Unit 35 - Undertake Technical Adjustment of Images

**1) Understand key issues relating to technical adjustment of images
1.1 Explain the principles of colour theory, colour model and colour management

COLOUR THEORY - a body of practical guidance to colour mixing and the visual impacts of specific colour combination. There are also definitions (or categories) of colours based on the colour wheel: primary colour, secondary colour and tertiary colour.

COLOUR MODEL - an abstract mathematical model describing the way colours can be represented as tuples of numbers, typically as three or four values or colour components. When this model is associated with a precise description of how the components are to be interpreted (viewing conditions, etc.) the resulting set of colours is called the colour space. This section describes ways in which human colour vision can be modelled. The most common colour models used are RGB (Red:Green:Blue), mixtures of which cover a large part of the human colour space, and is used mainly in computer monitors and televisions; and CMYK (Cyan:Magenta:Yellow:Black), used in printing, with CMY being used primarily, and K being used to compensate for deficiencies in the other three colours (though is not normally necessary).

COLOUR MANAGEMENT - the controlled conversion between the colour representations of various devices such as image scanners, digital cameras, monitors, TV screens, film printers, offset presses and corresponding media. The primary goal of colour management is to obtain a good match across colour devices; for example, the colours of one frame of a video shoulder appear the same on a computer LCD monitor, on a plasma screen TV and as a printed poster. Colour management helps to achieve the same appearance on all these devices, provided the devices are capable of delivering the needed colour intensities.


1.2 Explain the importance of technical compatibility in images with specified requirements


Technical compatibility with images is important, since some file formats will work with some web browsers and operating systems, but may not work for others. For example, .png file formats are not supported on all web browsers, but .jpg is supported on far more. You will need to take this into consideration when you want to distribute your image across as wide a range as possible to get as many people to see it as possible.


1.3 Explain the effect of image pixel dimensions, resolution and bit depth on file size

PIXEL DIMENSIONS - The size of an image, measured in pixels [Width]x[Height], so for instance, an image measuring 200x500 would be 200 pixels wide, and 500 pixels tall.

RESOLUTION - the number of pixels in an image. Resolution is sometimes identified by the width and height of the image as well as the total number of pixels in the image. For example, an image that is 2048 pixels wide and 1536 pixels high (2048x1536) contains 3,145,728 pixels (or 3.1 Megapixels). You could call it a 2048x1536 or a 3.1 Megapixel image. As the megapixels in the pickup device in your camera increase so does the possible maximum size image you can produce. This means that a 5 megapixel camera is capable of capturing a larger image than a 3 megapixel camera.

BIT DEPTH - sometimes called "Pixel Depth" or "Colour Depth". A pixel with a bit depth of 1 has two possible values: black or white. A pixel with a bit depth of 8 has 2^8, or 256 possible values. A pixel with a it depth of 24 has 2^24, or  ~16 million possible values. The greater the bit depth, the finer the levels of change tat can be recorded so the higher fidelity the graduations of the image. Naturally the equipment to perform this task is more expensive and the resulting file size is correspondingly larger. As a consequence, more space is needed in the computer system to handle and store the image. Depending on scanning options, bit depth can be 24, 30, 36, 48 or even 64.


1.4 Explain the importance of having accurate technical and descriptive metadata

METADATA - a term used for two same but fundamentally different concepts/types. The usual explanation is "data abut data", but this does not apply to both concepts in the same way. In the first instance, structural metadata means the specification of data structures. This cannot be about data because the actual data content is unknown when the data structures are being designed. In this case, the correct description would be "data about the containers of data". Descriptive metadata, on the other hand, is about individual instances of application data, the data content. In this case, a useful description (resulting in a disambiguation neologism) would be "data about data content" or "content about content" thus metacontent. Descriptive, Guide and the National Information Standards Organisation (NISO) concept of administrative metadata are all subtypes of metacontent.

Metadata (metacontent) is defined as data providing information about one or more aspects of the data, such as:
> Means of creation of the data
> Purpose of the data
> Time and date of creation
> Creator or author of data
> Location on a computer network where the data was created
> Standards used
> The song title of a piece of music

> STRUCTURAL METADATA - used to describe the structure of computer systems such as tables, columns and indexes.
> GUIDE METADATA - used to help humans find specific items and is usually expressed as a set of keywords in a natural language.

According to Ralph Kimball, metadata can be divided into two similar categories - Technical Metadata and Business Metadata.
> TECHNICAL METADATA - corresponds to internal metadata, business metadata to external metadata. Kimball adds a third category named Process metadata.

On the other hand, NISO distinguishes between three types of metadata: descriptive, structural and administrative.
> DESCRIPTIVE METADATA - the information used to search and locate an object such as title, author, subjects, keywords, publisher.
> STRUCTURAL METADATA - gives a description of how the components of the object are organised
> ADMINISTRATIVE METADATA - refers to the technical information including the file type. Two sub-types of administrative metadata are rights managements metadata and preservation metadata.


1.5 Identify the relative merits of appropriate equipment, software, methods and material for different imaging requirements

The advantages of having the appropriate equipment, software, methods and material for different imaging requirements is so that you can create the greatest diversity and widest spectrum of high quality photos as quickly and easily as possible. This could mean trading your mouse for a graphics tablet; testing your image on a lower spec computer; acquiring an image of the same subject from a different angle, camera type or weather condition; using more than one program to generate different results, or access tools that your preferred program perhaps doesn't have; or cross-referencing different steps or methodologies in order to discover your preferred work-through.

Sorting through these and selecting a setup can be difficult and/or costly, but in the long run your image editing could prove to be more accurate and refined, and you could evolve your own techniques and methods for getting things done more efficiently, and yielding results which are as good or better than your previous method.


1.6 Explain the reasons for using different file formats for digital images, identifying the differences between them

JPEG
Pros
> 24 bit colour, up to 16 million colours
> Rich colours, great for photographs that need fine attention to colour detail
> Most used and widely accepted image format
> Compatible with most OS (Mac, PC, Linux et al.)
Cons
> Tend to discard a lot of data
> After compression, JPEG tends to create artifacts
> Cannot be animated
> Does not support transparency

GIF
Pros
> Supports transparency
> Can do small animation effects
> "lossless" quality - they contain the same amount of quality as the original, except only has 256 colours
> Great for images with limited colours, or flat regions of colour
Cons
> Only supports 256 colours
> Oldest format in the web, having existed since 1989, and hasn't been updated since, so file size can be quite large

BMP
Pros
> Works well with Windows programs and OS
Cons
> Does not scale or compress well
> Larger image files, so not web-friendly
> No real advantage over other image formats

TIFF
Pros
> Very flexible format, supports several types of compression like JPEG, LZW, ZIP or none at all.
> High quality image format, all colour and data information shared
> TIFF format can now be saved with layers
Cons
> Very large file size - long transfer time, hugh disk space consumption, slow loading time

PNG
Pros
> Lossless, no quality lost after compression
> In lots of ways better than GIF. To start, PNG often creates smaller files than GIF
> Supports transparency better than GIF
Cons
> Not good for large images because they tend to generate a very large file, sometimes creating larger files than JPEG
> Unlike GIF, cannot be animated
> Not all web browsers support PNG



**2) Be able to develop an editing approach to the technical adjustment of images
2.1 Agree with relevant parties the image editing workflow and procedures

TOP POST-PROCESSING STEPS
Each is listed roughly in the order that they should be applied:
1) White Balance - temperature and tint adjustment sliders
2) Exposure - exposure compensation, highlight/shadow recovery
3) Noise Reduction - during RAW development or using external software
4) Lens Corrections - distortion, vignetting, chromatic abberations
5) Detail - capture sharpening and local contrast enhancement
6) Contrast - black point, levels and curves tools
7) Framing - straighten and crop
8) Refinements - colour adjustments and selective enhancements
9) Resizing - enlarge for a print or downsize for the web or e-mail
10) Output Sharpening - customised for your subject matter and print/screen size

The above steps are virtually universal, so most photo editing software should work. If you've captured your images using the RAW file format (highly recommended), then the order of the above steps isn't as important, since they'll be intelligently applied when you develop using your RAW software. Otherwise it's critical that you follow the above sequence - especially with steps involving sharpening, resizing and noise reduction. Be careful though, extreme edits can easily cause image posterisation with JPEG files.

