8.3b) Employment & Legal Issues in Film and TV

Health and Safety

Where employers have to put in place reasonable protection for the employees from potential harm and danger in the work place.



The Health and Safety act is a legal document in which the employer has to abide by, this is to ensure the well being of all employees. Whilst the act does state that the employer must provide a safe working environment, the employees must also ensure that their actions take into account how they may affect others around them, as they could cause harm or be deemed unsafe.
As TV and film contains harmful jobs such as the camera operator that go to extremes to get the camera shots. They go on cranes to get footage from dangerous heights to get specific shots for the media project. Another point is that some of the locations in the work place are dangerous and could cause them harm what this means is the industry have to put  protection for the camera operator because it's there responsibility. 

The positives for the Employee would be a sense of security within the workplace. The camera operator should feel safe, even in precarious positions and whilst there may be a potential risk, they should feel that there is not an increasing danger which could affect their physical & physiological health. However, a downfall may be that if the employer doesn't abide to the act, and may not put into action the necessary needs to make the place safe for them.


As an employer for example New Regency Productions, whom produced 'The Revenant,' they could potentially gain some good publicity and put themselves in a good light, if they have been able to accommodate and ensure the safety of all crew when in the production stages. Thus making themselves more inviting to many different people that work in the industry and are at the height of their professions. However the act may restrict New Regency Productions when filming as some sets perhaps are too dangerous and when amended perhaps they don't look as real or how the director had in-visioned them to be like.    

Equal Opportunities 

Where any employee is treated fairly without any prejudice in the work place that also has the equal opportunity to the job as well as being able to obtain an upper pay scale or further promotion to heighten their careers. 

Where we could potentially see this in the film and TV industry is for example when a group of people are going for the same job which could be a runner in the media industry. What the industry has to do is fairly treat each candidate the same and without any prejudice and discrimination, this would also apply throughout the duration of employment. Given each candidate met the criteria, all should be able to have an opportunity to present themselves. 

This is particularly important to potential employees applying to become a runner, as it is an entry level job. The job is something that many people will be competing for as it is the starting point to get in to the industry and gain contacts. The downside is that many employers wont stick to it, and perhaps will already have an idea of what they are looking for. 

From an employer point of view equal opportunities gives them an abundance of potential employees which makes it very competitive and allows for a better quality of choice. The downside is that the employer will have so many people applying for the job that it is a long process to find the right person suited for the job.  

Equality Act 2010

A legal document produced by the government that states the laws the employer has to abide by when hiring and through the persons employment.

The equality act 2010 is in place to outline specific characteristics that many people have, it is a law to help protect and fight discrimination & prejudice within the work place. Certain, "protected characteristics" such as, " gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership,  race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation" are believed to be important aspects of peoples lives that should be guarded when applying for work, or when already in employment.
We can see this through the whole of film and TV industry. Where we can see this in a specific job role in TV and film is the news correspondents, eg Mike Wedderburn a sky sports news presenter and the only current male presenter of a different race within sky sport news. Despite this though he has the same opportunities and should receive the same benefits as any of the other presenters.  

For Mike Wedderburn the equality act means that the employer needs sufficient reasoning for firing him, which in turn gives Wedderburn a feel of job safety. The act relieves a great deal of stress for him as it does fully protect him, he would also be allowed to take legal action if he was dismissed which continues to build on a more secure life for him. Of course there is always a risk that Sky may not abide to the act and their legal team may be able to find 'loop holes' in the act which would allow them to fire Wedderburn instantly or for a reason that may not be sufficient but doesnt technically break the law. 

For Sky, it does allow them to be more diverse in their news presentation, it could potentially make them stand out by trying to break stereotypes and conventions, which perhaps the majority of the public would recognise as a good thing, which in turn constantly gives Sky good publicity. However this could equally be a wrong decision, whilst unlikely their may be an argument for some of the public that dont like this change and would perhaps move to a competitor instead of watching sky sports news.  

Employers Liability

The employer has the responsibility for the protection of the employee at the work place as well as the overall business and the financing.

We can see this in the whole film and TV industry. An example the ITV as they have to ensure the safety of employees, otherwise they would be liable to legal action if there is an incident in the work place that was the ITV's fault. Liability is not only about the protection employees, but it can also relate to how liable the company may be in terms of its financing, whether they are making a loss. 

