version of your project plan will definitely help in the long-run. As you go along, you can update this in accordance to how much you have achieved so far. 

5) Finally, on the project plan, add any other key issues that you need to. I jotted down the kinds of photos I needed for a particular film, so I wouldn't forget. I also got a few reference images to help me out (ones that were copyrighted) and added a number of free stock image sites to look at.

And there you have it, a quick guide that clearly demonstrates how to make a simple project plan. It is best to remember that, when viewing a plan such as this, it works in a more effective way than a list - with just a little bit more thought gone into it!

2.4 "Explain the use of a contingency plan"

A contingency plan is (in other words) a pre-prepared plan that would have been instigated in case something goes wrong on in a certain situation. This can span from something as simple as a particular person not being able to come into work, or a missing production card on a shoot of a film.

The use of a contingency plan  and to have one in place, is important because it is never a 100% bet that everything will run smoothly, whatever the situation is. Though it is only in particular circumstances where a contingency plan would have to be used, there is nothing wrong with setting one up for the off-chance that something doesn't go according to the original plan. 

2.5 "Explain the importance of storing work, using version control and observing file naming conventions." 


It is important, when storing work, to use version control (basically the changes that have been made on your computer, whether that is the history or downloading a massive software package) and observing file naming conventions.

Conventions are usually there for a purpose, as, when storing your work, there are certain key words that can be remembered, and version control can keep track of these.

I've come across the problem in and outside of work where I have saved a document someone had sent to me, without finding the correct file it needed to go into, or changing the title of the document. At a later stage, when trying to search for this document, it was impossible because I couldn't remember what I had saved it under, and where. You can't rely on Windows XP's search engine to find a document for you - you should know where you placed it to save yourself, and others, a lot of valuable time.

It's best to be over-organised than under-organised and noting what file naming conventions are makes it so much easier for you or anyone else to look for a particular document.

Unit 3, 1.2 "Describe key Intellectual Property and copyright issues, related to digital technology and content creation."

Unit 3, 1.2 - "Describe key Intellectual Property and copyright issues, related to digital technology and content creation."

There are four key issues that come to mind when I think of Intellectual Property and copyright issues relating to digital technology and content creation in the creative media industry. Here, I have listed them:

SHARING

iTunes is a perfect example of a website and program that will let you download music, TV shows, films and games for a fixed price. But what happens when you share these files - for free - to your friends, family and/or colleagues?

Legally, we are not allowed to share files we have paid for to other people, but there are currently no restrictions in us doing so, particularly on such a successful site as iTunes.

There are even freeware programs that will happily let you share iTunes music for no cost, and it would be wrong for me to deny that I have sent people songs through such social networking tools as MSN and Skype that I've purchased.

The continuation of this problem links into the next key issue that I'm going to describe - piracy.

PIRACY

2009 finally showed the film industry that piracy should be a massive concern, not just within film, but the whole creative media sector.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a film set for success (and it did well at the box office, but the amount of money it lost is undeniably great) as one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. That was until an unfinished version of the film was leaked a month before its release date.

This incident caused the film to be downloaded 4.5 million times before the actual release date, losing Fox (the studio distributing the film) an estimated $20 million in the process.

As with sharing, it is very unlikely that piracy is going to die down anytime soon, making it another copyright issue related to digital technology.

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT 

Back in 2010, pop-group The Black Eyed Peas were sued for not one, but two copyright right infringement law-suits concerning two their hit songs 'I Gotta Feeling' and 'Boom Boom Pow'.

The music industry is no stranger to these kinds of scandals, though - they happen all the time - and they certainly aren't helping themselves when it comes to sampling tracks on other songs, particularly in the hip-hop genre.

When you use a sample of a song to create your own content, no matter what respect the sample is being used for, it is important that you get the rights to the song before you do anything. This is something that Jay-Z and Kanye failed to do on their duo album Watch the Throne, and will now have to face the consequences for. This could mean a number of things, such as not being able to perform their track 'The Joy' in public because they haven't gained the copyright clearances for the sample, or even removing the song from their album.

