Creative Media Production TV & Film
RESEARCH LOG
Unit Title: Unit 8 – Understanding the
Television and Film Industries – TASK 1 RESEARCH AREA 3
Name: Hannah Benson
Project Title : Obligations within the film industry
Research Question: What different types of obligations are there within the industry?
Method of research – I intend to use the internet and search engine ‘Google’ and a variety of different websites to
provide me with in depth knowledge about the different types of obligations which fit under the categories ‘
Contractual, legal and ethical.
Account
Research Findings:
1. Contractual obligations

Commercial contract - http://www.ehow.com/facts_7485469_commercial-contract.html
A commercial contract is entered by two parties. Usually it involves one party asking the other to perform a
particular activity. They can also be used to restrain a party from doing something. If they fail to follow the
agreement the party that have done wrong could face going to court. They relate to activities like wages, hiring, and
employee safety.

Employment contract- http://www.ehow.com/how_4780339_write-employment-contract.html
Contains all the legal details of the work the employee shall do, and how to respond to it. By signing the employment
contract the employer and employee will have certain rights. It contains everything to successfully meet the needs of
the employer.

Intellectual property
contract.html
contract
-
http://www.ehow.com/how_5173224_write-intellectual-property-
This is what stops other people from stealing your work. The contract is in the form of a piece of paper that needs to
be signed and agreements need to be approved.

Copyright contract – http://www.ehow.com/facts_7455559_copyright-security-agreement.html
A copyright security agreement is a written agreement where one person uses his copyrights or copyright licenses as
security for the payment of a loan obligation.

Insurance contract – http://www.ehow.com/info_8013594_characteristics-insurance-contracts.html
Contracts that mean one party can potentially profit from the agreement much more than the other party.

Hire contract – http://www.ehow.com/how_8740752_write-contract-entertainment-purposes.html
Is a document that includes the services a person/ object will provide, the cost, and when the payment will
be sent.
Creative Media Production TV & Film
RESEARCH LOG
2. Legal Obligations
Affecting:

Employment law- http://www.slideshare.net/Twood95/legal-issues-in-the-media-13474348
- Employees have to have insurance.
- If the employee is injured and it was caused on the site or by the company then they need to cover and
law fees.

Insurance –http://industry.bfi.org.uk/filminsurance
-All film productions in the UK must be insured. If you have an insurance policy from your country of origin,
you must make sure that it covers filming in the UK.
-the insurance should cover sickness, accident, death, physical loss and damage to equipment and assets,
employers and public liability.

Public liability – http://www.slideshare.net/Mattwattsmedia/legal-ethical-and-contractual-constraints-inthe-media-industry-13456879
-

Public liability insurance is important when filming out in public spaces because the insurance will cover
the cost if a mistake is made that causes an injury to a member of the public or damages their property.
Property- http://www.vlaa.org/?view=Film-Intellectual-Property
Intellectual property is a term that generally refers to different areas of law that protect the products of the
mind and the personality. For our purposes, copyright, trademark, privacy rights and publicity rights fall
under the umbrella of “intellectual property.”

Privacy – http://www.slideshare.net/BenRay95/legal-issues-in-the-media-industry-13458722
-Producers must make sure that they do not interfere in people’s personal lives or broadcast any material
the person does not approve of.
3. Ethical Obligations

Inclusive Policies – http://bbi.syr.edu/projects/Demand_Side_Models/docs/b_inclusive_policies.htm
-Inclusive policies contain provisions and guidelines that support the full integration of all employees,
including those with disabilities, into an equitably functioning workplace

Ethnic and religious minorities – http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-religionintroduction/
-The BBC respects the fundamental human right to exercise freedom of thought, conscience and
religion. This includes an individual's freedom to worship, teach, practise and observe.
Creative Media Production TV & Film
RESEARCH LOG
Evaluation of Research Process and your findings
When researching about the different types of contractual obligations I learnt that this type of obligation is when
someone is legally forced to do something due to signing a contract. There are many different types of contract that
I have looked into further such as a commercial, employment, intellectual property, copyright, insurance and hire
contract. I know that a number of contracts to do with supplying locations and contracts for any people performing
in the production are a minimum of possible examples I could of looked into further. For example I could of looked
into a contract for a company hiring out video equipment.
I feel that contracts are a safe way of making sure both parties are protected and people know exactly what they
have to do or provide because it says exactly in the contract.
I feel the drawbacks with my findings however as it complicates the process as it slow things down as one company
may take a long time to finally agree. Unless it is a very clear cut, well written contract it could cause further
confusion.
Contracts may require a fee to pay a lawyer to either write or check or even prepare the contract. The lawyers job is
to make sure there aren’t any ambiguities. I could have found out about a popular company and used examples e.g.
The BBC’s rules and regulations to support the findings.
The skills I developed when conducting this research were the ability to pick out the most relevant information. The
sites did not have any visual ways of presenting information which meant it was very time consuming to read
through complex typing.