As an employee in an accident at work they have the right to exercise legal action against their company (ITV) so its a relief for the employee to know that the employer will be making the working environment as good as possible. A negative though is that even if ITV were liable and the employee did follow through with a court case, the company will have extremely skilled lawyers, so you might not even find justice.  

For the employer ITV, its very much allowing for a positive, happy work force. If they are feeling relatively safe, then they will be more motivated and get more work done on a day to day basis. Employer liability is a very large spectrum and its not as simple as having insurance among other things. The company can be potentially liable for many things, so good structure within the company is vital.

Employee Rights

There are legal and legitimate entitlements that are wrote in the employees contract which are dependent on their age.

Employee rights stem from legislation's produced by the government, that are seemingly trying to help improve the life of an employee in their place of work. Rights are in place to help the employee manage their work life and personal life at one time.
Where we could see this being used in the film and TV industry is the actors in the which are seen in the film industry they have the right to do what they feel is safe and say no to the things that the industry is telling them to do that may harm them in the production stage. If it is something that they feel uncomfortable doing they could get rights to disclaim it.

As an actor employee rights mean that they can feel more comfortable with work, whilst they are normally only on a fixed term contract, the rights still allow them to not be over worked and forced in to things. The downside to employee rights much like the equality act etc. the employer may find certain situations they can manipulate to dismiss the employee. 

As an employer though, employee rights allow for a much happier work force, which in turn would give some extra motivation and focus on the project. The problem though is perhaps some employees may use the rights too much an exploit them, which the employer may not be able to do anything about the situation.

Belonging to a trade union

Trade Unions are to defend the employees rights and physical and psychological harm in the work place.

Belonging to a trade union means that many employees are allowed to voice their opinion on pressing issues and they are allowed to safely say what needs to change within the industry they may also fight individual cases too. A trade union may do more, which would include training courses for its members and will also offer a large amount of information about ways into specific jobs.
An example of a trade union in Britain specifically for TV and Film would be BECTU. The main aims of BECTU are too protect the jobs of their members, offer advice and representation for the employees rights and equal fair treatment in the work place. They work hard to ensure that all employees that also are members of this union are not receiving any discrimination, prejudice and have a safe & healthy working environment. 

A member of BECTU is able to express themselves more, they arent as worried about being dismissed because of the legal acts etc. But the employees are able to voice their opinion if they feel unfairly treated or felt that they haven't had an equal chance to gain a promotion/ higher pay. The downside to a trade union, is perhaps sometimes you dont always agree with the union. It may be that the employee is very happy in their job and BECTU are campaigning for something which could affect them.

For the employer in this case BECTU they are helping to create a better, healthier working environment for everyone. They aren't working for profits so their main aims, when they are achieved become the benefits of this company. When they have fought long and hard for something and won, thats the benefit for them, its almost a personal gain.
A negative would be the power struggle, as the government has brought in many legislation's against trade unions BECTU are now very limited in their campaigning and their actions, in comparison to 20 years ago.

Intellectual Property

To shelter their assets, original and creative ideas and to prohibit the imitation of any work.

Intellectual property is the contents of an idea/ multiple ideas that have potential to be produced into blockbuster Films/ Tv series. 
They can be seen in TV and Film through an institution such as Walt Disney pictures as their creators may have fresh, unique ideas that can potentially be turned into very profitable films. These ideas would be intellectual property and would be in Disney's best interests to protect them to stop the other big Hollywood Institutions from copying them.

From an employee perspective if the idea is exclusive to their crew, along with Contract exclusivity, means they have 1 project to work on. If they only have one main focus to produce then they wouldn't be at risk of being 'burnt out' as they can focus much of their energies on one project as opposed to multiple which may stress them. The problem for the employee/ creator of the idea, is that if the company (Walt Disney) then they cant sell it to various companies and cant make as much money.    

For Walt Disney Pictures the protection of their intellectual property means they can produce exclusive content that none of the other big Hollywood production companies will have. Thus making more profit and continuously growing bigger. The downside is that some employees may leak the full idea or aspects of the idea, which potentially other companies may try to produce something very similar first.

Copyright, Trademarks 

It is a physical, legal document that can be purchased to stop any replication of the original idea.

Copyright and trademark, are used in all content produced for TV and Film, it is a document that is used for legal reasons to stop other companies from stealing creative ideas & concepts. It is used to protect the intellectual property of production companies/ creative ideas possessed by any one person.
Copyright can be seen in the film industry through the production companies obtaining copyright and trademark on their new films and new ideas which are in the production stages. An example would be Dreamworks animation producing a new film 'Trolls' which already a release date of November 4th 2016, as this animated film was going through the stages of production, Dreamworks would have been trying to secure copyright so no other institution could try and copy it and claim it as their own film.