PLAGIARISM 

It is a common mistake to confuse plagiarism and copyright infringement as one in the same thing. The most important aspect about copyright infringement to remember is that the original author of the idea/product is protected by the law. If anyone steals the specified work or idea, there will be serious legal consequences to adhere too.

With plagiarism it technically isn't illegal - though it is extremely unethical - to take someone else's ideas/work and present them as your own (thus falling under an intellectual property issue). A prime example of this occurring in the creative media industry is the game, Limb of the Lost.

Released in 2008, it didn't take long until the similarities in Limbo of the Lost with other successful gaming and film franchises were spotted. There is one thing to take inspiration from other sources, but it is a different story to make your product identical to an already existing material (which is what Limbo of the Lost did when those involved made the game almost identical to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Thief: Deadly Shadows).

The reason why this case is plagiarism and not copyright infringement is because the game was repackaged and sold as a completely different product, something that had no connection to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Thief: Deadly Shadows.

Unit 3, 4.2 "Research and plan a test for an identified opportunity."

Unit 3, 4.2 - "Research and plan a test for an identified opportunity."

One of the things I have found that many people (including myself) do when they go for their daily-shower is sing. Admittedly, everyone has sung to themselves in the shower at least once. It's where we can belt out embarrassing tunes without fearing we'll be overheard by anyone else we live with.


Karaoke is extremely popular worldwide, particularly in Japan where they have their own bars dedicated to karaoke singing.


Singing along to pop songs has moved away from singling themselves out for those on a night out, too. Games like Singstar have proved just how successful karaoke can be in your home, as well. 


So, I thought, why not combine the two? Not only will you be able to keep yourself squeaky clean, but you can sing along to real songs in the process!


First things first, though - does a shower karaoke machine already exist? To make sure it didn't, I carried out my research online into the product.


The findings of my research proved that my idea isn't already a product, but also, the first two searches on Google when I typed 'shower karaoke machines' were articles wishing that a shower karaoke machine was in existence:


Example 1


Example 2


Of course this isn't solid evidence in finding out if I have identified an opportunity in the creative media market with my product, so, I have made the following form that my fellow apprentices (or anyone else) would fill out once I have pitched my idea, grading my product in terms of its pros, cons, and if it were to exist, would they buy it?


Converging media product pitch unit 4, 4.2

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Unit 3, 1.1 "Describe the uses of digital technology within the Creative Media sector and the relationships this has created between industries in the sector."

Unit 3, 1.1 "Describe the uses of digital technology within the Creative Media sector and the relationships this has created between industries in the sector."

Digital technology plays a major part in our personal and mostly everyone's professional lives. With this, many digital technologies have been created for the purpose of using Creative Media sector environments. 

These can range from the following technologies below, mostly used for the film industry, but I will get into the relationships that these have created between other industries in the sector:

Final Draft  

Final Draft is a scriptwriting software that has been used by many prolific screenwriters and directors, one of which is Hollywood writer/director JJ. Abrams, responsible for the Star Trek reboot, Super 8 and TV show, Lost. 

Celtx is the most popular free-option when it comes to scriptwriting, and can pretty much do the same things that Final Draft can, without you having to pay for it.

Most industry professionals use Final Draft, but for those starting out with little money, Celtx is an easy, affordable option.

Final Cut Pro/Studio

Final Cut Pro is a video editing software tool, and, like Final Draft, is used by a lot of industry professionals. The most notable film that has been edited using Final Cut Pro is The Social Network, which, incidentally, won the Best Editing Oscar last year.

Software similar to Final Cut Pro - that is free - is probably the most difficult to come by because it is such a niche, and controlled program, that, I think, is worth forking out the money for if you are serious about editing work.

iMovie and Windows Movie Maker are both free editing softwares, but two that can only do the basis of editing; nothing close to the scope that Final Cut Pro has. 

