Making a media product takes more than one person. The people involved are grouped into creative, technical and senior roles, based on the kind of contribution they make.
| Group | What the roles do | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Creative | Generate original ideas and content | Animator, content creator, copy writer, graphic designer, illustrator or graphic artist, photographer, script writer, web designer |
| Technical | Carry out practical work to capture, build and finish products, such as operating cameras or writing code | Camera operator, audio technician, sound editor, video editor, games programmer or developer, web developer |
| Senior | Provide leadership, direction, coordination and management | Campaign manager, creative director, director, editor in publishing, production manager |
The groups show what a role mainly does, not everything it does. Many media jobs mix creative and technical work: a photographer decides the composition and lighting, which is a creative judgement, but also sets up and operates the camera, which is technical. Senior roles usually go further by adding responsibility for other people, so a production manager may have strong ideas but is judged on whether the project is delivered on time and within budget.
Where a role sits also depends on the production phases. Technical work is mostly needed during production and post-production, because there is nothing to capture, build or edit until work is under way. Senior roles usually run right through a production, from planning to the final version, because someone has to keep making decisions and coordinating people at every stage.
Take a trailer for a museum's dinosaur exhibition. The script writer drafts the narration, the illustrator draws the dinosaur artwork, the camera operator films the fossils, the sound editor edits the recorded narration and music, and the video editor assembles the clips. The creative director settles the overall style, and the production manager makes sure everything is finished before opening day. Each role adds a different piece, and the trailer is only complete once all three kinds of work have happened.
A media project is usually organised into three stages: pre-production, production and post-production. The stages run in order, and each one describes when a piece of work happens rather than how important it is.
| Stage | When it happens | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-production | Before production starts | Planning: deciding the idea, preparing what will be made and organising the shoot or build. |
| Production | During the main making stage | Filming, recording or creating the assets that will be used. |
| Post-production | After production | Editing and finishing the material into the final product. |
Some roles belong mainly to one stage. A camera operator captures footage during production, so their contribution is tied to that stage. A video editor usually works in post-production, once material exists to edit.
Each stage depends on the one before it. There is nothing to edit until footage has been recorded, so post-production work can only begin after production has taken place.
Other roles span two or more stages. A director may help shape the idea in pre-production, guide filming in production and review the finished edit in post-production. The stages help you explain when a role contributes, rather than assuming every role is involved from start to finish.
Worked example: A school makes a short welcome video for new pupils. In pre-production, the team decides the message and plans which classrooms to record in. In production, they record teachers giving short welcomes. In post-production, the recordings are assembled and polished into the final video. The camera operator contributes only to production; the person leading the project may be involved across all three stages.
The size and scale of a media project describe how big and complex it is, including its budget, timescale and number of outputs. This affects how many people are employed and how many roles each person performs.
On a small project or one with a low budget, there may only be enough money to employ one or two people. One person therefore often carries out several roles. For example, someone making a short safety film for a skate park might plan the shots, operate the camera, record the voiceover and edit the footage. The roles still need doing, but they are shared rather than given to separate specialists.
A large project usually employs many specialists, each with a narrower responsibility. The work is bigger and more complex, and several tasks happen at once, so specialists can focus on their own part. For example, a weekly esports highlights show could employ camera operators to film the players, a video editor to assemble the best moments, a sound editor to balance the game audio and a production manager to organise the schedule. This helps the team maintain quality and meet deadlines.
The size and scale explain why individuals may perform more than one role: smaller teams and tighter budgets make it impractical to hire a separate person for every task. Technical roles can be highly specialised on a large production — one person might operate the camera throughout the shoot while another only records the audio — or combined on a low-budget one, where the same person sets up the audio equipment and films the shots as well.
| Project | People employed | Roles per person | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small skate-park safety film | One or two | Several | The same person plans, films, records sound and edits |
| Large esports highlights show | Many | Usually one specialist role | Camera operators, video editor, sound editor and production manager each focus on their own task |
A script writer, also called a screenwriter, creates the screenplay for a screen production. The screenplay is the written plan for what appears on screen. It sets out characters, dialogue, locations and emotions, and may include some camera directions. For example, a short drama about a school robotics club could list the characters, give their lines, describe a busy workshop and a nervous mood before a competition, and ask for a close-up on a robot's wheel.
