Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Video Post-Production Specialist

🎯 Role Definition

A Video Post-Production Specialist is responsible for transforming raw footage into polished, broadcast- and streaming-ready deliverables. This role combines technical mastery of editing, color grading, audio mixing, motion graphics, and file delivery with strong creative judgement and efficient pipeline management. The specialist collaborates with producers, directors, VFX artists, sound engineers and asset managers to ensure final videos meet creative intent, technical specifications, and delivery deadlines across broadcast, OTT, social and web platforms.

Key SEO keywords: video post-production, video editing, color grading, DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, audio mixing, deliverables, broadcast compliance, OTT delivery, encoding, media asset management.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Assistant Editor / Junior Editor
Media Coordinator / Media Wrangler
Production Assistant with post-production exposure

Advancement To:

Senior Post-Production Specialist / Lead Editor
Post Production Supervisor
Creative Editor / Finishing Editor
Head of Post-Production or Post Producer

Lateral Moves:

Motion Graphics Artist / VFX Editor
Colorist (grading specialist)
Sound Designer / Re-Recording Mixer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the end-to-end editing process: ingest, organize, assemble rough cuts, iterate to fine cuts and final deliverables while collaborating with directors and producers to preserve narrative and creative intent.
Manage multi-camera and single-camera timelines, synchronize footage and audio with timecode and slate metadata to ensure frame-accurate edits for broadcast and streaming deliverables.
Perform advanced color correction and color grading using DaVinci Resolve or equivalent, applying LUTs, secondary corrections, and conforming to color-managed workflows (ACES where applicable) to achieve consistent color across episodes and platforms.
Create and integrate motion graphics, lower thirds, animated titles and simple VFX using After Effects, Premiere Pro, or similar tools; work with VFX artists to incorporate high-complexity composites when required.
Mix and edit production audio: dialogue cleanup, noise reduction, ADR coordination, sound design and full mixdowns to stereo and surround formats using Pro Tools or industry-standard DAWs, ensuring loudness compliance (EBU R128, ATSC A/85).
Prepare and deliver multiple output versions and formats: ProRes, DNxHR, H.264, HEVC, IMF packages and platform-specific masters; generate ISOs, mezzanine files, web-ready MP4s and mobile optimised exports.
Ensure deliverables meet technical specifications for broadcast networks, OTT platforms (e.g., Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube), and social channels, including codec, bitrate, color space, frame rate and closed caption/subtitle requirements.
Generate and manage project media manifests, EDLs, AAFs, XMLs and timeline conform files to support offline-to-online workflows and seamless handoffs between editorial, finishing and VFX departments.
Conduct rigorous quality control (QC) on every deliverable: visual artifacts, audio sync, frame drops, black frames, burn-ins, timecode integrity, caption accuracy and metadata completeness, documenting and resolving issues.
Implement and maintain robust asset management and backup strategies: ingest protocols, folder structures, naming conventions, media relocation, checksums and archiving to LTO or cloud storage.
Transcode and prep footage for editorial and review: create proxy workflows for remote collaboration, transcode camera codecs, and ensure color metadata and camera LUTs are applied properly to proxies and masters.
Coordinate with producers and project managers to scope post timelines, estimate hours, track editorial versions, and manage post-production calendars to meet tight episodic or campaign deadlines.
Supervise or mentor assistant editors and media wranglers: delegate ingest tasks, proxy generation, selects curation and basic trims while ensuring adherence to editorial standards and naming conventions.
Implement automation and scripting where appropriate (watch folder workflows, FFmpeg scripts, Adobe ExtendScript, or Python utilities) to optimize repetitive tasks and speed up deliverable generation.
Maintain and troubleshoot post-production workstations, RAID/NAS connectivity, color-accurate monitoring, and playback systems to minimize downtime and ensure consistent color and audio monitoring environments.
Liaise with legal and clearance teams to track music licenses, archival footage rights and talent releases, and ensure final deliverables include required disclaimers, credits and legal metadata.
Create closed captions, subtitles and transcript files (SRT, VTT, SCC) or coordinate with captioning providers; ensure caption placement, timing and readability across platforms.
Archive, catalog and purge projects according to company retention policies while maintaining searchable metadata for future reuse, repurposing and compliance audits.
Maintain documentation of post-production workflows, naming conventions, LUT libraries, and version histories to enable reproducible results and efficient onboarding of new teammates.
Troubleshoot and resolve creative and technical challenges during editorial and finishing, including frame-rate mismatches, codec incompatibilities, and color shifts between platforms.
Execute final online finishing tasks: conform to original camera raw or mezzanine files, perform high-resolution finishing, clean plates, bake-in color grades and deliver final masters with embedded metadata.
Produce variant edits for platform-specific needs: social cuts (vertical/9:16), trailers, teasers, 15/30/60-second versions, and asset packs for marketing and distribution teams.