Photoshop

Originally used for photography, Photoshop is a photographic editing software. I find it very hard to come across someone now that hasn't at least used Photoshop once, or knows the basics to it. 

Free options to Photoshop include iPhoto, Pixlr and Paint, but, while Celtx can pretty much do the same things that Final Draft can, Photoshop is by far the bigger, and more advanced software out of the ones I've mentioned.

So, yes, it is a good thing that all these kinds of technologies exist, as it enables other industries to use these tools, too, not just Film and Photography industries (the two which I have mentioned, above). 

Final Draft has the ability to transcend into the music and TV industries, as well. The format for a script remains the same even if you are writing for a music video or a TV show. 

Celtx, the free rival of Final Draft, let's you write comics as well, something that Final Draft is incapable of doing. 

The same can be said for Final Cut Pro, which doesn't just need to be editing software for film. Music videos and TV shows can get on in the act, too. This doesn't mean to see that animations can't be edited on Final Cut Pro, because they can. The most obvious example of this is, though it was the film version, is The Simpsons Movie.

iMovie and Windows Movie Maker are usually used for personal videos, but they can also, like Final Cut Pro, be used for other editing means. 

Photoshop started off as being used for editing photos, but has quickly become a graphic designing and artist tool, as well, leading onto all these other kinds of free photo-editing softwares where you can draw and design graphics.

While these tools are a good thing for the Creative Media sector, as it makes it more accessible to everyone and not just industry professionals, this can also be viewed as an issue as well. The accessibility of these tools mean that a lot of work for certain companies can be done in-house rather than hiring people from the outside to do task.

A good example of this occurring is with The National Theatre. Most of their work, if not all of their work, is done in-house. Something that my fellow apprentices and I learned when we visited The National was the figures of how many people they employ, which are well over 1,000.

This means that there are many departments in the theatre, which include writing, costume and editing. One of those departments, design, apparently didn't exist a few years back. In order to get designs for their posters, flyers, and anything else that needed design-work done, The National would go out-of-house and hire the people they needed to do the work.

Now, because they have an in-house design department to go to when they need anything design-related done, The National have managed to cut-costs. It is always cheaper to do work in-house (where you can reap the profits) then go to someone out-of-house and probably end up spending more money on the same design work you would have gotten in your own company. 

While the digital technologies I listed have created an open world in terms of who can start editing, writing, designing and so on, this also means that places like The National will already have people in-house to do these jobs, thus creating less work for people that aren't involved with successful companies like The National, in other industries. 

Unit 6 (Diploma), 1.2 - "Outline key hazards and risks in own workplace, describing safe working practices."

Unit 6 (Diploma), 1.2 - "Outline key hazards and risks in own workplace, describing safe working practices."

My work place, like all the other apprentices on this course,  is situated in an office. And like a few other apprentices, too, my office is a very small, production-based set-up, so, in a way, it is more down to me to deal with all the possible health and safety risks, and then hazards that may arise on the job.

Because the office is small, there is a lot of wiring crossing the floor, which, before I intervened, could have easily been a tripping hazard. A lot of plugs remained near things like our water cooler and fridge, for example. 

To keep the wiring contained, I used cable protectors that we have in the office. This automatically reduces the risk of anyone tripping over the wiring we have in the office as it is a tool that has been specifically designed for such things, but also, protects the wires from being damaged, too.

In order to keep the plugs away from substances that could be a serious hazard, particularly for electrical substances (water), I organised the plugs, added many extension leads, and specifically made sure that as many plugs as possible were kept well away from the water cooler and fridge without being another risk in itself. 

We also have a section of the office, far away from our eating area (where the fridge, microwave, kettle, water cooler and cutlery) is, were all our chemicals are, which includes cleaning equipment and cleaning utensils.

Though a lot of people forget this, it is very important to keep dangerous chemicals away from food, as, even spraying a bottle of something in the area of where you are eating can be room for concern. It is always good to remain alert to these things, not just health and safety risks that may seem more obvious at first (like the wiring).