Conform Editor

The Criterion Collection

About us

Criterion is a New York-based company devoted to bringing a carefully curated library of international classic and contemporary films together with an audience of passionate movie lovers.

With in-house departments devoted to design, editorial, production, and post-production, we produce a celebrated line of DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K Blu-rays; publish an online magazine, The Current; release new films and restorations in theaters through our partner company, Janus Films; and run our own streaming service, The Criterion Channel.

About the role

Criterion is seeking a Conform Editor to join our Library and Media Operations department. As a vital member of the mastering team, this person will help bring our exceptional film library to audiences by ensuring that feature masters are accurately constructed and that they remain so throughout the post-production workflow. Their keen eye for detail and technical expertise will be instrumental in crafting frame-accurate deliverables destined for physical media, streaming, and theatrical releases.

The Conform Editor's number one directive is to discover and communicate discrepancies between different files as a film enters our mastering workflow. Daily responsibilities include conforming raw film scans to existing reference files in service of preparing projects for color correction and further mastering processes. They will ensure 100% accuracy across all cuts and dissolves, generating thorough reports on editorial discrepancies and clearly communicating unresolved issues to the mastering team. The Conform Editor will then relink incoming fully-graded projects to restored, full-quality media and perform additional checks to ensure no errors have been introduced by the many hands that may have touched those projects in the interim. In addition to ongoing mastering work, the Conform Editor will also compare incoming feature masters against existing references to identify notable version differences.

About you

You are passionate about technical post-production workflows, with a proven track record in accurate and timely conform work. You should be able to search out and take note of tiny, subtle differences between seemingly identical frames to find and correct even the most minute of editorial discrepancies. You should be proficient in industry-standard video tools and demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning and process improvement. Above all, you must be deeply committed to ensuring the films we restore are presented frame-perfect to our discerning and deeply knowledgeable audience.

You possess an obsessive commitment to order, a detail-oriented mindset, and impeccable communication skills. You burrow into the depths of your own work but also maintain a curiosity about your collaborators' processes and how your work fits into and affects the larger picture. You are constantly seeking improvements, but always prioritize stability and appreciate the importance of iterative changes. You strive to understand the purpose and function of existing systems before updating them. Driven by natural curiosity and a passion for excellence, you actively seek out answers while never losing sight of the objective.

Responsibilities

• Close, frequent communication with Criterion's mastering supervisors
• Ensure DaVinci Resolve projects and A/V references are set up strictly according to spec (including resolution, frame rate, timecode, etc)
• Ensure project legibility for numerous operators across multiple facilities via consistent organization and thorough annotation (eg. color coding, markers, folder structure, file naming, track labeling)
• Manually inspect and polish scene detected timelines, correcting missed and/or false cuts, as well as reconstructing dissolves per mastering supervisor's specs.
• Perform version comparisons between new masters, source elements, and reference files
• Review and report on externally-sourced version comparisons
• Discover and report on any and all discrepancies between reference and source elements, including missing footage, alternate cuts, and missing post processing (step printing, optical titles, etc)
• Relink, reconnect, and otherwise swap between temp, proxy, and full-quality/final media

Basic qualifications

• 5+ years of experience as a conform artist at a post-production facility or 5+ years experience as an assistant editor on narrative feature films and/or episodic/television
• Proven attention to detail and systematic approach to constructing and managing timelines
• Extensive knowledge of industry video and audio codecs and file formats (DPX, TIFF, ProRes, H.264)
• Extensive knowledge of timeline interchange formats (XML, EDL, DRT, etc)
• Experience with multiple video resolutions and frame rates from 480i to 4K DCI 24p, as well as related conversion processes
• Deep knowledge of the DaVinci Resolve Media and Edit pages, as well as related sub-menus and commands
• Expertise in use of Adobe Premiere and other NLEs
• Working knowledge of HDR workflows (Dolby Vision, HDR10) and color space standards
• Exceptional written, verbal, and organizational skills
• Strong appreciation for world cinema

Preferred Experience

• Knowledge of photochemical film formats, processes, workflows, and technologies
• Experience processing interlaced video formats
• Familiarity with workflows for silent film and non-standard frame rate conversions
• Familiarity with all aspects of the top-to-bottom filmmaking process
• Experience with Adobe Photoshop
• Technical support and troubleshooting

This is a permanent, full-time position with excellent benefits–including medical, dental, 401K matching, and a generous vacation policy. Base salary range is $75,000 - $95,000/year, commensurate with experience. The nature of the work will require you to be physically present in our New York, NY office.

An Equal Opportunity Employer, Criterion is committed to building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, disability, national origin, protected veteran status, age, or any other status protected by applicable national, federal, state, or local law.

Interested candidates should send a résumé and cover letter to View email address on manhattanjobs.com

Cover letters should not exceed 300 words.