1) WHITE BALANCE
Simply getting the white balance right can often make the single biggest improvement in your photo's colours. An incorrect white balance will give your image a colour cast, and can dramatically reduce both contrast and colour saturation.
> Controls. First adjust the "temperature" slider, then refine using the "tint" slider. The former controls the relative warmth of the image, whereas the latter controls the magenta-green shift.
> Problem Scenes. Paradoxically, cameras typically make the biggest white balance mistakes with scenes that are the most dramatically lit (and often could have benefited the most). Pay extra attention to white balance when shooting sunsets, indoor lighting and low-light photos, etc.
> Other Tools. If there's an object somewhere in the image which ought to be neutral gray, you can also use a "white point dropper" (or similarly named tool) to automatically set the white balance so that this object's colour cast is subtracted from the entire image.

2) EXPOSURE: COMPENSATION & RECOVERY
This step presumes that you've done everything possible to get an accurate exposure at the time of capture. However, this isn't always possible (or practical). Fortunately, exposure can be fine-tuned by using the "exposure compensation" adjustment tool. Some general tips include:
> Image Histogram. Use this as an objective guide.
> Viewing. View the photo at a small size on-screen to make it easier to judge exposure. Also keep in mind that exposure isn't something that necessarily has a "right" answer; it often also depends on your artistic intent and just "looks right".
> Extreme Tones. Pay careful attention to whether there are any blown highlights or lost shadow detail. If your software supports it, you might be able to recover these by using the "fill light," "recovery," or "black point" tools.
> Limitations. Avoid excessive compensation; if you increase exposure too much, noise will become visibly worse in the shadows, whereas decreasing it too much will make blown highlights more apparent. In either case, this probably means that your original exposure was way off, and you're likely better off working on a different photo.

3) NOISE REDUCTION
If your image was taken at a high ISO speed, it will likely benefit from noise reduction:
> Order. Noise reduction is most effective when applied before any other image editing (with the  exception of steps 1 & 2 above: exposure compensation and white balance).
> Types. Image noise has many types; some are easily removed while others aren't. fortunately, noise from a high ISO speed is the type that is most easily addressed.
> Limitations. Aim for noise reduction as opposed to complete removal, since the latter can make objects appear unnaturally smooth. some noise is OK and even expected.
> Dedicated Software. For problematic images, it is worth experimenting with dedicated noise reduction software such as Neat Image, Noise Ninja, Grain Surgery, or others.
> Sharpening. Noise reduction often goes hand in hand with sharpening, so this step may need to be applied in conjunction with step 4 (depending on your software). This is because they can offset each other: sharpening increases noise, but noise reduction often decreases sharpness.

4) LENS CORRECTIONS
The three most problematic (but correctable) lens imperfections include:
> Vignetting - the most prevalent when you're using low f-stops, although some lenses are also more susceptible to this than others. A little vignetting is often beneficial, since this can draw attention to the image's centre and make the frame's edges less abrupt. Also be aware that correcting for vignetting increases image noise near the corners. However, if your vignetting is actually due to physical blockage (such as a lens hood or filter), then this unfortunately cannot be corrected.
> Distortion - most prevalent when you're using wide angle or telephoto lenses (or are using a zoom lens at either extreme). Don't try to fix this unless it's clearly visible, since doing so can slightly reduce corner resolution and alter your composition. Distortion is often acceptable with landscapes, but not in all architectural photos.
> Chromatic Aberration - most apparent at low f-stops, near the corners of your image and in regions with high contrast detail. When correcting for CA, use a high contrast edge near the image's extreme corner as a guide. However, be aware that not all types of CA can be easily removed. If the CA doesn't appear to be helped using standard tools, you might also want to try other settings. For example, Lightroom and Adobe Camera RAW have a "fringing" tool which can reduce the more persistent types of CA (but potentially at risk of reducing detail)

5) DETAIL: SHARPENING, CLARITY & LOCAL CONTRAST
The aim of this step is to offset any inherent softening caused by your camera's sensor and lens ("capture sharpening"). It's also important that it be applied conservatively since you'll also be applying "output sharpening" in a later step. Sharpening should be performed with care because it can exacerbate other image quality issues (such as noise, chromatic aberrations etc.). However, when doen right, it can make a tremendous difference in the perceived quality of your photo.

6) CONTRAST: LEVELS & CURVES TOOLS
Images taken into the sun or near a bright indoor light source often suffer from low contrast (since these are leading causes of lens flare). Improving contrast often gives the long sought after "pop" or 3D look to your images.
> Too much contrast can make your object look unrealistic if this was actually a trait of your scene (such as photos in the fog or haze).
> Higher contrast can also make colours appear more saturated.

7) FRAMING: ROTATE & CROP
The vast majority of snapshots can be dramatically enhanced simply by cropping them to strengthen their composition. You may also want to crop your image so that it exactly matches a given print size (such as 8x10 inches). The aspect ration of your crop can often be specified within your photo editing software - making this process much easier.

8) REFINEMENTS - COLOURS & SELECTIVE ENHANCEMENTS
This is really a catch-all category, but typical adjustments might include:
> Colours - saturation, vibrance and other colour adjustments. However, these are often overdone, and frequently aren't necessary if white balance, exposure and contrast have all been properly set.
> Selective Enhancements - spot removal of dust/blemishes, creative sharpening (such as at the eyes of someone in a portrait) and selective noise reduction (in otherwise smooth areas such as the sky or skin). Important tools include: the healing brush, the clone tool, layer masks and adjustment brushes. Consult your software's help file or manual to browse what options are available.
Once these have been applied, make sure to save a copy of your image, since all subsequent editing steps only depend on how and whether you intend to share this photo. This way, you don't have to redo everything each time you plan on using your image for something else. Regardless, at this stage the image should now appear finished when viewed on your screen.

9) RESIZING: UPSIZE FOR PRINT, DOWNSIZE FOR WEB
Whenever you alter the display size of your image, you need to resize the file (using a process called "digital image interpolation"). The resize strategy can be quite different, depending on whether you want to make it larger or smaller.
          When enlarging your image for a print:
> Always try to perform enlargements yourself instead of having this done by the printer (otherwise it's easy to accidentally create prints which appear digital/pixelated).
> If you see haloes around sharp edges, then your earlier capture sharpening may have been applied too aggressively (or with too high a radius value)
          When downsizing your image for the web or e-mail display:
> Avoid introducing non-image patterns.
Either way, what's often even more important than how you resize is that you make sure to follow this up with output sharpening (in the next step).

10) OUTPUT SHARPENING
Output sharpening is generally the very last image editing step applied to an image. Its settings are therefore customised for a particular output device, which may include special considerations based on the size, type and viewing distance of a print. Output sharpening can also offset any softening caused by resizing an image for the web or e-mail.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
> Backups. Once you're done, it's a good idea to make sure that you're properly archiving your digital photos using backup files. It would be a shame to lose all of this hard work spent in photo editing (and in the original photo capture).
> Monitor Calibration. The time spent photo editing is only beneficial if what you see on your screen is accurate. This is absolutely critical.


2.2 Select the most suitable hardware and software for image editing

SOFTWARE - There are numerous different pieces of software you can use for image editing, such as Adobe PhotoShop, Paint Shop Pro and GIMP.

The most appropriate and suitable would be Adobe PhotoShop, because people tend to get hired for PhotoShop experience, not Paint Shop Pro or GIMP. Photoshop has become the industry standard, and has a very high ceiling (the more functions, features, blending options and basic functionality, the better). PhotoShop hasa wider range of application purposes, capable of producing a broader spectrum of jobs than Paint Shop Pro, but is more expensive.

Paint Shop Pro is less of a professional tool and more geared towards ease-of-use in comparison to PhotoShop, isn't as complex, and you'll be producing things quicker, which is why amateurs like it more, but as it sits, PhotoShop has the upper hand in the professional market, offering more to the user and a higher ceiling than Paint Shop Pro.

