Unit 12 Assignment 3

By Erin Bethany Hopwood

Report for Aardman Staff

Types of contracts
There is many types of contracts but initially it is a signed agreement by two
or more parties in which they agree to an arrangement. Usually, when a
contract is signed there is a date in which it will run until before the end
date. People and companies sign contracts in business work, something the
law can enforce. Contracts are signed when companies gain a new
employer and they are told about the terms and conditions within the job.
When someone buys a new phone, most of the time they get a contract
which means they pay for the phone monthly. In order to do this they need
to have a credit check done on them to be sure they can qualify in which
they then go through the tariff plan, phone, data, storage etc. and how
much the phone will cost monthly. Usually phone contracts last over a
period of 24 months and so they would pay in broken down payments each
month for that time. In Aardman animations contracts are made between
themselves and companies they work in partnership with. Sometimes
companies will advertise them in return for something else. An example of a
company they signed a contract with DreamWorks animations but later
ended the contract due to creative differences.

Negotiating
Accommodating- These type of people feel emotionally attached to other
peoples personal relationships and problems so feel liable to give advice and
help prolong relationships.
Avoiding- Some companies avoid engaging with other companies due to the
fact that they have different ideas or have previously had misunderstandings.
Normally, the two mature companies can be civil for the sake of business but it
isnt always the case.
Collaborating- Businesses who like to collaborate are those who would not mind
being introduced to new companies and to try new things and pursue new
business ideas. They are compliance to working together and understanding
ideas from both parties.
Competing- Competitive businesses enjoy to have debates as it allows them to
compete against other businesses and to potentially gain the result they were
aiming for.
Compromising- Compromising is in businesses when they may negotiate when it
comes to a deal in order to make the contract. Although the original wish of the
company is not what they got, the deal has been made and both parties would
be suited with this contract.

Non-disclosure agreement
A non disclosure agreement is simply a contract made between two companies
that is legal and cannot be read by third parties. This means the deal is confidential
and can only be shared by the two companies. The information can be shared with
a third party but only if agreed by both sides as they have signed a legal document
stating that all work is strictly private. There is more than one type of agreement
which are A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) which I have already said thats also
known as a confidentiality agreement (CA), a confidential disclosure agreement
(CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement (SA) all that
have different legal requirements. Non Disclosure Agreements only protect non
business information and so are not held liable for any information that is passed on
to other companies due to in confidentiality. There is no proof that can say that all
work is completely confidential as once information is passed over the second party
have your data and can share it on. This means that any work you share out is at
your own risk.

Commissioning process
When a company want to bring out an animation or a
television show they need to send all of the planning
including costs, script etc. to the broadcasters beforehand.
This is so the TV networks have all of the information they
need and know what the show will be about, the budget
price, the actors, location and so on. The company will start
to plan the show/animation etc. and will then propose the
idea to the TV broadcasters which can be done at any
time during planning. All ideas that are suggested and held
confidential and nobody else can see them except the two
parties. After the ideas have been sent over there is 20
weeks in which they can decide on the proposal.

Time management
Time management is when companies or anyone who is completing a
project within a deadline sets a plan to ensure that they do it in time.
They will discuss with all of the staff a time plan to spread out tasks
within the deadline. Aardman would talk to their producers, designers
etc. tell them the deadline date and work out a schedule so that there
is no problem completing the work. It helps you to see where you are
up to and if you are on target for specific dates and if not you know you
need to put in some more time.

Risk Management
With everything there is a risk and so whenever a task is set they
need to look at all of the possible risks and health/safety precautions
and do everything they can to prevent these happening. In Aardman
they would have and still continue to do checks on all of the
equipment both electrical and not to make sure that it is safe to be
used by the staff. This is an example of a risk assessment so they
would also have to check that fire exits were kept clear and easy to
get to.

Working to a brief
A brief is what companies will use to work with in order to be clear on
the task and what they are working with. Its just like when Aardman
create an animation so for example Shaun the Sheep there would be a
brief explaining what the show is about, the characters, the set etc. so
that they had a plan to work to. When companies work together or
producing something for their client they usually have a client meeting
and then has a client brief including everything it should include from
the colour scheme to the target audience. It is important to stay in
contact with your client throughout the process in case they have any
more ideas or you have a proposal/suggestion to make.

Penalties
Penalties are basically when companies do not follow the time
management plan correctly and fall behind on work which passes the
deadlines. This is not ideal for businesses as not only will these lose
money from their profit but the reputation too. Especially if a client is
waiting for a product to be created and has given them a time limit yet
it is still not completed. This can cause problems in companies as future
projects will run behind or will mean the first one doesnt get
completed to its best ability. For example, if Aardman missed a
deadline on Shaun the Sheep and they had an upcoming show to
create on Wallace and Gromit this would cause the Wallace and Gromit
one to fall behind.

Freedom of information
There is a freedom of information acts of 2000 which is the act of
parliament of the parliament of the UK that allows the public access
to work provided by public authorities. The act is believed to have
come into force on the 1st January 2005 after being terminated whilst
Labour was in charge. The public cannot access confidential
information but is permitted to requesting information from the
public authorities. When I say public authorities this can vary from a
range of different things such as the NHS, schools, police and the local
government.

Censorship
Censorship is a way of blocking out harmful speech from things such
as television shows which may contain swearing or inappropriate
language. An example of the use of censorship is on TV shows that
young children may be watching that could contain strong language
and so is replaced by a bleep over the word. When you censor
something or a piece of media you are simply reviewing it to ensure
that everything in it is suitable for the public audience.

