Mastering Media Oper II

Technology is at the heart of Disney’s past, present, and future. Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology is a global organization of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, data scientists, and more – all working to build and advance the technological backbone for Disney’s media business globally.

The team marries technology with creativity to build world-class products, enhance storytelling, and drive velocity, innovation, and scalability for our businesses. We are Storytellers and Innovators. Creators and Builders. Entertainers and Engineers. We work with every part of The Walt Disney Company’s media portfolio to advance the technological foundation and consumer media touch points serving millions of people around the world. 

Here are a few reasons why we think you’d love working here:

1. Building the future of Disney’s media: Our Technologists are designing and building the products and platforms that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.

2. Reach, Scale & Impact: More than ever, Disney’s technology and products serve as a signature doorway for fans' connections with the company’s brands and stories. Disney+. Hulu. ESPN. ABC. ABC News…and many more. These products and brands – and the unmatched stories, storytellers, and events they carry – matter to millions of people globally. 

3. Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms, and solve complex and distinctive technical problems.

Content Platforms & Operations is responsible for the development and ongoing advancement of the technical and operational functions driving the worldwide distribution and monetization of Disney’s linear networks and theatrical content. This includes Disney’s media supply chain and storage, network and theatrical distribution operations, media localization, network transmission and origination, and more. The global team also plays a critical role as the primary collaboration point for Product & Technology with Disney’s EMEA, APAC, and LATAM regional business teams.

The Disney TV Mastering team is responsible for Mastering titles produced by Hulu, Disney Channels, ABC Signature, 20th Television, FX Productions and other production entities. The Media Operator will report into the Hulu Mastering & Ops vertical within the TV Mastering team. The specific role will be part of the Media Asset Prep team responsible for quick edit, fixes, file replacements and transcoding media. The Media Operator will work in a 365 department within Disney Mastering.

Job Summary:

The Mastering Media Operator II is responsible for ingest, media prep, asset conformance, editorial, troubleshooting file issues, fixing assets, and asset validation.  This role will focus on conforming masters in preparation for creation of outputs including but not limited to IMF, ProRes, Timed Text and downstream deliverables. The Media Operator will need to understand color workflows and deriving SDR content from HDR as well as how to validate and confirm color profiles, transfer characteristics, and metadata.

The right person for this role has working experience in all manner of media operations, encoding, transcoding, asset validation and post production workflows. They should have a good understanding of technical aspects of audio and video media incoming from production as well as network and streaming specifications. They should be highly motivated, someone who thrives in a quick paced environment, is flexible with changing priorities and adapts quickly to new challenges.  

Finally, the Media Operator will need to excel in cross-team collaboration, is highly organized, and has strong communication skills to be part of a team responsible for bringing in content into Disney.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

• Perform the processing and management of media assets in a results-driven environment
• Media Prep for OTT, Streaming and necessary downstream destinations
• Make editorial updates to final files for compliance with network specs;
• Insert updated shots or updated credits
• Perform audio loudness measurements to ensure correct specs
• Review and derive timed text files for final distribution
• Receive and Send media via Aspera or other cloud-based delivery mechanisms
• Help to troubleshoot issues with files and recommend fixes
• Perform metadata validation and entry including segment timings to create broadcast automation database records
•  Be a subject matter expert in all department databases and software
• Collaborate with team members as part of a high functioning team that is able to effectively and efficiently execute assignments
• Assist manager in developing, maintaining and enforcing media asset preparations, workflows and best practices

The Mastering Media Operator II will need to understand and have knowledge and experience using the following types of software, hardware, media and workflows:

• Prior use of cloud-based asset management software such as Aspera On Cloud and Reach Engine for media prep
• Understanding of Movie Labs specs
• Ability to transcode and encode video and audio files using tools such as the below are essential for the job:
  • Baselight
  • DaVinici Resolve
  • MTI Cortex
  • Nugen Audio
  • Switch Player Pro
  • Premier Pro
  • Pro Tools
  • Caption Maker
• Solid understanding of digital file formats and creation of DCPs, IMFs, ProRes files, and Proxy files
• Knowledge of HDR and SDR color workflows and using tools such as Colorfront Transkoder to interpret color space
• Knowledge of accessibility features and the creation of files such as Audio Description and Timed Text (English SDH, English Closed Captions)
• Experience in post-production finishing & online
• Experience with validating assets through tools such as Media Info and Dolby Vision Metafier
• Experience with Harding software for PSE testing

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma
• Minimum 2 yrs of relevant experience

Preferred Qualifications

• College degree preferred in Media, Cinema, Post Production, or related field
• Ideal candidate has a background in post-production , media encoding, content servicing and/or asset prep
• Previously worked at a post production vendor such as a finishing facility, audio facility or mastering/QC/Servicing vendor in similar capacity
• Understanding of the motion picture post-production process (asset creation, mastering and QC) and technical delivery requirements (ProRes, IMF) with an emphasis media asset creation and validation
• 3+ years experience with encoding, transcoding and editing media
• 3+ years experience using industry leading non-linear editing systems (Avid, Premiere) and Mastering tools (DVS Clipster, Colofront Transkoder, Davinci Resolve, Premiere Pro).
• 2+ years experience using industry leading audio software (ProTools Studio, Nugen Audio Tookit)
• 2+ years experience using industry leading timed text software such as Caption Maker
• Understanding of cloud based architecture, AWS or similar environments preferred but not required.
• Effectively solves problems and roadblocks as they occur while escalating when necessary.
• Outstanding communication skills and the ability to present effective, data-supported suggestions for tools and workflow improvements.
• Experience with constructing complex SQL and database queries, Python programming language, Terminal (OSX) and Ubuntu (Linux) command line operations a plus.
• The ability to learn and grasp new workflow concepts in the context of the industry’s changing requirements. 

#DISNEYTECH

The hiring range for this position in California is $71,000 to $95,100 per year based on a 40 hour work week. The amount of hours scheduled per week may vary based on business needs. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.