HARDWARE - The system requirements for PhotoShop CS5 and Paint Shop Pro are:
> PhotoShop CS5
          Windows
- Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 processor
- Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 3; Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (Service Pack 2 recommended); or Windows 7
- 1GB RAM
- 1GB available hard-disk drive (HDD) space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash storage devices)
- 1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with qualified hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics card, 16-bit colour, and 256MB of VRAM
- Some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0
- DVD-ROM drive
- QuickTime 7.6.2 software required for multimedia features
- Broadband Internet connection required for online services and to validate Subscription Edition (if applicable) on an ongoing basis
          Mac OS
- Multicore Intel processor
- Mac OS X v10.5.8 or v10.6
- 1GB RAM
- 2GB available hard-disk drive (HDD) space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)
- 1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with qualified hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics card, 16-bit colour, and 256MB of VRAM
- Some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0
- DVD-ROM drive
- QuickTime 7.6.2 software required for multimedia features
- Broadband Internet connection required for online services and to validate Subscription Edition (if applicable) on an ongoing basis

Pros:
- Industry standard for professional photo editing, graphic design and digital imaging
- Offers ultimate flexibility and more non-destructive editing features with every version
- PhotoShop CS5 includes many new innovative features and dozens of user-inspired enhancements
- Since CS4, PhotoShop takes advantage of the graphics card's GPU for improved performance
- Supports unlimited RAM and 64-bit processing under Windows and Mac 64-bit systems

Cons:
- Steep learning curve
- Price may be prohibitive for some
- Buyers must choose between giving up features or paying more for the costly Extended version
- Some legacy plug-ins and features have been removed, or require manual installation
- GPU and OpenGL features increase the hardware graphics card requirements

> Paint Shop Pro X4
- Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, Xp with latest service packs
- 1.5gHz processor
- 1GB RAM
- 1GB free hard drive space
- 1024x768 16-bit display
- Windows compatible CD-ROM drive for installation
- Internet connection required to post photos online and download program updates

Pros:
- Excellent value for money
- Dual monitor support
- Easy to use
- Quick to install
- Advanced controls
- Lots of features: HDR, Merge
- Purple fringing fix

Cons:
- Some of the effects/filters are quite slow
- Not the fastest dealing with RAW files
- Digital Noise Removal is slow
- Not supported on Mac OS

Selection: PhotoShop CS5

2.3 Retrieve all relevant material from image sources as required

Google Images search for "Lake Victoria". Highlighted one caught my eye.

Larger version of the selected image

Saving full sized image

Rename file, and select destination folder

Image in destination folder

2.4 Import retrieved images into the editing software

Selecting to open an existing file from the computer in PhotoShop

Selecting file I wish to open in PhotoShop

Image open in PhotoShop

2.5 Check the visual and technical compatibility of the elements to be combined in the editing process

In this example, I combine the image with itself in order to correct problems (as seen later on), and the image is saved in the JPEG (.jpg) file format, so retains a high amount of colour detail and is the universally compatible image format, so can be viewed easily on a Mac OS and on Adobe PhotoShop.


2.6 Identify how to treat incompatible elements, following workplace procedures and relevant guidelines

An incompatible element would be an image that can't be see or read properly by a certain operating system (OS) or program. For instance, a bitmap (.bmp) image that has been resized would be incompatible with a JPEG (.jpg) image because of the fact that it loses quality when resized, and doesn't retain the same amount of detail that a JPEG (.jpg) does. This could be solved by re-downloading the image, importing it into PhotoShop and simply saving the un-edited image as a different file type (as a .jpg or .png file).


3.1 Produce appropriate edited images to meet all the clients requirements and workplace standards

Original Image

Edited image

3.2 Liase with colleagues and/or clients as necessary to resolve any identified problems
3.3 Carry out any further editing to produce final image files

 > Shoreline features too similar (outcrops seem to repeat themselves). Need to even them out to make them look more random and natural - Jamie Miller

Image after acting on feedback

> Sky has lost blueness, mountains a bit misshapen - Martin Anderson

Sky colour couldn't be recovered, but I managed to restore the mountains

> Play with the curves option on PhotoShop to try to regain colour of the sky - Ben Segni

Sky colour has been restored as best as I was able

 > Sky looks a lot better, more defined than before - Martin Anderson

FINAL IMAGE

Final image in folder

Final image

3.3 Append image metadata in accordance with workplace systems and copyright legislation
3.4 Save the edited image files in the correct file format ready for outputting or storage

Original image file size (.jpg format) = 84 KB (84 kilobytes)
Original image file size (.png format) = 550 KB (550 kilobytes)

JPEG file size

PNG file size

Best file size to use for file storage = JPEG

Final image file size (.jpg) = 180 KB (180 kilobytes)
Final image file size (.png) = 321 KB (321 kilobytes)


5.1 Identify key aspects of legislation relevant to technical adjustments of images

Copyright is the first and foremost legislation that comes into the equation, and is the one that the majority of people think of when queried about it. Basically, images restricted by copyright can have several bullet points stating that certain parts of the image need to stay the same if editing is taking place (such as the size or notable feature), and if an image is protected by copyright, you will usually need the owner's express permission that you can use the image before you even download the image, especially if you plan on using it commercially or on a product that will be mass produced and made available to the general public, be it box art, a magazine or a pamphlet.


5.2 Identify relevant aspects of health and safety legislation

EMPLOYER'S DUTIES
Employers are obliged to provide:
> Arrangements to ensuring safe use of, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances
> Safe equipment
> Safe work environment
> Safe entry and exit routes

EMPLOYEE'S DUTIES
Employees are obliged to:
> Take reasonable care of his or her own safety
> Take reasonable care for the health and safety of other people who may be affected by his or her actions
> Co-operate with his or her employer or any other person who may be affected by his or her actions

IF THERE ARE MORE THAN 5 EMPLOYEES:
The employer must prepare a written document stating company Health and Safety policy, and circulate it to all employees. The document must provide information on:
> Control measures - their purpose and how to use them
> Emergency procedures
> How to use personal protective equipment and clothing provided
> Results of any exposure monitoring health surveillance (without disclosing names)


5.3 Take appropriate action to minimise potential risks and hazards

In my workplace, my colleagues and I collectively take steps to minimise the risk of potential accidents in the workplace by making sure the floor is clear around the desks to give ample space for walking; making sure no paper, or any other material we can slip on, is present on the floor; making sure all cables are restricted to the space between the rows of desks we have, leaving them away from allocated walking areas; our chairs and screens are adjusted accordingly so that we do not strain our eyes, or suffer from any back injuries from a bad seating position.


5.4 Identify aspects of codes of ethics/conduct relevant to technical adjustments of images

Some ethical theories have been applied to image manipulation. During a panel on the topic of ethics in image manipulation, Aude Oliva theorised that categorical shifts are necessary in order for an edited image to be viewed as a manipulation.

In the United States, for example, the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) have set out a Code of Ethics promoting the accuracy of published images, advising that photographers "do not manipulate images that can mislead viewers of misrepresent subjects." Infringements of the Code are taken very seriously, especially regarding digital alteration of published photographs, as evidenced by a case in which Pulitzer prize-nominated photographer Allan Detrich resigned his post following the revelation that a number of his photographs had been manipulated.


5.5 Recognise any potential legal issues arising from the nature of the images to be produced

Using an image or other graphic that you have acquired, for use in an image that will be published and used commercially, without the express permission of the original owners of the image, you could get prosecuted for copyright infringement, as you have used their intellectual property without their beforehand knowledge.


5.6 Attribute intellectual property and copyright credits in accordance with copyright legislation

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognised under the corresponding fields of law. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols and designs. Common types of intellectual property rights include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets in some jurisdictions.

COPYRIGHT - Copyright applies to work that is recorded in some way: rights exist in terms such as literary, artistic, musical and dramatic work as well as films, sound recordings and typographical arrangements. It gives the author specific rights in relation to the work, prohibits unauthorised actions, and allows the author to take legal action against instances of infringement or plagiarism. Copyright is an automatic international right, and excepting specific considerations for US citizens, a single registration with the UK Copyright Service will provide the evidence to help prove and protect your rights at a worldwide level.

