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Apprenticeship training course

Post production technical operator (level 4)

Providing support, assistance and delivery within the technical support operation of a post-production company.

Qualification level
4
Equivalent to higher national certificate (HNC).
Typical duration
12 months
Apprenticeship category
Creative and design
Maximum funding
£9,000
Maximum amount government will fund
for apprenticeship training.
Also known as
  • Dailies operator
  • Data wrangler
  • Digital imaging technician (dit)
  • Grade/edit assistant
  • Input/output operator
  • Mcr operator
  • Media operator
  • Offline assistant
  • Quality control operator
  • Technical operator
Skills
Skills an apprentice will learn
  • Work in line with agreed workflows, adapting to operational changes as they occur.
  • Multitask on simultaneous projects, often for different clients, prioritising the work to ensure that all tasks are completed on schedule.
  • Analyse and interpret the work order and technical specification to complete the scheduled tasks.
  • Use process documentation and work order reporting systems for efficient, accurate and timely communication with other departments about the progress of the work in hand.
  • Work accurately with a high degree of attention to detail.
  • Analyse and advise on the quality of audio, video and data throughout the post production process to colleagues, customers and suppliers.
  • Follow post production processes to ensure the necessary quality is achieved.
  • Access and interpret the relevant information pertaining to technical specifications and client requirements, and apply to the post production process.
  • Use appropriate technical vocabulary to document and communicate compliance with, or exceptions from, technical standards.
  • Assimilate information from multiple sources and apply to task in hand.
  • Ensure data is transferred securely between client supplied sources and post production storage systems, performing data integrity and virus checks.
  • Ingest and export media content and metadata to/from post-production systems, syncing the audio to video and applying colour transforms (LUTs) as required.
  • Arrange media content in agreed folder structures, using consistent and unambiguous folder and file naming conventions.
  • Prepare graphics and still images for ingest using software such as Photoshop where basic manipulation is required.
  • Encode and transcode audio and video data to required specifications.
  • Export finished content or work-in-progress with metadata from post-production systems to required specifications and naming conventions.
  • Provide technical advice to clients and colleagues on an appropriate file specification for a given requirement.
  • Dispatch and receive physical assets to/from external organisations and audit the process.
  • Use file transfer software for fast, secure and audited delivery of assets to external destinations.
  • Communicate work progress to colleagues and clients as appropriate.
  • Manage access by clients to shared storage systems according to company protocols.
  • Ensure data integrity when moving media between storage systems.
  • Backup, archive and restore media, sequences and metadata according to company practice.
  • Safely delete media as instructed and complying with company protocols.
  • Maintain content security measures, both electronic and physical as required by the employer and their clients.
  • Enact business continuity procedures.
  • Prioritise the workload to ensure the scheduled tasks are completed on time, liaising with colleagues and clients.
  • Provide frontline operational support to clients in editing suites, to ensure that they can find and work with their media.
  • Take ownership to resolve and/or escalate faults/incidents to the appropriate person, within agreed governance constraints.
  • Connect and set-up post production editing equipment using appropriate cables and connectors.
  • Perform and check data conforms of sequences prior to colour grading or online editing.
  • Transfer picture data between grading and editing systems, ensuring the data integrity of content and sequences is maintained.
  • Relink ingested media to updated sequences as editorial changes occur.
  • Prepare and transfer audio data to the dubbing suite.
  • Perform basic editing functions necessary for the preparation of media and sequences for creative processes, or for formatting of finished content for delivery (e.g. adding line-up signals, idents, patching in QC fixes, audio laybacks).
  • Analyse and interpret the results of reports from audio and video test equipment.
  • Consistently assess and identify faults in content, using the correct terminology to accurately describe and record them.
  • Use own judgement and discretion to decide what is acceptable and what is not in relation to quality control, depending on the context of the material, its intended use and the required technical specifications and customer requirements.
  • Deliver accurate and concise Quality Assessment Reports with clear indications of mandatory failures, advisory warnings and client approved exceptions.
  • Provide technical advice on remedial action to correct faults identified.
  • Communicate findings to both clients and colleagues accurately, and in a diplomatic manner.
  • Comply with company Health and Safety policies and practices, identifying, mitigating and reporting any incidents or risk to the appropriate person.
  • Consistently work in a safe manner for self, colleagues and clients.
  • Use appropriate legacy media physical handling procedures.
  • Carry out basic operation of videotape recorders and audio recorders.
  • Digitise tape content into editing systems.
  • Playout finished content from editing systems to tape.
  • Provide technical advice to clients and colleagues on the implications of using legacy format in contemporary workflows.

Full information on Post production technical operator (level 4) is available from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

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