To answer the question in one word, yes, there is definitely a difference between the field of advertising and public relations.

PR vs. Adversting

Public relations and advertising careers while very similar in approach, do have some key essential differences.

• A PR professional is hired to get free publicity for the company. Public relations does not include paying for publicity. When a company pays money for its publicity and buys useful advertising space, its is known as advertising.

• Since a company pays for its advertising space, it has complete control over the content it produces. However, a public relations officer does not buy any advertising space and is in charge of getting free promotional opportunities for their client. As a result, a PR officer has no control over the content that is ultimately produced.

• The degree of control enjoyed by an advertising professional also extends to the shelf lie of the promotions. A company need only design an ad once and it can be used multiple times, as long as it suits a client’s budget. However, PR officers do not have this control and they definitely cannot recycle media releases and other promotional opportunities.

• When consumers see an advertisement, they are fully aware they are watching/ listening or reading an advertisement of the company’s product or services. Public relations on the other hand works in a more covert fashion. Therefore, a media release an easily appear as a news article and consumers might believe they are reading an article, when they are actually reading an improvised press release.

• Advertising involves a larger amount of creativity, especially when it comes to strategizing and designing advertising campaigns for a client. Public relations on the other hand is less creative and concentrates more on finding opportunities to generate news about the client.
• Advertising campaigns are designed to suit their target audience. Public relations professionals on the other hand work hard to hook editors in to convince them that their client has a potentially newsworthy story to tell.
• Advertising professionals are in charge of organizing sponsoships etc. When a client sponsors an event, public relations officer step in to give the client the proverbial pat on the back. by announcing the sponsorship via a media release.

There are several such differences between the world of advertising and public relations so if you are considering pursuing a course in either of these two fields, now you know which one to choose.

Fiction Vs. Writing For The Screen

Writing fiction is definitely not the same as writing for the screen so even if you have excellent creative writing credentials, don’t be disappointed if you don’t do so well with screenwriting when you start out. Fiction uses a lot of rhetoric that has no place in on screen dialogue and a screenwriting course will teach you how to dial it down and write appropriately for the screen.

Remember you need to keep the text to a minimum and say what you want to say with fewer words. Wordiness can be appreciate in fiction but is annoying in screenwriting.

Tips For Writing For The Screen

• When you write for screen, it is usually dialogue or even a monologue, but it IS a person speaking and you must keep this in mind at all times. Even a voice over cannot afford to sound like it is being read out of a book. It must be real and must at all times, sound like something a person would say.

• When writing for the screen, you must obviously keep your character in mind at all times. Keeping the character’s personality traits and quirks at the back of your mind, write thinking about how they would portray certain thoughts or feelings. By placing yourself in the character’s shoes, you will be able to write the mushy lines for the girl who is dying to fall in love, or compose a somber narrative voiced over by a grandfather.

• When writing for the screen, always keep it simple. Excessive words and sentences that are too long may look nice in writing, but when your screenwriting has to be uttered by actors, it does not come across as real. Keep your sentences short and simple and as real as possible, depending of course on how the character speaks.

• Fiction writers always paint a vivid picture with words by describing the scenery, the surroundings etc. However, as a screenwriter, your role is not to design costumes and do the cinematography, but it is merely to write the script. Of course you might want to include certain details but avoid moving off on a tangent about unnecessary details and descriptions.

• Last but not the least, never lose focus. Keep the basic plot and your main character in mind and try not to veer off onto unnecessary side plots or chit chat. Rememebr, your protagonist deserves maximum screen time so write to achieve this result.

These are just some tips to help you write for screen. If you undertake a screenwriting course, it can teach you all you need to know and help you sharpen your writing skills so you can write effectively for the screen, for an audience and not for a reader.
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Photography Career Options

Unlike the old days, a modern day photographer has a number of career options – with or without any formal qualifications. While a photography degree might be useful for some jobs, in most cases a photographer is judged by their portfolio, not necessarily by their qualifications. Qualifications and courses are mainly required by the students to hone their skills better.

A photographer has a number of career options open to them, such as:

• News photography
• Magazine photography
• Wedding photography
• Fashion & Glamor photography
• Portrait photography
• Travel photography
• Events photography
• Advertising photography

These are just some of options you can choose from if you become a professional photography. But for you to hone and perfect your skills from an amateur photographer to a professional photographer, you might need some help from a photography school. These can teach you photography skills that will bring out the best in your photography.

Photography Programs – Online & Offline

You can pursue photography courses both online and offline and there are plenty of options available. As mentioned before, you can choose pursue photography degrees such a Bachelor’s or even an Associate’s or you can pursue a vocational course at a local institute that will be better suited than a formal college degree. The type of photography courses that are best suited for you will be determined by your needs and circumstances.

Some of these courses are designed for beginners while others are better suited for more experienced photographers. The photography courses teach everything from how to work the camera, understanding light, focus, to photographing in the digital age, how to use photography editing software, printing techniques etc.  Each of these photography courses are designed to impart maximum knowledge about photography and the relevant lesson being discussed.

Photography is a very exciting field and photographers  can have very enjoyable careers. However, remember not to get carried away by the glamor of the job. It is a hard field to break into so keep that in mind when you first start out. You will eventually make a name for yourself and that is when the work will start pouring in. Until then, just keep looking out for work and stay positive.

Event Planning – What Does It Involve?

Before you jump into an event planning career, it is important that you fully understand what it might involve. When some people hear of event management, they believe its all glitz and glamor but forget to consider some of the more basic mundane details of the job so it is essential you know that doing all the hard work and carrying out the basic tasks well will ultimately result in a successful event.

Event management degrees prepare you for event planning careers that involve a variety of work such as:

• Site scouting for your event
• Picking a theme
• Arranging food, quality, decor, entertainment and other event necessities
• Coordinating and managing event staff
• Budgeting
• Arranging invitations for guests and VIPs

These are just some of the duties of an event planner. These will of course vary depending on the type of event you are planing and it’s scale.

Types of Event Planning

Event planners organize and plan several different types of events. While some specialize in only one type of event, others choose to be more versatile and manage various types. Here is an idea of what you could expect in your event planning career:

• Wedding planning
• Bridal consultancy
• Party planning
• Corporate event planning
• Political event organisers
• Seminar and formal event organizers
• Funeral planners

These are of course not the only events and there could be many more event specializations you might come across.

Event Management Course – What It Teaches You

Event management degrees prepare you for an event planning career but exactly what do event management courses teach the students? First and foremost, it is important to understand that event management is like managing a business. You not only need to be able to plan a creative and exciting event according to client specifications but you also need to be able to efficiently organize the basic logistics of the event such as accounting, food, accommodation etc.

Many colleges these days offer event planning courses as a Bachelors of Business with a specialization in Event Management. This is because event management degrees often require students to fully understand the basics of accounting, administrative duties, computer programs such as Microsoft Excel for the purpose of organisation and other similar business degree requirements.

For students not keen on pursuing a Bachelor’s course or for those who do not have the time to attend school full time, many schools and institutes offer event management degrees, certificates and diplomas to help you start or boost your event planning career. These event management courses can be pursue online or via distance learning and they will teach you the practical things you need to know for a successful event planning career. Many of these courses will also teach you how to set up and publicize your event management business if that is what you are eventually interested in

Event management degrees are an ideal spring board from which you can start your event planning career. Whether you are interested in wedding planning, private event planning, party planning or any other type of planning – this course can prepare you for career in event planning.