Script writing happens mainly in pre-production, often at the start, because the screenplay gives others something to plan from. The script writer may revise it with producers and directors until it is ready. They are generally not needed during production or post-production, but may act as an adviser if a scene or line needs changing.
A copy writer produces written text called copy. Copy is written to engage, inform, entertain or persuade an audience. It is different from a screenplay: copy is used for promotional or informational content rather than for a screen production. Both roles write, but a copy writer's output is the wording of a message, not a plan for characters and scenes.
| Role | Main output | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Script writer | Screenplay | Plans characters, dialogue, locations, emotions and some camera directions for a screen production |
| Copy writer | Copy | Engages, informs, entertains or persuades an audience through promotional or informational text |
A copy writer researches the target audience first, so the wording suits the people it is aimed at. They plan the message, write the text and proofread it for mistakes. They must also avoid plagiarism and copyright problems. Plagiarism means presenting someone else's work as your own, and copyright is the legal right of a creator to control how their work is used. For example, a copy writer making a local recycling centre leaflet might check what families need to know, plan a clear friendly message, draft and proofread the text, and rewrite any borrowed sentence in their own words. They get permission before reusing someone else's text or images so the copy is lawful and properly credited.
An animator creates animated content: moving images built up frame by frame or generated on a computer. They choose a technique that suits the product, such as two-dimensional (2D) computer animation, three-dimensional (3D) computer animation, hand-drawn animation or stop-motion, where real objects are moved slightly and photographed one frame at a time.
Animators produce work for film, television, games, websites and advertising. For example, one animator might make a short looping animation for a bicycle-hire website, while another creates a character's movement for a mobile game. The technique and level of detail depend on where the animation will appear and how it needs to fit around other content.
An animator usually works in a team under a director, who sets the overall creative direction. The animator turns that direction into movement, expressions and timing. They also work with other creative and technical staff so the animation matches the rest of the product, such as keeping a character's look consistent with artwork supplied by a graphic designer or making sure file sizes and formats suit the platform.
Unlike roles tied to a single phase, an animator can be involved across all production phases. In pre-production they may sketch characters and test short sequences to explore how movement will look. During production they create the main animation. In post-production they fine-tune the timing of movement, re-render scenes after any changes and combine the animation with background art and sound so it is ready to publish.
A content creator makes a range of digital media assets — video, audio and images — for sharing online. That might be a three-minute explainer video, a set of step-by-step photos showing how to build a model kit, an audio walkthrough of a museum gallery or a looping animated diagram. The aim is content that can be published fast and then watched, read or listened to by an audience.
A content creator often carries out all the roles themselves. They plan an idea, capture the material, edit it and publish it without a crew. This makes the role flexible: the same person might film one week, design a title card the next and record a voice clip after that.
Content creators work to a low budget. Rather than hiring a camera crew and a studio, a creator might use a phone camera, free editing software and a homemade paper backdrop. Because one person does every task and spends little, the result may be less refined than work from specialist roles: sound can be uneven, lighting simple and graphics basic. Less refined does not mean careless — the finish is simpler because speed and regular uploads matter more than polish.
For example, a creator who posts a weekly chess puzzle video might record the screen, add narration through a phone microphone, drop in a plain title card and upload it alone. The audio may sound uneven, but the video is finished and shared on schedule.
The role suits online platforms, which need regular, varied content to keep an audience coming back. A creator can switch between a kit-building tutorial, a time-lapse of a school art project and a short audio interview, so there is always something new. They can also keep to a frequent schedule, because they are not waiting on a large team — even if the finish is less polished than a specialist production.
A graphic designer plans the overall layout and visual appearance of a media product. They decide where text and images sit, which colours and typefaces are used, and how the finished item looks. For a mobile puzzle game, for example, the designer decides where the score sits on the screen, how big the pause button is and which colours make the different tiles easy to tell apart.
Designers may create original artwork themselves, but they also bring together assets made by other people, such as photographs from a photographer or drawings from an illustrator, and make sure they all match. Their responsibilities include developing design concepts, keeping everything consistent with the client's brand, researching current trends and checking the quality of the final work before it is released.
An illustrator, sometimes called a graphic artist, produces original artwork and graphics, usually as assets for a larger product rather than the whole product itself. An illustrator might draw the friendly mascot for a library reading challenge, which the designer then places on posters, bookmarks and the library's website.