Copyright protects written, theatrical, musical and artistic works as well as film, book layouts, sound recordings and broadcasts. Copyright is an automatic right, which means you don't have to apply for it. Copyright works are protected across most mediums - so if they're protected in one, they're probably protected in others. It may then be copyright infringement if you create a painting from someone else's photograph or make a sound recording of someone else's book without their permission.

Unit 07 - Creative Industry Awareness

1.1 Identify the industries within the Creative Media sector

The UK Government Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) definition recognises twelve (12) creative sectors, down from fourteen (14) in their 2001 document. They are:
> Advertising
> Architecture
> Arts and antique markets
> Crafts
> Design
> Designer Fashion
> Film, video and photography
> Software, computer games and electronic publishing
> Music and the visual and performing arts
> Publishing
> Television
> Radio


1.2 Identify cross-industry ownership in the Creative Media sector

CROSS-INDUSTRY OWNERSHIP - the term for one company owning sister companies within different media branches.

Good examples of this are the BBC and Virgin.

The BBC were originally just television channels (BBC1 and BBC2), broadcasting entertainment and news across both their channels, but has since expanded into over 10 channels (BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, BBC News 24, Parliament, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC Alba and BBC America to name a few), a publishing company for magazines and a worldwide television broadcast empire, BBC Worldwide LTD, as well as BBC radio stations and iPlayer. The BBC business monopoly spans Television, Radio, Publishing, and Software, computer games and electronic publishing (with the releases of numerous Doctor Who games across several platforms).

Virgin, and its creator Richard Branson, has managed to break into an array of different markets with the Virgin brand, and is perhaps one of the best examples of cross-industry ownership, due to the immediate differences between each of the brand labels Virgin has acquired over the years; including Virgin Music, Trains, Broadband, Phone, TV, Airways, Galactic, Money, Mobile and Holiday Cruises. It is doubtless that Virgin spans a plethora of markets and certainly has its fingers in a lot of pies on many different stands at the bake sale.


1.3 Identify the relevant relationships between a range of industries within the Creative Media sector

Most industries in the world often interact with others in order to create a more powerful effect on their target audience and the general public.

This would be, for example, one company hiring an advertising firm to promote them and help them to sell their product. While this is going on, the advertising firm may be establishing connections with a video production company to create a viral video or online advertisement to help spread the word of the product via the internet as well as through the traditional poster/magazine advertising and selling the product to retailers.

Whilst the video may be in the first stages of production, the advertising firm may hire a "behind the scenes" photographer to help market the product a bit more, showing the viewer what happens on the other side of the screen; and alongside all this, the original company or advertising firm may suggest that special graphics are needed in the video, and pitch this to the video production company, who would subsequently contact graphics design companies who acts accordingly.

This creates a web of different companies working together on the same project, and the different sectors of the industry (in this case, publishing, advertising, design, film, video and photography).


2.1 Outline the stages of a specific Creative Media project life cycle

In the Creative Media sector, there are four stages in the project life cycle:
> BIRTH (INITIATION) PHASE - Everything is defined and the first ideas for the project emerge.
> PLANNING PHASE - The project is now planned out in more detail, and is given a bit more flesh and content, and is split up into different tasks and sub-tasks, with resources allocated to each, and an estimated completion time is established.
> EXECUTION & CONTROLLING PHASE - The project is carried out, and all the relevant tasks are performed by the assigned people, and the deadline worked towards. This is perhaps the most important phase of the lot, being the phase in which the project tasks are performed, and in which quality and standards must be maintained in order to meet the client's needs.
> EXIT (CLOSURE) PHASE - The project is completed, and the participants are debriefed, and the project manager ensures that the project is completed.


2.2 Identify teams and activities relevant to a specific project

Every project requires different teams of people, each assigned to a different task. For instance, those working on a film would have the audio team, the lighting team, the special effects team, the make up team etc.; whereas those working on a video game would have the storyboard team, the animation team, the concept artists, voice actors etc.; so the teams vary from project to project as necessary, each working on their own section or task.


3.1 Outline the aims of a specific Creative Media organisation

Different Creative Media organisations will have different goals and different projects. For instance, a television company will have different aims to a publishing firm, but ultimately their goal will be to produce something to please the client and complete the project in a reasonable period of time in order to generate a profit.

The aims and objectives of companies in any scenario can be brought under four generic categories:
> REPUTATIONAL - most companies want to ensure they have a good reputation amongst the public, their target audience and their competitors. This includes advertising and publicising the company, in particular younger businesses, and those with fewer in their employ.
> ADVERTISING - a more exact way of demonstrating a business's reputation, and is a way to spread the company's brand and get it out in the public consciousness, in order to get some attention from a target audience the company maybe hasn't tried to tap before.
> PROFIT - the main goal of a business: to make money. Without earning capital and generating a decent income in order to pay taxes, bills and purchase new resources in order to continue to manufacture and research new products and maintain a steady profit:expense ratio.
> FUTURE - future aims and objectives are similar in purpose to short- and long-term plans (usually 1-5 years). Company officials will discuss the best course of action for their short- and long-term goals for the business, in which direction they are headed as a corporation, and which way is the best to influence the course of the company in order to generate the best result.


3.2 Identify the role of a specific team within the organisation

An organisation can be broken down into several different departments, each with a different role to play and a function to perform. For instance, there would be a financial department, an administration department, a PR department, an HR department, Research and Development (R&D) et al.

The role of an individual department can vary slightly from company to company, but are fundamentally the same. For instance, the Finance department would be responsible for tracking the company's income, expenses, allocating budgets to other departments for resources they want/need, liaising with suppliers and writing up invoices for clients, customers and/or retailers; whereas the R&D department would be looking into developing a new scope for business, and looking across the market for a gap that could be exploited, and comparing the product in development to existing models from competing companies, as well as any similar products in order to determine important defining factors such as price, size/scale, target audiences, ease of use, advertising methods, name and features.

The R&D department would also seek what customers want in the product, so may compile a questionnaire/survey (which would be conducted via the internet, face-to-face interaction, over the phone etc.) in order to gather information relevant to the product, and find out how to improve it by adding or removing features the consumers like/dislike respectively.


3.3 Outline the relationship between the specific team and others within the organisation

A specific team will have a tighter and better relationship with each other, as they are interacting with each other more and constantly assessing each others' strengths and weaknesses in order to maximise efficiency; whereas the relationship between team members and others within the organisation can easily vary from person-to-person, as one team member may have a friend in a different department, and may know other people from previous jobs, school, tasks or from out-of-work activities (such as the gym or sporting clubs), and as such, there could be people without the team who gets on with team members A, B and C, but doesn't get along with D or E.


4.1 Identify the individual roles within a specific team
4.2 Outline their responsibilities within a specific project life cycle

A team will have numerous roles and responsibilities within that team, each person assigned to a specific task, usually playing to their stronger skills, and if need be, sub-teams are allocated. The roles usually vary from industry to industry, but there are a couple which apply across the board:
> Project Manager - the leader of the team, the project manager is in charge of overseeing the project and quality controlling as the project advances. The project manager dictates which tasks are done in the project, who performs them and in what order they are done.
> Salesperson - the person who pitches the product or product idea to clients or to their superiors within the organisation.
> Researcher - researches the current market for the product the team is developing and designing. This includes looking for gaps in the market, researching similar products, price-checking, looking into the competition and finding out how best to improve the product.
> Financier - deals with the budget and dealing with suppliers and retailers, dealing with expenses and profits, and how much capital is allocated where.