As the person with the creative idea/concept, trademark is a major positive for them as they would be able to go and sell their idea to various production companies around the world, and make a lot of money. An example would be John de Mol who had the original concept of  'The Voice' was a big success back in The Netherlands to which he was able to sell the idea globally. But no one was fully able to own the concept as he has put copyright on it.

As an employer/ Production company, (Dreamworks) copyright does allow them to keep their films and creative ideas mutually exclusive from any other company, they are able to produce films that are very fresh and new which again relates back to Dreamworks making more profit. The downside which is hard to track, is that copyright can not stop a leak, which would lead to copying the idea.

Other forms of intellectual Property 

A physical product or aesthetics that any other person or institution that can not copy when a patent has been placed.

This differs from intellectual property as it is more to do with the legal issues and a more physical product as opposed to a creative idea. The patent is much like copyright/trademark however it is used for my visual items.
This could be seen in the Star Wars font, which is something that perhaps could have easily been copied by other institutions during the time of creation. However as Walt Disney were able to put a patent on the text, that therefore legally stopped any others trying to steal the idea.   

An advantage for the employee/creator is much like copyright they would potentially be able to protect their own product and sell it on to make a lot of money. This could however reverse and become a negative if the creator is an employee at a production company. Walt Disney has taken the product and placed a patent on it for themselves which meant the creator couldn't sell it to anyone and couldn't make any extra money.

As an employer/ production company in this case Walt Disney Pictures, they have been able to use a patent on the 'Star Wars' typography which keeps it very exclusive to them. As it was very desirable and unique the patent stopped  any other company from using it.

Passing Off

It's when a person or institution attempts to emulate a product when truly it is another's.

Effectively Passing off is to copy, its not necessarily about a leak which is then stolen, Passing off can also be about one production company content has many similar elements that another has and its who tries to say the original idea was theres. 
As an example Passing off was hard to find, many TV programs e.g. sitcoms and animated sitcoms are very similar and many seem to copy each other. However it seems that the same production company copy their own work in  a slightly different style as it was a success the first time. An example would be 'friends' and then some years later 'the big bang theory.' Perhaps that can't be described as passing off because it is the same company trying to rebrand the same idea slightly to gain more profit. 

A plus for the employee is they get many tv programs and films that they enjoy. Whilst many are very similar they were all previously loved, and now the slightly newer versions will also be dearly loved. The obvious negative to this though, is the repetition. For some people it is easier to spot the repetition and its easier to get bored quickly as it feels like your constantly re watching something. 

From a production company perspective, they know that the film/tv program will be successful, they know that the audience will love it, so they will continuously get more money. Not for doing anything new or creative but just by re-selling an idea, just slightly updated. The one negative though,is the people that comprehended the repletion will stop watching and that will decrease profit which is something none of the companies want to see.  

Race Relations Act 1976

It is an act that protects the public against prejudice on racial grounds and the communication between the public of other racial groups. Racial grounds is seen as race, ethics, colours and nationality.

The race relations act is in place to stop racism and racial abuse, this works closely with the sex discrimination act 1975.
This would relate back to TV & film much like the equality act, in the sense that both try to give fair and equal opportunities to everyone when all are applying for the same job. As well as trying to protect employees in the work place from any racial abuse. An example would be Kate abdo a sky sports presenter news presenter, who is the only presenter that is not belongs to a different race. However under the race relations act it protects her in the work place from any discrimination in perhaps an unfair dismissal or comments of prejudice.

A positive for Kate would be how the protection of the act does allow her to feel safe and allow for legal action to take place if she was ever fired for an insufficient reason. Of course like other acts the negative is that the employer Sky may not abide by the act and fire her nevertheless.

For the sky much like the equality act, to have more diversity in the presenters, which essentially are the face of sky sports news, means they can be seen in a better light as they try to break stereotypes. The negative is also this sense that some of the public perhaps are not ready for change and sky would lose viewership.  

Broadcasting Act 1990

A government produced document that allowed to loosen regulations, which in turn helped to create a healthy competition. Thus allowing for consumers to have a much broad choice.