Secondary Functions

Support cross-team reviews and dailies sessions by preparing screening reels, editorial notes and annotated versions for client or stakeholder feedback.
Act as the point of contact for external post vendors (color houses, mix studios, caption providers) to coordinate deliverables, handoffs and quality expectations.
Participate in continuous improvement initiatives: recommend and trial new tools, plugins and hardware that increase quality, speed or cost-efficiency of the post pipeline.
Maintain a curated library of stock footage, sound effects and music beds to accelerate turnaround times for quick edits and revisions.
Provide hands-on support during live or near-live post workflows (event coverage, breaking news edits) to ensure fast, accurate outputs under pressure.
Monitor platform and broadcast specification changes and update internal delivery checklists and templates accordingly.
Train production staff and junior editors on media management best practices, codec basics and QC procedures.
Create and maintain release-ready metadata packages for archiving, distribution and content discovery.
Assist production teams with ingesting special formats (drones, 360/VR, high-frame-rate footage) and advise on capture settings that optimize post workflows.
Maintain accurate time tracking and post-production cost reports for budgeting and forecasting purposes.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proficient video editing in Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer or Final Cut Pro with strong timeline management, multicam editing and version control experience.
Expert color grading and correction using DaVinci Resolve (Studio preferred), including LUT creation, node-based grading and color-managed pipelines (ACES).
Motion graphics and compositing skills in Adobe After Effects, with ability to create animated titles, lower thirds and simple VFX composites.
Audio editing and mixing proficiency in Pro Tools or comparable DAW: noise reduction, dialogue editing, ADR coordination, and final mixdown to deliverables that meet loudness standards.
Strong understanding of codecs, containers and encoding workflows: ProRes, DNxHR/HD, H.264/H.265, IMF and mezzanine formats; ability to generate broadcast and OTT-compliant masters.
Experience with media asset management (MAM) and metadata systems (CatDV, Axle, Kyno or in-house MAM solutions), including ingest, tagging and archival processes.
Practical experience creating and exporting EDLs, XMLs, AAFs and conform lists for finishing, VFX and sound.
Quality control (QC) experience with industry checklists and tools to detect and resolve video, audio and metadata issues prior to delivery.
Closed captioning and subtitling workflows: create, import and validate SRT, VTT, SCC files and meet platform-specific caption requirements.
Knowledge of broadcast, OTT and social platform delivery specs and standards (Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Vimeo, major broadcast networks).
Familiarity with color-managed monitoring hardware, scopes (waveform, vectorscope, histogram) and calibrated reference displays.
Server, SAN/NAS and storage workflow familiarity plus basic troubleshooting for shared media environments.
Scripting or automation experience (FFmpeg, Adobe ExtendScript, Python, shell) to create repeatable export and QC pipelines (preferred).
Strong file transfer and remote collaboration tools: Aspera, Signiant, Dropbox, Frame.io and other review-and-approve platforms.

Soft Skills

Exceptional communication and client-facing skills: clearly present creative decisions, technical constraints and timelines to stakeholders.
Strong storytelling instinct and editorial judgement to make pacing, rhythm and content decisions that serve the narrative.
Meticulous attention to detail and a rigorous approach to QC—consistently deliver error-free masters across multiple versions.
Time management and prioritization: deliver high volumes of work under tight, often shifting deadlines.
Collaborative team player who can work cross-functionally with producers, directors, VFX, sound and archival teams.
Problem-solving mindset and calm under pressure when technical or creative issues arise during finishing and delivery.
Mentorship and leadership aptitude to guide junior editors and assistants through best practices and workflows.
Flexibility and adaptability for varying project types—commercial, episodic, branded content, live events and short-form social assets.
Proactive mindset in documenting workflows, proposing tools and creating efficiencies in the post pipeline.
Professionalism and confidentiality handling sensitive pre-release content and embargoed materials.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Associate's degree or equivalent professional certification in film production, video editing, audio engineering, digital media, or related practical experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's degree in Film/Media Production, Communications, Broadcasting, Cinematography, Audio Engineering or related fields.
Certifications such as Avid Certified User, DaVinci Resolve Certified, Adobe Certified Expert are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Film & Television Production
Digital Media / Multimedia Design
Audio Engineering / Sound Design
Communications, Broadcasting, Cinematography
Computer Science / IT (for automation and pipeline engineering roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of post-production experience for mid-level specialist roles; 5+ years preferred for senior or supervisory positions.

Preferred:

3–7 years of hands-on editorial and finishing experience across multiple formats and platforms (broadcast, OTT, web and social).
Demonstrated portfolio of completed projects with credit for editorial, finishing, color grading or audio mixing.
Proven experience delivering to major OTT/broadcast specifications and handling multi-format delivery pipelines.
Experience working in collaborative post houses, in-house production teams or remote/virtual post workflows.