Illustrators also produce technical or explanatory illustrations, such as a labelled plan of the stage for a school musical, showing where each piece of scenery is flown in from. The artwork has to be accurate as well as attractive, because its job is to explain something clearly.
The two roles are similar and may be carried out by the same person, especially on smaller projects where one person plans the layout and draws the artwork too. An illustrator may work in pre-production, preparing drawings before the layout is built, and/or in production, producing artwork as the product comes together.
A photographer takes the still photographs that a media product needs. Their images might be the main content, such as band portraits for an album cover, or one part of a larger design, such as pictures of classrooms in a school prospectus.
Before the shoot the photographer plans it: which shots are required, where they will be taken, who or what will appear, and how long the session needs. On the day they select the equipment – the camera and lens that suit the job – and decide the composition, meaning where the subject sits in the frame and from what angle, and the lighting, whether that is a studio lamp, a reflector or daylight through a window. These choices are made in advance because each image has to fit the space planned for it. A portrait framed too loosely, for instance, cannot fill the cover it was taken for, so the shot must be set up again and the whole session runs late.
| Phase | What the photographer does |
|---|---|
| Production | Takes the photographs in a studio or on location |
| Post-production | May edit the images, cropping them and adjusting brightness, colour and sharpness |
The photography itself is carried out in production, and any editing comes afterwards in post-production.
The photographer must obtain permission before photographing people or private property, such as a family home or the inside of a shop. Without that agreement the image cannot safely be published, and the product could have to be withdrawn or the publisher could face a legal complaint. For a photo of a junior player on a sports club poster, this means getting a parent’s written agreement first.
A web designer is responsible for the design, look and feel of a website. They decide how each page should be arranged, which colours and fonts suit the audience, and how visitors will move from one page to another. For example, a designer planning a youth theatre group’s ticket site might place the next performance at the top, use bold show photographs and make the booking button easy to find. The designer does not write the website code; that is the developer’s job.
The designer works with a web developer so the design can be built. The developer writes the code that makes the website work: links open the right pages, forms accept details and content appears correctly. A designer may also work with other specialists to make the site easy to use. This can include testing page layouts with visitors and checking that key tasks, such as booking a ticket, are simple to complete.
Some web developers specialise in browser-side code, which runs on the visitor’s device and handles what they see and do. On the theatre site, this could show or hide the seat map when a ticket type is chosen. Others specialise in server-side code, which processes user requests on the server. Here it could save a booking and send a confirmation email.
| Role | Main responsibility | Contribution before publication |
|---|---|---|
| Web designer | Design, look and feel | Plans page layout, colours, fonts and navigation; passes the design to the developer |
| Web developer | Writes code that makes the site work | Builds and tests browser-side and server-side code; turns the design into working pages |
Both roles contribute before a website is published. The designer produces and refines the design as pages are built, while the developer builds and tests the code. They check each other’s work so the finished site matches the intended look and still works properly for visitors.
A camera operator is the person who sets up and operates camera equipment to capture footage during production. They turn the director's plan into recorded shots that can be used in the final media product.
The role belongs to the production phase, when filming or recording takes place. Camera operators work on set or on location while filming happens, rather than planning ideas and scripts in pre-production or editing footage in post-production. Their work starts when the cameras are ready on set or on location.
Camera operators take instructions from the director. The director explains the shot that is needed, and the camera operator sets up the camera position, framing, focus and movement to capture it. They may need to repeat a shot if the director is not happy or if something goes wrong.
For example, imagine a short film about a rescue dog training centre. The director asks for a close shot of a trainer encouraging the dog to walk through a tunnel. The camera operator positions the camera, checks the focus and records several takes until the director is satisfied.
Camera operators capture footage; they do not edit it. Choosing the best takes, putting shots in order and adding effects happens later in post-production, usually done by a video editor. A camera operator's job is finished once the required footage has been recorded and handed over.
An audio technician records sound while a media product is being made, and a sound editor works on the recorded audio afterwards. Both are technical roles, but their work happens at different stages.
An audio technician sets up and operates audio equipment to record sound during production. This includes microphones, cables, audio recorders and a mixing desk. They monitor sound levels and quality, record the sound the production needs and work with the production team so the right material is captured.
They may record dialogue, voice recordings, music and sound effects, and may add sound effects or music to a recording. They might also mix tracks and remove unwanted noise while working, so the recording is clean enough to use. For example, on a short adventure film shot in a country park, an audio technician could place microphones near the actors, watch the levels as the wind changes, and record the creak of a rope bridge and the splash of a stream as separate sound effects.