Unit 06 – Ensure Your Own Actions Reduce Risks to Health & Safety

1) Understand hazards and risks in the workplace
1.1 Outline Key hazards and risks in own workplace, describing safe working practices

> SLIPS - slipping on water spilt on a tiled floor or slipping on a highly polished surface.
> TRIPS - tripping over something left on the floor such as a box or a stray cable; tripping over loose matting or carpet tiles, or raised surfaces that you can't see.
> FALLS - falling down steps or stairs; falling off stepladders or chairs.
> LIFTING & CARRYING - referred to as "manual handling", you can injure yourself if you life and  carry anything incorrectly. whether it be a box of envelopes or apples or a tray of bricks.
> FIRE - fire is a major hazard in any workplace and may be caused in a variety of ways: waste paper and smoker's materials; faulty wiring or other electrical faults; equipment overheating; chemical reactions; and arson: the deliberate act of setting fire to something.
> CHEMICALS - there are all sorts of chemicals in workplaces which may cause harm from the liquid soap in the washroom causing skin irritation, to the chemicals used to run photocopiers and printers, to the more dangerous acids used in the industry.
> RSI - repetitive strain injury is the name usually given to pains in the hands and arm from repeated use while carrying out work activities (e.g. typing and word processing).
> CTS - carpel tunnel syndrome is an entrapment median neuropathy, causing parasthesia, pain, numbness and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpel tunnel. The National Centre for Bistechnology Information and highly cited older literature say the most common cause of CTS is typing. More recent research by Lozano-Calderon has cited genetics as larger factor than use, and has encouraged caution in ascribing causality.
> HUMAN BEHAVIOUR - human behaviour can also be a hazard when workers act in such a way that they cause harm, whether intentional or unintentional, to their colleagues (for example, shoving someone down steps or stairs, or pushing them into another worker as a joke).


1.2 Outline key hazards and risks within your job role, describing precautions

> TRIPS - tripping over something left on the floor such as a box or a stray cable; tripping over loose matting or carpet tiles, or raised surfaces that you can't see.
> RSI - repetitive strain injury is the name usually given to pains in the hands and arm from repeated use while carrying out work activities (e.g. typing and word processing).
> FIRE - fire is a major hazard in any workplace and may be caused in a variety of ways: waste paper and smoker's materials; faulty wiring or other electrical faults; equipment overheating; chemical reactions; and arson: the deliberate act of setting fire to something.
> CTS - carpel tunnel syndrome is an entrapment median neuropathy, causing parasthesia, pain, numbness and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpel tunnel. The National Centre for Bistechnology Information and highly cited older literature say the most common cause of CTS is typing. More recent research by Lozano-Calderon has cited genetics as larger factor than use, and has encouraged caution in ascribing causality.
> HUMAN BEHAVIOUR - human behaviour can also be a hazard when workers act in such a way that they cause harm, whether intentional or unintentional, to their colleagues (for example, shoving someone down steps or stairs, or pushing them into another worker as a joke).



2) Understand own responsibilities for health and safety in the workplace
2.1 Identify own responsibilities for health and safety in own workplace and job role under health and safety regulations, explaining the importance of personal presentation and behaviour

EMPLOYER'S DUTIES - It is the employer's duty to provide:
> Safe entry and exit routes
> Adequate welfare facilities
> Safe equipment
> Arrangements for ensuring safe use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances
> Information on health and safety, instruction, training and supervision
> Investigation of any accidents

EMPLOYEE'S DUTIES - It is the employees' duty to:
> Take reasonable care of his/her own safety
> Take reasonable care for the health and safety of other people who may be affected by his/her actions
> Co-operate with his/her employer or any other person who may be affected by his/her actions

IF THERE ARE MORE THAN 5 EMPLOYEES - The employer must prepare a written document stating company health and safety policy, and circulate it to all employees. The document must provide information on:
> Control measures - their purpose and how to use them
> Emergency procedures
> How to use personal protective equipment and clothing provided
> Results of any exposure monitoring health surveillance



3) Be able to evaluate hazards and risks in the workplace
3.1 Identify workplace instructions relevant to own job

IF YOU DISCOVER A FIRE
1) Immediately operate nearest fire alarm call point
2) Attack the fire if possible with appliances provided, but without taking personal risk.
ON HEARING THE ALARM OF FIRE
3) A responsible person will call fire brigade immediately
4) Leave building and report to person in charge of assembly point at St John's Churchyard, Westgate Road
5) Fire precautions officer or his deputy on the affected floor or department will take charge of any evacuation and ensure that no one is left in his area.
          Use nearest available exit
          Do not use lifts
          Do not stop to collect personal belongings
          Do not re-enter building

3.2 Identify any unsafe practices in own workplace and job role
Typing, because it can be a chief cause of CTS

> CTS - carpel tunnel syndrome is an entrapment median neuropathy, causing parasthesia, pain, numbness and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpel tunnel. The National Centre for Bistechnology Information and highly cited older literature say the most common cause of CTS is typing. More recent research by Lozano-Calderon has cited genetics as larger factor than use, and has encouraged caution in ascribing causality.

Unit 05 – Contribute to Good Working Relationships

2) Understand how to communicate effectively with colleagues
2.1 Explain the importance of balancing the needs of tasks and people

Getting work done with other people is tricky. It's tricky because it forces us to strike a subtle balance between our tasks and our relationships. Engagement is what brings tasks and relationships together.

Engagement is the process of building relationships with people and putting those relationships to work to accomplish some goal. Relationships that are disconnected from tasks are not engagement, but they're still important.

Friends can have wonderful relationships based purely on being there for one another without a care in the world for accomplishing tasks or getting work done together. These relationships are part of what makes us human; they're essential to our happiness, but they are not engagement because they're not about connecting relationships in order to accomplish some form of work.

Tasks that are disconnected from relationships are not engagement, they're transactions, and transactions are important too. Sometimes we don't want a relationship; we just need to get something done. I don't need a relationship with a guy who tears my ticket on my way into a movie, or when I'm asking directions to the park where my son's football game is starting in 3 minutes.

These transactions are not engagement because there's no real relationship there. You know pretty quickly when you're working with someone who's all tasks and no relationship. These no-nonsense individuals see connections with people as just a means of getting things done. With them, it's nothing personal - just business.

People who are all relationship and no task often struggle when it comes to working with others to get things done in pursuit of some goal. For these people, it's not so much an issue of avoiding difficult work, it's more that they're hesitant to strain their relationships by asking them to take on difficult tasks.

Organisations can be just like people, skewing one way or another in emphasising relationships and tasks. Organisations that are "all relationship" invest lots of resources in building relationships that never convert into real world input. Organisations that are "all task" chronically under-invest in relationships in ways that undermine their ability to fully tap people outside of their staff (in fact, they often can't even fully tap their own staff for many of the same reasons).

The art of engagement centres on knowing when to invest in relationship building and when to tap relationships to get work done.

Engagement is about bringing task and relationship together to create something bigger and more powerful. The more devious aspect of task/relationship synergy is how deepening my relationship with someone enables me to ask them to take on more and more difficult or risky tasks.


2.2 Explain the importance of sharing information with colleagues

INFORMATION SHARING is one of those rare technology terms that actually sounds like what it means. Information sharing is the process of exchanging data amongst various computer networks, usually operated by separate organisations. Sounds like what happened when the first computer network was invented decades ago; but the phrase has evolved to a broader, more complex, and at times, cultural meaning.

In the case of federal government, it's loaded with plenty of the first concept (information) and the latter (sharing). Whilst the idea of information sharing has been around for years, the federal government didn't really begin to consider it as a wholly separate business process worthy of being pursued as a manageable goal until the late 1990s. That's when managers started to focus on just how vulnerable federal computer networks were, which presented an obstacle to consolidating systems and sharing information to create efficiencies.

WHY SHOULD I CARE? Information sharing moved to the top of the management agenda for many agencies after September 11th 2001. The 9/11 commission, which congress formed to find the causes of the terrorist attacks and to provide recommendations to prevent future assaults, concluding in its reports, released in July 2004, that a failure to share intelligence information was one of the leading causes of the United States' inability to stop the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, an the loss of United Flight 93.

Sharing knowledge with colleagues allows for sharing others' ideas and experiences. This will provide you with additional tools to provide solutions to your questions. Certain nutrients added to the soil can provide for a healthier plant, so if an employee at a garden centre discovers this, he/she can share their find with their co-workers in their own garden centre, as well as garden centres across the country.