The broadcasting act was something that allowed production companies to expand, whilst still abiding to the act they were able to produce more content and allowed for more people to start new companies. This in turn allowed for the consumer to have a variety, and choice what what entertained them.
BBC films was founded in 1990 after the act was released, the act allowed the BBC to create a new branch and produce more entertainment based films such as 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' although a more recent film, BBC films were able to continuously produce content, and continuously better themselves in which this particular film was nominated and won many awards.

As a consumer the act perhaps was revolutionary, in the sense that so many options have become available. Much of the the film and TV industry have been able to build and grow by this act being introduced. Which can only be good for the consumer to constantly be given more and more choice. Perhaps one downfall to such a vast expansion of the industry are consumers in the present. We are increasingly dependent on visuals, as we have a need to see what should happen. Every film will manipulate the audience into feeling certain emotions and today that's something we criticise when its not done well.

In terms of a Production company, BBC films, the company itself have been able to constantly grow and expand, whilst they were exciting times to be able to produce such different content, ultimately its about how much profit they can make. Specifically for the BBC whilst they are government funded its not something that drives them particularly, but it is the main benefit that drives every other company. 

Obscene Publications Act 1959

A law which strives to protect consumers from obscene and derogatory media texts and institutions that will otherwise cause a great ordeal to those who exhibit content made by the institution. The content may be deemed as 'obscene' if in any shape has degraded those who have worked in the production of the content.   

The document states how there should be no content exhibited which would be, "deprave and corrupt" meaning many films, may have too many explicit or horrific scenes which are too graphic to be exhibited by any one.

An example of a film that broke this act was 'The Human Centipede' a film in which was originally banned for being to graphic, much of the content had to be deleted and re-worked in order for it to be accepted. Even now it is still a big debate on whether it should have been released, due to some of the scenes the film features.  

A plus for the the public, is a protection, the act guards us against many things are unnecessarily graphic. Whilst we continuously push extremities, this act allows for a boundary which is needed especially for the protection of children. A down side to the act is What really classifies a breach in the act, 'The Human Centipede' was eventually allowed to be shown. Yet it still was perhaps to intense, imagining what the original cut was like, there is perhaps an uncertainty for how graphic a film can get before it is banned. 

For a production company, the act does restrict what they can produce. Whilst films are not typically so graphic, their is the restriction for how expressive the production company can be as they cant breach the act. Perhaps though the act does make the production companies explore other ways in which they can still evoke the same emotion. 

British Board Of film Classification

It is a non government management that controls and labels films into seven classification section include U, PG , 12 , 12A, 15, 18 and R18.

The BBFC helps to rightly classify films, they are a non profit driven organisation, which would imply that they wish to do their job correctly as opposed to quickly to gain more money.
An example of the BBFC in relation to a specific film would be 'The dark Knight rises' which originally was given a higher rating, however upon another reviewing it was brought down to the 12A rating.The fact that the film doesn't, "dwell on detail" and can only contain "occasional gory moment" meant that the rating was able to be brought down.

From an audience perspective to have a rating system much like the obscene act, is a safe guard for children. It is in the essence to keep a childs innocence and not expose them to such graphic scenes that films can contain, which they are not ready for. It perhaps though does cause an upheaval, For instance 'the dark Knight rises'" rating under scrutiny, perhaps in some eyes it was wrongly classified, so the guidelines aren't black and white.  

From a production company perspective in this case Warner Brothers they will want to push for the lower ratings to gain more viewers and make more profit. However they have to find ways in which they can portray the same emotion and atmosphere but with less graphic scenes. If a film can do that then the rating goes down but the money increases. So there is a constant battle between the production company and the BBBFC on their review.  

Ofcom

It is a corporation that helps the UK population to get the best out of their communication services as their control the TV, mobile, radio services line telecom, postal services and wireless device services.
Effectively of com are a third party organisation which helps other companies e.g. Sky to deal with their customer services. They help to deal with any customer complaints or directory help etc. 

As the public Ofcom is good as it does provide us with a good service all of the time. Whilst we still complain about having to wait the speed at which we are answered and dealt with is constantly getting faster and faster. The negative towards ofcom is they may not treat some people in the best possible way. They are a profit driven company so for them as long as they are getting a big deal they don't care if a minute amount of people aren't dealt with greatly.

For Sky they can delegate work to of com and not have to employ people to do the same job, they get the job done and less hassle. However moving back to the point about of com not treating customers correctly, that in turn negatively affects Sky and so more people may be inclined to not renew their subscription and instead move to a rival like Virgin.