A sound editor edits and processes recorded audio during post-production. They may remove unwanted noise, mix audio tracks, check sound quality and synchronise sound with the images. In the same adventure film, a sound editor could take the recorded dialogue, reduce a low aeroplane rumble, balance the music against the voices, and match the stream splash to the moment a character crosses it on screen. Unlike the audio technician, the sound editor does not normally record sound on set.
A video editor turns recorded footage into the finished video. They watch what has been filmed, select the best material and assemble the clips into the correct order so the finished piece tells the story clearly.
Filming usually produces far more material than the final video needs. The video editor reviews it and keeps the strongest takes, leaving out weaker performances, mistakes and anything that slows the piece down. For example, if a camera operator recorded five takes of a runner crossing the finish line, the editor picks the one with the clearest reaction from the crowd.
The chosen clips are then placed in order. Order matters because it controls how the audience follows the story: a clip shown early can set up a question that a later clip answers.
The editor builds an edit and shows it to the director, who has the overall creative vision. The director might ask for two scenes to be swapped or for a shot to stay on screen longer. The editor makes these changes and the pair keep working together until they agree on the final edited version.
The video editor works in post-production, the phase after filming. They do not film anything themselves — the camera operator captures the footage during production. The editor's work starts once that footage exists, which is why the role belongs to post-production alone.
A games programmer (also called a games developer) writes the code that makes a video game work. Their code controls what objects on screen do and how the player interacts with the game. For example, in a kart-racing game they might write the code that makes a kart speed up when you hold the accelerator and slow down when you release it.
This is a technical role. The focus is on making the game function rather than deciding how it should look. A programmer turns plans from designers and artwork from artists into working features, such as a character moving, a score increasing or a menu opening.
Programmers often specialise in particular game systems. One might work on a crafting system, another on saving progress, and another on online matches. Specialising lets each person build deep knowledge of one part while the team covers the whole game.
Games production also uses roles similar to screen production. Actors provide voices and performances, animators create movement for characters, and modellers build the 3D objects and environments. These roles work alongside programmers so the finished game has believable characters, animation and settings.
A director is a senior role responsible for the creative direction of a production. They set its look and feel, so every scene, performance and sound choice fits one clear vision.
The director's vision guides the work of other roles and crew. Because the director is a senior role, they provide leadership across the whole production. Actors, camera operators and the video editor all follow the director's plan, which keeps the finished product consistent rather than a collection of unrelated ideas.
In pre-production, the director may revise the script with the script writer, decide which scenes and shots are needed, and audition and select actors. During production, they guide performances and work with the audio technician so dialogue and effects are captured as intended. In post-production, they work with the video editor, choosing which takes to use and how scenes are put together. A director who only turned up on filming days would lose control of the final result.
Imagine you are directing a five-minute science-fiction short about a robot lost in a school. You might ask the script writer to make the ending quieter, choose high, wide shots to make the robot seem small, cast a nervous actor for the lead, and tell the video editor to hold the final shot for three seconds. Each decision supports the same lonely, curious mood.
A production manager, also called a producer in some productions, is a senior role that coordinates the departments involved in making a media product. They do not usually create the content themselves; they make sure the people, equipment, time and money are in place so that everyone else can work effectively.
The production manager creates and maintains the schedule, deciding when each stage must be finished and in what order. This matters because one department running late can hold up several others. They also manage the budget, estimating costs, approving spending and checking invoices. By tracking spending as work happens, they can spot overspending early and change plans before the whole production is affected.
They hire staff and suppliers, such as freelance crew, studio hire companies and equipment providers. They coordinate resources and logistics: booking locations, arranging transport and making sure equipment arrives when it is needed. Throughout the work they monitor progress against the schedule and budget, chasing delays, rearranging bookings and reporting problems to senior colleagues.
The role is not limited to early planning. A production manager works across all phases, checking that decisions made at the start still make sense during shooting or recording and during editing, and solving problems wherever they appear.
For example, a team making a ten-minute animated film for a science museum has eight weeks and a £9,000 budget. The production manager books studio time for the narrator, hires two extra animators for the busiest weeks, and moves a review meeting when one scene overruns. The film still reaches the museum on the agreed date without going over budget.