2.5 Describe how to resolve conflict situations or dissatisfaction

1) REALIZE THAT CONFLICTS ARE INEVITABLE - Whenever people are engaged, committed and fired up, conflict and disagreement are bound to happen. This doesn't mean you have to revel in conflict or create trouble just for the hell of it, but it does mean that when conflict happens, it's not the end of the world, but can be the beginning of an interesting learning process. The very best workplaces are not those without conflict, but those who handle conflicts constructively.

2) HANDLE CONFLICT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER - Do it now! It's very tempting to wait for a conflict to blow over by itself, but it rarely does - in most cases it gets worse over time. 90% of conflicts at work do not come from something that was said, but from something that wasn't said. It's tempting to try and smooth things over and pretend everything is normal. Don't. That's the most common reason why conflicts at work escalate. Nobody does anything. It may be unpleasant to tackle the issue here and now, but it gets even more unpleasant after the conflict has stewed for a while.

3) ASK! - In the early stages of a conflict, the most powerful tool to resolve it is simple: ask! If someone has done something that made you angry, if you don't understand their viewpoint, if you don't understand their actions - ask! do it nicely. "Say, I was wondering why you did x yesterday" or "I've noticed you often do y. Why is that?" are good examples. "Why the hell do you always have to do z?!" is a less constructive way to ask. Sometimes, there's a perfectly good reason why that person does what they do, ad potential conflict evaporates there and then.

4) GIRAFFE LANGUAGE - For more entrenched conflicts that have been going on a while, use giraffe language. It's the best tool around for constructively conveying criticism and solving conflict. There's an invitation and six steps to it. Invite the other person to talk about the situation. Select an undisturbed location, as a hurried conversation at your desk between e-mails and phone calls won't solve anything.
> Observation. Identify what you see in neutral, objective terms. Describe the facts of the situation as objectively as possible. What is happening? When and how is it happening? What are they doing? What are you doing? Do not assume or guess. You can say "I've noticed you're always criticising me at meetings," because that's fact. You can't say "I've noticed you've stopped respecting my ideas," because that's an assumption.
> Apologize. If you're totally 100% and utterly without fault in the conflict, skip this step. That doesn't happen too often. Don't accept the entire blame, just accept responsibility for your contribution to the situation.
> Appreciate. Praise the other party. Tell them why it's worth it to you to solve the conflict. This can be difficult. Few people find it easy to praise and appreciate a person they seemingly disagree with, but it's a great way to move forwards.
> Consequences. What has the conflict led to for you and the company? Why is it a problem? Outline the consequences of the conflict to show why it is necessary to resolve it.
> Objective. What would be a good outcome? Set a goal for both parties.
> Request. Ask for specific actions that can be implemented immediately.

Standard giraffe language has four steps and is formatted slightly differently. This is a business world adaptation.

5) GET MEDIATION - Some conflicts are so entrenched, they cannot be solved by participants alone; outside help is needed in the form of conflict mediation. This involves finding a third party trusted by the people in the conflict; and trusting that person to help find a solution. The mediator can be a manager, HR employee, business coach, a co-worker etc. You can still speed up the mediation process by preparing for it by using Giraffe Language.

Unit 04 - Professional Behaviour in the Creative Media Sector

1) Understand the appropriate conduct for particular Creative Media workplace
1.1 Describe and compare the cultures of different Creative Media workplaces

Wherever you work, your new environment will always be different to your last one. Some company environments vary because of their size. Some are large, more populated companies, and others are smaller and more independent. Some placements have a strict dress code, others are more relaxed; some companies are lax on swearing, others hold up a big "no-no" flag to swearing. Some companies have employees working by themselves on a regular basis, some have them working together in pairs or teams more frequently. Generally the smaller the company, the more relaxed atmosphere it seems to be.


1.2 Describe examples of challenging behaviours and issues in the workplace

CHALLENGING BEHAVIOUR - used as a way to label the behaviours as challenging, rather than label the person as the problem.

In a healthcare facility, difficult or challenging behaviours can include:
> Aggression, with or without threats
> Screaming and/or calling out constantly
> Confusion or other cognitive impairment
> Suspiciousness, accusations
> Noisiness
> Sleep disturbance
> Manipulation
> Hiding and losing items
> Wandering
> Anxiety
> Intoxication
> Withdrawal, apathy
> Intrusive behaviour
> Incontinence
> Confabulation - verbalisations about people, places and events with no basis in reality
> Disinhibition - inability to suppress impulsive behaviour and emotions
> Verbal offensiveness
> Self-destructive or suicidal acts
> Clinging
> Refusing assistance
> Rocking
> Spitting
> Clamping mouth shut


1.3 Explain the role of the key people to inform in relation to those examples

Before Worksafe ACT becomes involved in the issue, try resolving the issue "in house", if you haven't already done so.

This might include:
> Direct negotiation with management
> Negotiation with management through union representatives or your Health & Safety representative
> Reporting a complaint to your local Work Safety Committee

You can contact Worksafe ACT if none of these courses of action are appropriate or successful. For action to be taken it will be necessary for sufficient information to be provided to enable Worksafe ACT to:
> Identify the issue as one within their jurisdiction. Where it is identified that another agency has jurisdiction over the issue, we may advise you to refer it to them.
> Find the address of the workplace and the location within that workplace which is the subject matter of the issue
> Identify the name and address of the organisation or individual in control of the workplace

Inspectors will not reveal the source of the information if you wish to remain anonymous. However, if you wish to remain anonymous, it is not possible for an inspector to seek further information from you or provide feedback on the outcome of any investigation. Remaining anonymous may also limit Worksafe ACT's capacity to deal with the matter effectively.


1.4 Explain the impact of different behaviours and conduct in the workplace

Bullying and harassment in the workplace exposes organisations to two significant risks:

> LEGAL - through employment law, personal injury claims and anti-discrimination legislation relating to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and disability.
> PERFORMANCE - morale and performance drop when employees feel intimidated by their colleagues or by their managers.



2) Know how to plan and manage workload
2.1 Describe effective time management skills needed to plan workload

10) SET PRIORITIES - Focussing on priorities is a big part of good time management. First you need to define what those priorities are. Start with the big picture: Where do you want to go in your life and career? Also consider values. Next, think about what you can do this month, this week, even as soon as tomorrow, to make progress towards these goals.
9) JUST SAY NO - The reason to set priorities is that you can't do everything. That's why good time management also involves deciding what not to do. Too often, we obsess over how to fit every task and project into our schedule, when we would benefit by simply dropping unnecessary duties.
8) DON'T AGONIZE, ORGANISE - The first step in getting organised is to write down the things you need to do. This is an ongoing process and a key to effective time management. The goal is to get it off your mind but make sure you deal with it. Use what works.
7) BREAK IT DOWN - Breaking large projects and unpleasant tasks into smaller action-items can be a great stress-reliever. It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you have six major commitments looming. Your goal should be to take each project and divide it into manageable components. Then pick out the ones you can do today - and actually do them!
6) BLOCK THAT TIME - You've set priorities, broken your project down into tasks, now what? Set aside time to do it. Too often, we put an item on our to-do list, fail to get around to it and move it over to tomorrow's list. Why? Meetings, interruptions, phone calls, crises and more interruptions. Dedicate blocks of time to specific tasks.
5) MULTI_TASK WISELY Multitasking "implies that we are focussing on two things at once". Multitasking is not necessarily a way to increase productivity. In fact, experts now think that the distractions and bursts of attention involved can lead to a mild form of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) (Source: Kirwan-Taylor)
4) TAKE CONTROL OF MEETINGS - Any time wasted in a meeting is multiplied by the number of people involved. That's why it's essential to make meeting times as efficient as possible. Keep the number of attendees at a minimum, and don't attend a meeting unless your participation is really needed. Make sure everyone knows the purpose and agenda of the meeting.
3) TAME YOUR E-MAIL HABITS - E-mail seems like an ideal time management tool, right? The reality is that many people find themselves checking their e-mails and end up putting aside other work to read and answer them. You may be deluged with irrelevant messages. E-mail can quickly become a time-waster.
2) PLAN FOR TOMORROW - The irony of time management is that many of us can't find the time to manage over time. Habits and pressing duties keep us from setting priorities, breaking down tasks and getting organised.
1) RELAX - BE HAPPY
> Always take a lunch break
> Schedule exercise breaks
> Determine a cut-off time for work
> Disconnect regularly
> Set aside time to do nothing
> Take a real holiday
These are just omse ways you can help stop time management becoming another source of stress.


