Ofcom

Ofcom

Ofcom is the communications regulator in the United Kingdom. Ofcom regulates the TV, radio & video, fixed line telecoms, postal services and mobile phones.

Ofcom ensures that citizens in the United Kingdom receive standard communication services whilst being protected from scams.

Ofcom is funded through Government grants as well as by fees from industry for regulating broadcasting and communications networks.

Ofcom's main duties include:

• Ensuring that the United Kingdom receives fast working communications services, e.g. broadband.
• Citizens are provided with a range of television and radio programmes that are of high quality. 
• Viewers and listeners are protected from offensive material on the radio and television.
• Protecting people's privacy from being invaded on television and radio.
• To ensure the radio spectrum is used in the most effective way.

Ofcom are responsible for protecting viewers from viewing any material in films that may be too mature for their age category, including horrors or crime films. This is where Ofcom can put an age rating for who can view the film.

Contact List

Name	Role	Email
Rhys Painter	Director of Photography	10PR1@thebeaconschool.co.uk
Varshini Yogaeswaran	Hair/Makeup	10YV1@thebeaconschool.co.uk
Harry Bilk	Gaffer/grip	10BH1@thebeaconschool.co.uk
Josh Bateman	Runner	10BJ1@thebeaconschool.co.uk
Ryan Smith	Sound Recordist	10SR1@thebeaconschool.co.uk

Insurance

In film making, it is crucial that you have insurance as it is required in case anything happens to the equipment or production crew whilst working. However, insuring all of your equipment may be difficult due to having a low budget.

The following should be covered:

Equipment

Before hiring equipment it is ideal that you research into the cost of how much it would be to insure them if any damages were to happen or if they were to be stolen.This may be a little over budget for a short film but it is more safe and cheaper than entirely replacing the equipment if it were to be stolen. However theft may not be covered in the insurance, therefore if the equipment were to be stolen the production team would be held responsible due to leaving the equipment unattended.

Footage

If footage is damaged or lost, insurance cover will enable the production team to re-shoot the footage they lost. Although time schedules will be majorly affected, the production company will be given extended deadlines or more funding to complete it.

Props and Sets Insurance

If a lot of props are included in your film, then it is ideal that you are covered for what you hire in case anything gets damaged or stolen. Then your budget would not increase due to replacing stolen props and extending deadlines. 

Employers Liability

If any members of the production team become ill, injured or a sudden death occurs, then they are covered and their relatives will receive compensation. This covers incidents that occur both in and out of work.

Public Liability

If any injuries or damages to props occur on set, or even anyone who is not within the production team, the company is covered which protects them against facing any major fines. 

Legal

Copyright protects an individuals' piece of work, this restricts anyone from reproducing or copying their material. This can protect content such as books, music, photographs, films or sound recordings. The owner will be protected for a certain number of years in which they are allowed to publish their material in any form they like while still maintaining their rights.

All possible hazards on set should be taken into consideration, therefore it is important that health and safety is made a priority and the risks are as minimal as possible. There should be a member of staff who ensures that the set is as clear of risks as much possible through carrying out regular checks and risk assessments.

Similar procedures apply when scouting for a location to film; identify possible risks and hazards must be assessed, who is more is more likely to be exposed to them, and then find ways to prevent/control these hazards from happening. 

The Health & Safety Commission help identify any potential risks and hazards and find different methods of preventing them.

Clearances

Performing Rights Society (PRS) represents an individuals' piece of music and their rights whenever it is played or performed in a public place, such as on television, online, shops, restaurants and bars, concerts, public events or on the radio. Every time this occurs the composer of the piece of music is paid a royalty fee.

Songwriters and composers, once licensed with PRS, rights are protected as payments are distributed to and from PRS frequently from its members and those who use the music. 

Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) also represent its members whenever their work is reproduced physically, which can be on CD's or online. 

MCPS and PRS have joined together so that the original owners of their piece of music are fully protected in every case. Therefore production companies must get the owners, or those who represent them, to give them consent so that they can include their content in their production with written permission. The rightful owner would then receive a royalty fee as well as some recognition as to who composed the piece. This then protects the production company from any legal issues with the individual if they were to not receive permission.

Clearances are required when you want to include brands, photographs, brands or music in your production. Therefore, you must have written consent from the owners of the content before you can use them. Otherwise, including content without permission can result in legal action taking place such as a fine or being sued from the companies or original owners. 

The same applies for gaining permission for filming on public locations or houses, as written consent must be given by higher authorities or the owner of the location.

All actors must also sign release forms agreeing to participate in the production, in order to protect the production company from legal action which may restrict filming. 

Costume Materials

Costume designers hire and create the costumes for all actors in a production, they are required to make sure the actors' costumes enhance the portrayal of the time period/location in the production.
There is an option of having costumes produced in house, which is within the production team, as it is less time consuming and possibly cheaper.

Costume designers are required to have a wide knowledge and experience of designing and working with different textiles. 

Having creative design skills, working effectively in teams and the knowledge of different fashion periods as well as the willingness to research more into history is essential for this role in order for the production's interpretation of the story to be as accurate as possible. 

Sound Library Materials

Sound libraries are useful as it can help save time by using sound effects that have been created by another source, rather than creating your own. There are many sound libraries available online that can provide you with many different tracks, however some libraries you must pay for.

Finding good sound libraries online that are free takes time as some tracks may not always be the best quality. 

Sonniss.com is an online sound library that offers a range of sound effects created by professionals that requires you to pay for each track you purchase. Although you have to pay, their tracks are of high quality which is more likely worth the money rather than spending a considerate amount of time finding free tracks that are high quality. 

Freesound.org is another sound library, whereas all its tracks are free to use. Although this may be an advantage due to my production having a low budget, the sound effects are not as good as you would get if you were to pay for them, which could impact how my production turns out.