Editor in publishing is a senior role in the media industry. They decide what content is published in a print or digital publication, so they have the final say over what the audience actually reads or sees. The publication might be a printed programme for a community arts festival or a digital guide to a town's skate parks, and the editor makes sure everything in it is accurate, suitable and ready to release.
Copy is the written text in a publication. An editor may rewrite copy so its tone and structure suit the publication and its readers. Suppose a copy writer sends in a jokey, chatty draft about a summer fun run. If that article is going into an official club newsletter that sponsors will read, the editor rewrites it in a calmer, more professional tone, breaks up the long paragraphs and moves the date and entry fee to the top where readers will spot them straight away.
The editor also chooses images, writes or approves titles and headlines, and decides the layout — where each item sits on the page or screen. Working on a digital guide to local skate parks, an editor might pick three of the twelve photos sent in, shorten a headline to a few punchy words and move the opening times above the long description. They then give feedback to the writers, photographers and designers so that everyone is working to the same plan and the finished publication feels consistent.
An editor in publishing works right across the publication process, from planning what goes in to approving the final version before release. A video editor or a sound editor shares part of the job title, but those roles work in screen or audio post-production rather than on publications.
A creative director is a senior member of a media production team. They run the creative team and set the overall direction and visual style of a media project, making sure every part of the product feels like it belongs to the same idea.
Their main job is to give a project a distinctive feel. They develop the design concepts that the rest of the team then builds on, and they oversee branding so that colours, typefaces and imagery stay consistent across everything the audience sees. For example, for a new range of study planners sold online, the creative director might decide the whole campaign should feel calm and organised, using soft colours and clean lettering on the product photos, the website banner and the social posts.
The creative director is a senior role, so it can span the whole project rather than one stage. They help shape ideas at the start, guide the team while material is being made, and check the final result still matches the vision. A film director is a different role: a creative director focuses on the overall design, branding and creative strategy, while a film director directs the making of a screen production, such as working with performers and shots.
A campaign manager plans and manages a marketing campaign for a media product. They decide how the product will be promoted and coordinate the work so the campaign runs to time and reaches the right audience.
The campaign manager organises advertising and promotion across different media. Launching a digital comic called Sky Pirates for 9 to 12 year olds, they could place free sample pages in a school reading app, book animated adverts before craft videos on a video-sharing site, hand out character bookmarks at a weekend comic market, and run a design-a-pirate competition on the comic's website. Each medium reaches the same audience: children who already read comics online, plus the adults who buy for them. Reusing the same logo, tagline and release date everywhere means the comic is recognised whatever the audience is looking at.
The campaign manager may arrange promotional interviews to raise awareness. For Sky Pirates they could book the illustrator for a live Q&A on a book-review video channel and record a chat with the writer for a comic shop's online reading club. They agree the key messages with the interviewee beforehand and check the interview goes out when the audience is likely to be online. This helps because viewers already trust the channel or club, so the comic feels worth trying.
This is a senior role: the campaign manager leads the campaign, makes the big decisions and coordinates other people's work, such as briefing a graphic designer on the advert artwork. Their work spans the phases — planning in pre-production, checking adverts and interviews appear during production, and reviewing which promotion worked best in post-production. If one advert gets little response, they shift effort to another medium so the whole campaign stays joined up.
Different media products need different combinations of roles. A product only uses the roles its content and production process require, so identify the product first, then choose the people.
Some titles are easy to mix up, so describe the actual job. A web designer shapes how a site's pages look and how visitors move around them; a web developer builds the working code behind the site, including forms and other interactive features. A script writer writes dialogue and action for a screen production; a copy writer writes promotional or informational text. An editor in publishing selects and improves content for a publication; a video editor chooses and arranges footage after filming.
| Role | What they do | Often confused with |
|---|---|---|
| Web designer | Shapes page appearance and how visitors move around | Web developer, who builds forms and interactive features in code |
| Script writer | Creates a screenplay or script | Copy writer, who writes text for promotion or information |
| Editor in publishing | Shapes and checks published content | Video editor, who assembles recorded footage |
A printed programme for a school concert might need a photographer, copy writer, graphic designer and editor in publishing, but no camera operator or sound editor. A short animated film for a leisure centre could need a script writer, animator, director and sound editor, but no web developer.
The size of the production matters too. On a small project, one person may carry out more than one role, such as writing the script and operating the camera for a short charity film, but each responsibility is still distinct. A larger production can employ separate specialists for each job.