2.3 Explain how to construct a simple project plan

1) PROJECT GOALS - A project is successful when the needs of the stakeholders have been met. A stakeholder is anybody directly or indirectly impacted by the project. Identify these stakeholders. They could be:
> Project sponsor
> Customer who receives the deliverables
> Users of the project outputs
> Project manager
> Project team.
The best way to find out their needs, is by conducting stakeholder interviews, taking time to draw out true needs that create real benefits, and prioritise these. Once clear goals are established, record these in the project plan.

2) PROJECT DELIVERABLES - Using the goals set in step 1, create a list of things the project needs to deliver in order to meet these goals. Specify when and how each item must be delivered. Add deliverables to project plan with an estimated delivery date. More accurate dates established in step 3.

3) PROJECT SCHEDULE - Create a list of tasks that need to be carried out for each deliverable identified in step 2. Identify:
> Amount of effort (hours or days) required to complete the task
> The resource who will carry out the task.
Once these are established, you can work out more accurately when each deliverable will arrive to the consumer. Update deliverables section with the updated delivery dates. If you discover that the sponsor's imposed delivery deadline is not realistic based on your estimates, you must connect them immediately. Options are:
> Renegotiate deadline
> Employ additional resources
> Reduce scope of project

4) SUPPORTING PLANS
> Human Resource Plan - Identify by name, the individuals and organisations with a leading role in the project. Describe roles and responsibilities for each. Describe number and type of people needed to carry out the project. Detail start dates, estimated duration and the method used for obtaining them.
> Communications Plan - Who needs to be kept informed about the project and how they will receive the information. A weekly or monthly progress report is ideal, describing how the project is performing, milestones achieved and work planned for the next period.
> Risk Management - important part of project management. Identify as many risks to your project as possible, and be prepared. Common risks include:
           > Time and cost estimates too optimistic
           > Customer review and feedback cycle too slow
           > Unexpected budget cuts
           > Unclear roles and responsibilities
           > Stakeholder input is not sought or needs are not properly understood
           > Stakeholders changed requirements after project started
           > Stakeholders added new requirements after project started
           > Poor communication resulting in misunderstanding, quality problems and rework
           > Lack of resource commitment
Track risk in risk log, and review it regularly, adding new risks throughout the project's life. When risks are ignored, they don't go away.


2.4 Explain the use of a contingency plan

CONTINGENCY PLAN - A plan devised for an exceptional risk which is impractical or impossible to avoid. Often devised by governments or businesses who want to be prepared for events which, while unlikely, may have catastrophic effects. For example, suppose many employees of a company are travelling together on an aircraft which crashes, killing all aboard. The company could be severely strained or ruined by such a loss. Accordingly, many companies have procedures to follow in the event of such a disaster. The plan may also include standing policies to mitigate a disaster's potential impact, such as requiring employees to travel separately or limiting the number of employees on one aircraft.


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

Your data is valuable. It will cost you time and effort to re-create it, and that costs money or at least personal grief and tears; sometimes it can't even be recreated (e.g. if it is the results of some experiments or a survey). Since it is an investment, you should protect it and take steps to avoid losing it.

There are four reasons you might lose data:
> HARDWARE FAILURE - Though modern hardware tends to be quite reliable, it can still break seemingly spontaneously. The most critical piece of hardware for storing data is the hard disk drive (HDD), which relies on tiny magnetic fields remaining intact in a world filled with electromagnetic noise.
> SOFTWARE BUGS - Modern software doesn't even tend to be reliable; a rock solid program is an exception, not a rule.
> HUMAN ACTION - Humans are quite unreliable, they will either make a mistake, or they will be malicious and destroy data deliberately.
> NATURAL DISASTER - Nature might not be evil, but it can wreak havoc even when it's being good. All in all, it's a small miracle anything works at all.

Backups are a god way to protect the investment in data. By having several copies of the data, it does not matter as much if one is destroyed (the cost is only that of the restoration of the lost data from the backup).

It is important to do backups properly. Like everything else that is related to the physical world, backups will fail sooner or later. Part of doing backups well is to make sure they work; you don't want to notice that your backups didn't work. Adding insult to injury, you might have a bad crash as you're making the backup; if you have only one backup medium, it might be destroyed as well, leaving you with the smoking ashes of hard work. Or you might notice, when trying to restore, that you forgot to back up something important like the user database on a 1,500 user site. Best of all, all your backups might be working perfectly, but the last known tape drive reading the kinds of tapes you used was the one that now has a bucketload of water in it.

When it comes to backups, paranoia is in the job description.

VERSION CONTROL lets you track your files over time. Why care? So when you mess up you can easily get back to a previous working version. You probably have your own version control system without realising it had such a geeky name. Got any files like:
> Kalid Azid Resume Oct2006.doc
> Kalid Azid Resume Mar2007.doc
> instacalc.logo3.png
> instacalc-logo4.png
> logo-old.png?

It's why we use "Save As". You want the new file without obliterating the old one. It's a common problem, and solutions are usually like this:
>Make a single backup copy (Document.old.txt)
> If we're clever, we add a version number or date (Document_V1.txt, DocumentMarch2007.txt etc.)

We may even use a shared folder so other people can see and edit files without sending them over e-mail. Hopefully they relabel the file after they save it. Using shared folders/naming system good for class projects or one-time papers, but don't use for software development.

A good VCS (Version Control System) includes:
> Backup and restore. Files saved as they are edited, and you can jump to any moment in that file's timeline.
> Synchronisation. Lets people share files and stay up-to-date with the latest version
> Short-term undo. Monkeying around with a file and messed up? Throw away changes and go back to the "last known good" version in the database
> Long-term undo. Sometimes we mess up bad. Suppose you made a change a year ago and it had a bug? Jump back to that version and see what change was made that day.
> Track changes. As files are updated, you can leave messages explaining why the change happened (stored in the VCS, not the file). This makes it easy to see how a file is evolving over time, and why.
> Track ownership. A VCS tags every change with the name of the person who made it. Helpful for giving credit.
> Sandboxing, or insurance against yourself. Making a big change? You can make temporary changes in an isolated area, test and work out all the kinks before "checking in" your changes.
> Branching and Merging. A larger sandbox. You can branch a copy of your code into a separate area and modify it in isolation (tracking changes separately). Later you can merge your work back into the common area.

FILE NAMING CONVENTIONS - Good file names need to make sense to more than just the creator. The name should be clear to everyone in the department or agency in which the file was created. A record should be distinguishable from files with similar subjects as well as different versions of the same file.

1) AVOID USING SPECIAL CHARACTERS - ( \ / : ; " ' ? < > | [ ] & $ etc.) Special characters are frequently used for specific tasks in an electronic environment. For example, a / is used to identify files in Microsoft products, where as a Mac OS would use a colon :. Periods are used in front of file name extensions to denote file formats (.jpg, .doc, .bmp etc.). Using them in a file name could result in lost files or errors.

2) USE UNDERSCORES INSTEAD of periods or spaces. Periods already have a function (as mentioned above, to denote file name extensions or formats), and tell the computer where the format type begins and the name of the file ends. Spaces are frequently translated in a web environment to be read as %20 (e.g "Naming Tutorial.doc" would read as "Naming%20Tutorial.doc"). this can cause confusion in a file name, as well as a difficulty in a person reading the name of the file.

3) ERR ON THE SIDE OF BREVITY - Generally about 25 characters is sufficient to capture enough descriptive information for naming a record or document.

4) NECESSARY DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION should be included in the file name, independent of where it is stored.
> Wrong: 0001.tif
> Right: WW1_Poster_Owens_0001.tif

5) INCLUDE DATES AND FORMAT CONSTANTLY - Some workplaces may find it more useful to have the date at the start of the file name, others may prefer it at the end. Just keep it consistent. The best way to list the date is based on an international standard - ISO8601. ISO8601 specifies numeric representations of date and time to be used in an electronic format.

