Critical Studies in Television Conference State of Play: Television Scholarship in ‘TVIV’ September 2018 Paper- The Gendered Practice of The TV Opt Out

Description

Opting out of the government directive, regarding how many hours an employee can be asked to work, has been common practice in the broadcast industry for many years. Filming shoots are complex, demanding and expensive, populated by crews who pride themselves on the ability to keep going until the final scene is complete. Television Production Managers have long relied on staff ignoring the 48-hour rule, when drawing up filming plans. The opt out clause is often the only way ambitious shooting schedules can be achieved and viewed as a freedom from convention, but is this really the case?
The almost ethos of staying “until the job is done” effectively ignores how impossible this masculine work ethic can be for women to subscribe to. By creating filming schedules which favour those with few caring responsibilities, are we effectively barring female workers from certain projects? Reinforcing a machismo culture of production? Should we be moving to a feminisation of TV production schedules?

Period	6 Sep 2018
Event title	CAMEo Annual conference at Leicester University 'Care in the Media and Cultural Industries: Breaking barriers: transitional stages in women’s careers in the UK film and TV industries
Event type	Conference
Location	Leicester, United Kingdom
Degree of Recognition	International