1.2
Job Roles in the Media Industry
Media products get made by people with different jobs, working in a rough order: plan it, make it, finish it. Marks come from saying what someone actually does and how that helps the product — not from saying they are creative and good at teamwork.
On this page10 sectionsHide
What you need to know
- Place creative, technical and senior roles in pre-production, production or post-production.
- Say what a role does, and how that contributes to the product in the scenario.
- Explain why roles overlap phases, and why one person may do several jobs.
Start here
The three phases
Everything in this subtopic hangs off knowing which part of the process a job belongs to.
Pre-production is the planning: agreeing what the client wants, coming up with ideas, writing the script, drawing the storyboard, booking the location. Nothing has been filmed or built yet.
Production is where the assets get made or captured — the filming, the recording, the drawing, the coding. Post-production is where those assets are combined and finished: cutting the footage together, balancing the sound, adding titles.
Take a college recruitment video. Pre-production is the script and the shot list. Production is the two days of filming around the campus. Post-production is the edit, the music, and the captions.
Try it
Who works when
Every role named in R093, grouped as the specification groups them. Pick one to see where its main work usually sits, and which other phases it still touches.
Learn the list
Creative roles: deciding how it looks and reads
| Role | What they contribute |
|---|---|
| Animator | Creates movement for characters, objects or graphics. |
| Content creator | Produces material such as posts, videos or articles for an audience. |
| Copy writer | Writes persuasive promotional text, such as advert headlines. |
| Graphic designer | Arranges imagery, typography and colour to communicate a message. |
| Illustrator / graphic artist | Creates original artwork, illustrations or visual assets. |
| Photographer | Captures still photographs for the product. |
| Script writer | Writes dialogue, action and directions for a production. |
| Web designer | Plans the appearance, layout and user experience of a website. |
Learn the list
Technical roles: capturing and building it
| Role | What they contribute |
|---|---|
| Camera operator | Operates the camera and captures the planned moving-image shots. |
| Games programmer / developer | Builds game behaviour, rules and interaction using code and development tools. |
| Audio technician | Sets up and operates audio equipment, monitors levels and captures usable sound. |
| Sound editor | Selects, cuts and combines recorded sound for the finished product. |
| Video editor | Selects and arranges footage, timing and transitions into the required sequence. |
| Web developer | Builds the working website, implementing its pages, features and interactions. |
Common trap
Do not swap capturing with editing. The camera operator records the footage; the video editor assembles it. One person might do both jobs on a small project, but they are still two different responsibilities.
Learn the list
Senior roles: keeping it on track
Watch out for “editor” here. The senior editorial editor who decides what gets published is a different job from the sound editor and video editor in the technical list. Look at the product and the responsibility the question describes, then pick the one that fits.
Creative director and production manager are worth separating too. The creative director protects how the work looks and feels; the production manager makes it deliverable — on time, with the people and money available.
| Role | What they contribute |
|---|---|
| Campaign manager | Coordinates a promotional campaign’s audience, channels, schedule and delivery. |
| Creative director | Sets the overall creative direction and keeps the work consistent with it. |
| Director | Guides how the production is realised, including performance and how scenes are presented. |
| Editor | Oversees editorial content, selecting and refining material for its audience and publication. |
| Production manager | Organises production schedules, people, resources and budgets. |
How it works
Why roles do not stay in one box
A script writer mainly works before filming, but will rewrite a line on set when it does not sound right out loud. A production manager is coordinating from the first planning meeting to final delivery. So “which phase does this role belong to” usually has a main answer and a couple of honest extras.
Team size changes things as well. A large production can hire a specialist for every responsibility. On a small project — a two-person team making a promotional video for a local business — one person might write, film and edit the whole thing. The responsibilities have not disappeared; they have been combined because of the budget and the workload.
In the exam
Explaining a contribution
Worked answer
3 marks
Explain how a production manager could support the filming of a college recruitment video.
Tempting, but this does not score
The production manager manages the production and makes sure it is organised.
This repeats the job title and then describes a personal quality. It never says what the person does, or what would go wrong without them.
Worth writing
The production manager could schedule the classroom filming for times when those rooms and the staff are free. That stops the crew turning up to a room that is mid-lesson, so the shoot does not lose a day and the video stays on schedule.
Where the marks come from
- Names a real responsibility: scheduling.
- Applies it to this scenario — college rooms and staff availability.
- States the consequence: no wasted day, so the project stays on schedule.
Key takeaways
- Pre-production plans it, production makes or captures it, post-production edits and finishes it.
- Explain the contribution, not the job title and not the person’s personality.
- A web designer plans how a site looks; a web developer builds how it works.
- A camera operator captures footage; a video editor assembles it.
- On a small project one person combines roles, because of budget and workload.
Glossary
- Responsibility
- A task or decision a person is accountable for on a project.
- Pre-production
- The planning and preparation before the content is made.
- Production
- The phase where the content and assets are created or captured.
- Post-production
- Editing, combining and finishing the content after it has been created.
- Contribution
- What a role adds to the finished product — the thing an explain question is asking for.
Test yourself
6 questions
Who writes the persuasive wording for a printed advert?
A copy writer.
Who plans how a website looks, and who builds how it works?
The web designer plans the appearance and layout; the web developer builds the functionality.
Which role coordinates a promotional campaign?
The campaign manager.
Why might one person do several roles?
On a small project the budget and workload are limited, so responsibilities get combined.
Does every role belong to only one phase?
No. A script writer may revise dialogue during filming, and a production manager coordinates across all three phases.
What turns “they are organised” into an answer that scores?
Naming what they do, applying it to the product in the scenario, and saying what that achieves.
Common questions
Do I need to learn the software each role uses?
No. This specification point is about responsibilities and contributions, not the particular tools someone opens.
Can a graphic designer also do the illustrations?
Yes, especially in a small team. Still explain the main contribution the question named, rather than listing everything they could do.
How much detail does an “explain” answer need?
Enough to link a responsibility to this product and say what it achieves. One developed point usually beats three job titles.