The international standard date notation is: YYYY_MM_DD or YYYYMMDD.
> YYYY = year
> MM = month of the year, between 01 (January) and 12 (December)
> DD = day of the month, between 01 and 31

For example, 5th January 2008 is written as 20080105. This format allows ease of comparing files by date and prevents confusion with other date formats (especially in other formats that use just two digits for the year). For example, a document could be named "filenaming_20080507.doc" to reflect that this draft was last credited on May 7th 2008.

6) INCLUDE VERSION NUMBERS - Easiest way is to include a letter "v" to represent "version number". Then "v01", "v02", "v03" etc. can be added as needed to a file, and the main file can stay the same name. This is much more effective than other common additions like "updated", "new", "revised", et al. An exception to the rule is the use of the word "FINAL" to indicate the final version of the document. Use "FINAL" instead of the version number, rather than in addition to it.

7) BE CONSISTENT - Some choices will need to be made about organisation that affects the entire workgroup - where to include the date, what abbreviations to use, etc. Regardless of what the group decides, it is only effective if everyone follows the rules consistently.



3) Understand the importance of continuous professional development.
3.1 Explain what is meant by "continuous professional development"

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) or Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is the means by which people maintain their knowledge and skills related to their professional lives.

The CPD CERTIFICATE SERVICE defines CPD as "A commitment to structured skills enhancement and personal or professional competence". It believes that it is important for everyone, no matter their occupation, role or responsibility within an organisation, to ensure that their skills and knowledge are up to date. Its view is that the undertaking of CPD is particularly important in today's fast moving technological world, as the criteria used for achieving qualifications may no longer be relevant.

Unit 03 – Awareness of Converging Digital Technology within the Creative Media Sector

1) Understand the use of digital technology within the Creative Media sector
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 can be used for enhancing communication between industries through use of e-mail, social networking (such as Facebook or Twitter), Skype and other video/audio messaging services.

E-mail is a very cheap form of communication, and can allow a single message (alonger attachments) to be sent to every single required recipient at once, ensuring all get a copy (with just a single click of a button). A drawback, however, is that not everyone will have e-mail or internet access, and not everybody checks their e-mails every single day on a highly regular basis unless directed to otherwise.

Social Networking can be used to organise work-related events or send quick reminders of upcoming events or deadlines. A lot of people use Social Networking (approx. 500,000,000 [500 million] people are active users of Facebook, as of 2011 statistics), so it is a viable way of communicating between employers/employees.

Skype can be sed for connecting and contacting people and bringing them into meetings if they cannot physically be there, via the video call feature on Skype.


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

> INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce. Intellectual Property is divided into two categories:
INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY - inventions/patents, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications of source
COPYRIGHT - literary and artistic works (e.g. novels, poems, plays, films, musical works, artistic works [such as drawings, paintings, sculptures and architectural design])

Rights related to Copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs.

For the purposes of copyright protection, the term "literary and artistic works" is understood to include every original work of authorship, irrespective of its literary or artistic merit. The ideas in the work do not need to be original, but the form of expression must be an original creation of the author.

The "Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works" (Article 2) states: "The expression of 'literary and artistic works' shall include every production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain, whatever may be the mode or form of its expression." The Convention goes on to the list the following examples of such words:
> Books, pamphlets and other writings
> Lectures, addresses, sermons
> Dramatic or dramatico-musical works
> Choreographic works and entertainments in dumb show
> Musical compositions with or without words
> Cinematographic works to which are assimilated works expressed by a process analogous to cinematography
> Works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving and lithography
> Photographic works, to which are assimilated works expressed by a process analogous to photography
> Works of applied art; illustrations, maps, plans, sketches and three-dimensional works relatve to geography, topography, architecture or science
> Translations, adaptations, arrangements of music and other alterations of a literary or artistic work, which are to be protected as original works without prejudice to the copyright of the original work
> Collections of literary or artistic works such as encyclopaedias and anthologies which, by reason of the selection and arrangements of the contexts, constitutes intellectual creations, are to be protected as such, without prejudice to the copyright in each of the works forming part of such collections

COMPUTER PROGRAMS are a good example of a type of work which is not included in the list in the Berne Convention, but which is undoubtedly included in the notion of a production in the literary, scientific, and artistic domain within the meaning of Article 2. Indeed, computer programs are protected under the copyright laws of a number of countries, as well as under the WIPO Copyright Treaty (1996). A computer program is a set of instructions, which controls the operations of a computer in order to enable it to perform a simple task, such as the storage and retrieval of information. The program is produced by one or more human authors, but in its final "mode or form of expression", it can be understood directly only by a machine (the computer), not by humans.



2) Understand the implications of converging technology on the workforce in particular Creative Media Industry
2.1 Explain what is meant by "converging technology"

TECHNOLOGICAL CONVERGENCE - the tendency for different technological systems to evolve towards performing similar tasks. Convergence can refer to previously separate technologies such as voice (and telephony features), data (and productivity applications), and video that now share resources and interact with each other synergistically.

Convergence in this instance is defined as the interlinking of computing and other information technologies, media content and communication networks that has arisen as the result of the evolution and popularisation of the Internet as well as the activities, products and services that have emerged in the digital media space.


2.2 Explain the impact of converging technology on the workforce within specific Creative Media Industry
Many experts view technological convergence as simply being the tip of the iceberg, as all facts of institutional activity and social life such as business, government, art, journalism, health and education are increasingly being carried out in these digital media spaces across a growing network of information and communication technology devices.



3) Know how converging technology has been exploited to reach new audiences and generate revenue
3.1 Describe the changing expectations of audiences and consumers within a chosen Creative Media Industry

"One of the biggest changes is the way in which we interact with an organisation. According to the Internet World Stats and Wireless Intelligence, there are more than 1,600,000,000 (1.6 billion) Internet users and 2,700,000,000 (2.7 billion) mobile phone subscriptions throughout the world. Add that to the 1,300,000 (1.3 million) new mobile phone subscriptions that are being added oer day, worldwide.

These numbers indicate that we as consumers are online and on-the-go. In order to ensure that the organisation can meet the demands of its customers, it must be available to provide service to the mobile customer. This requires not only web-based customer interaction channels, but also the ability to communicate via e-mail, chat and even by SMS.

What is changing, however, is that customers as a whole are becoming less tolerant when it comes to customer service. This decline is not as a result of an abrupt decrease in service deliverables, but rather an increase in the knowledge of available technology and the expectation that the contact centre should be able to meet each and every request with the click of a mouse"

- Susan J Campbell, TMCNet


3.2 Describe examples of how ideas for multi-platform content have been used to reach new audiences and generate revenue

A MULTI-PLATFORM SERIES is a form of entertainment where the story is told over a range of media platforms, such as television broadcast, online video (such as Youtube, BBC iPlayer, or live streaming sports), mobile/cell phones, and downloaded podcasts which can be watched either on a computer or portable media player. It is a bridging of television and new media.

The content of the multi-platform series can either be different over each type of media (such as 'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Battlestar Galactica: the Resistance'), or the content can be the same in each delivery stream, created intentionally to be seen on any screen ir device the viewer wishes (e.g. Tights and Fights).


3.3 Describe examples of  commissioning processes and funding opportunities in relation to converging technology

The commissioning process is set in train through a specification or brief, normally in writing (though with very varying degrees of steering and/or elaboration) that sets out the research/evaluation remit in the form of objectives, outputs and timeline.

Many specifications also define the features of the preferred design and methodological approach, and some even specify what is excluded from the research/evaluation (such as any discussion of the value of the underlying policy). Increasingly, they specify some dissemination requirements. Organisations differ about whether they include budgetary information or not.



4) Be able to plan a research exercise to test an idea of exploiting converging technology
4.1 Explain opportunities for exploiting converging technology

Telecommunications, office systems, publishing, documentation are converging. Exploit this convergence through open networking, using facilities such as the world wide wed, not just for external information dissemination but for sharing information internally.