Taste and Decency

When TV channels or production companies are creating a piece of
work which would be published for public use they must review it
and edit out any unsuitable media from it. There is a range of things
they must think about and this varies from Obscenity, Sedition,
Blasphemy, Violence, Bad language, Explicit pictorial or video images,
Bigotry or Nudity. When it comes to Aardman they mainly create
shows suited at children anyway but they must ensure anything
unsuitable for the young viewers must be edited out.

Trademark
A trademark is printed on every piece of work from Artwork to
Interactive Media. This is a companies way of letting others know that
work belongs to them and also covers them for copyright issues.
Below I will include a screenshot of the trademark for Aardman so
you will know what to look out for when you see Aardman work.
When you create some work you must ensure it is not the same as
someone else's and this can vary from any kind. Samsung were sued
and had to pay a lot of money to Apple after creating a multimedia
product that was very similar to theirs. When a company has a
trademark they design one that is recognizable so that it is very easy
to identify the name of the brand, just like Apple which have an apple
printed on the back of every product they own.

Copyright Law
The copyright law which was created and founded in 1988 is one of the main
types of intellectual property owned by others. The idea of copyright laws is that
the owners of their work for example photographs are rewarded for their work
and have cover over there work if it was ever to be stolen or lost. Before this law
was brought out not much could be done legally if someones work was to be
stolen or lost. This is due to the fact that there was no laws based on this subject.
Copyright is the exclusive and legal right to copy or take work somebody else has
created. Copyright mainly focuses on protecting work created on a computer. This
is because most information these days is shared online and once it is published it
is much harder to keep control of where that information will go. All of this covers
work such as images, documents, videos, music, mp3, text and copying software.
To take any of this information without permission from the owner you are
illegally breaching the copyright law. If you want to see more information on this
take a look at this website:
https://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law

Office of Communication
(Ofcom)
Ofcom also known as Office of Communications is a
company that is approved by the government for
providing the telecommunications, broadcasting and
postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcoms purpose is
to promote competition and to also protect the public from
information which may be harmful or offensive and even
racist etc. The main areas that Ofcom focus on is Research,
Codes and policies, complaints, competition, licencing and
protecting the radio industry from public abuse.

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)

The ASA company was founded in 1962 and is a self regulatory
organisation. Because this company is a non statutory
organisation it also does not have any rights or regulations
therefore it cannot enforce legislation. This company is also
non funded by the government and relies on the advertising
companies annual levy, just like Ofcom. The aim of ASA is to
investigate complaints made from the public about posted
ads, websites, articles, videos, pictures, messages etc. They will
then decide whether the information in question is following all
of the rules and regulations guidelines. The person who makes
the complaint must hold formal evidence to support their case
as this will be taken very seriously if deemed offensive. The
Chief Executive of this company is Guy Parker who has been
this since 2009 and his estimated annual salary is 120,000.

British Interactive Multimedia

Association (BIMA)
The BIMA also known as British Interactive Media
Association is a company that aims at promoting the
British Digital Industry. With headquarters in England,
Scotland and Wales they are dedicated to serving
knowledge to the next generation. Their company set up
in 1985 and is an organisation made up primarily of digital
agencies. BIMA hold links to the government, professional
bodies and frequently hold conferences and meetings.
Their company is constantly expanding and currently has
many members from designers to major agencies.

Ethical Requirements
Whenever anyone is working on a multimedia product whether it be by a big
company or not, there are restrictions. The restrictions vary from the things you
can include in your product. As Ive stated above, some images are copyright so
would not be allowed to be used. Other big restrictions that they face is some
things they cannot include such as racist comments as it could seriously offend
someone and again, racism is against the law. You can not include religious
comments as everyone has their own beliefs so for example saying that one
activity is only suitable for Christians could be very offensive to those who are
Jewish or Muslims etc. Some people believe that doing this online will escape
these problems as it is all posted anonymous, but what they do not know is that
technology is very advanced and the creators can be tracked down very easily,
especially if someone was to make a complaint. Other areas of work have
different restrictions and some more than others so radio and television
companies for example, would have a larger restrictions list due to the fact their
radio broadcasts and television shows can be broadcast worldwide. Anyone can
make a complaint if they are not happy with something that has been said, but if
some of the Ethical rules are not met they can be sued for lots of money.

Cultural issues and language

When it comes to creating any kind of product is it very
important to ensure that everything is suitable for all races,
religions, languages, genders, sexuality etc. and that
nobody is discriminated. They must check all of their work
and be sure it has no racist content or sexist comments.
When it comes down to Aardman they would have had
to check that all of their work is suited for all ages, which
most animations are aimed at children anyway so
especially should not contain anything unsuitable.

Representation of gender and

religious beliefs
With any programme or animation they must ensure that
they create tem realistically which means including
people of different races, genders, ethnicity & beliefs. This
is so that nobody is discriminated against or treated un
equally which is not right. Aardman would have to ensure
the types of characters they have vary and that the
characters are not just stereotypical.

Social issues and sensitivities

Just because multimedia products and animations are done
online or through a computer this does not mean that general
laws do not apply as though they would in real life. It is still an
illegal offence to cyber bully, discriminate or be racist/sexist to
people. Some people think that because you can make
remarks anonymously that nobody will ever find out who did it.
However, technology has improved so much that the police
can easily track down the person who did it. This means that
the same rules apply and they would still face the same legal
actions as they would if they committed a crime in real life. This
also applies to Aardman as they need to be sure all of their
work is suited to everyone or they too could face legal action
been taken.

Policies and Procedures

There are a set of policies and procedures within the
media industry to ensure that all of the regulations are
followed and that no rules are broken. This is so that no
media contains any unsuitable content that could upset
or discriminate anyone else. The policy I and any
production company must follow is the Press Complaints
Code of Practice which gives industry's a set of guidelines
rules that they must adhere to. Every so often the rules are
reviewed to ensure that no updates need to be made
and that everything is suitable and takes into account all
types of discrimination.