OPPORTUNITY – PRINT TRAFFIC COORDINATOR
Alchemy Film & Arts seek an attentive, detail-oriented Print Traffic Coordinator to play a key role in the production and delivery of the fifteenth edition of Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival (1 – 4 May 2025).
Working with the Alchemy team, the Print Traffic Coordinator performs an integral function as part of the Festival’s delivery, ensuring the timely delivery and ultimate quality control of all screening copies of selected films and other associated digital assets ahead of and during the event.
A full job description to available to download.
ALCHEMY FILM AND MOVING IMAGE FESTIVAL
Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival is the UK’s festival of experimental film and artists’ moving image, and the flagship event of Alchemy Film & Arts, taking place in a warm, intimate and inclusive setting in the Scottish Borders town of Hawick each spring.
Presenting an international programme of cinema screenings, moving-image exhibitions, live performances and a ceilidh in venues around town, the event is known for the openness, solidarity, humour and non-competitive nature with which it is delivered.
The Skinny, Scotland’s culture magazine, has described Alchemy’s flagship event as a ‘film festival unlike any other in Scotland, with a distinctive focus on unusual, experimental filmmaking that blurs the boundary between cinema and visual arts.’
Art Monthly has written: ‘All films were captioned, and many had audio descriptions too, demonstrating that the festival team’s verbal commitments to questions of access and the democratisation of experimental film are not merely theoretical.’
Little White Lies has written: ‘I caught a glimpse of something invaluable that weekend at Alchemy: that another world is possible, in some ways already here and being imagined, and that together, we can and must bring it to life.’
Recent editions of our Festival have typically included between 13 and 16 cinema screenings, including features and shorts programmes, each of an hour in length on average.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Alchemy Film & Arts seek an attentive, detail-oriented Print Traffic Coordinator to support the production and delivery of the fifteenth edition of Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival (1 – 4 May 2025).
Working with the Alchemy team, the Print Traffic Coordinator performs an integral function as part of the festival’s delivery, ensuring the timely delivery and ultimate quality control of all screening files and other associated assets ahead of and during the event.
The Print Traffic Coordinator will liaise with filmmakers and distributors, descriptive subtitlers, venue projectionists and Alchemy’s Producer to ensure milestone deadlines are met and that the highest possible final versions of a film are delivered and screened.
Working with Alchemy’s Directors and Producer, the Print Traffic Coordinator will maintain file databases, adhering to timelines for file acquisition, testing and subtitles generation. They will also work with external stakeholders, primarily the projection team at Alchemy’s partner cinema auditorium, to ensure the highest technical standards and screening conditions are met during the Festival.
They will actively represent Alchemy, upholding its values, policies and frameworks in the delivery of the UK’s festival of experimental film and artists’ moving image.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Liaising with filmmakers and distributors to ensure timely delivery of film screening copies and digital stills
- Liaising with descriptive subtitlers to ensure timely delivery of descriptive subtitles
- Maintaining a database of films due for delivery, with filmmaker/distributor contacts and their status
- Ensuring all selected films for all strands of the Festival are received well in advance of screen-testing
- Downloading and transferring films from online services (Dropbox, WeTransfer) to Alchemy’s master hard drives
- Handling delivery of 16mm prints where appropriate
- Checking all screening copies by watching both pre- and post-captioning
- Delivering screening copies to venue projectionist for transfer to DCP
- Attending test screenings at Alchemy’s screening venue(s) in Hawick
- Maintain regular communication with Alchemy’s Producer
- Managing the cinema auditorium for all screenings during the Festival
- Additional duties or duties different from those described above, related to the core activities of delivering the Festival, may also be required, unless other arrangements are made
REQUIREMENTS
- Demonstrably substantial experience in an equivalent role
- Excellent data collation and management skills
- Highly organised with forensic attention to detail
- Exemplary communication skills both written and oral
- Highly capable of problem-solving and troubleshooting
- Fluency in media file types and film screening formats
- Fluency in file compression, bitrates, codecs, framerates, and media export settings
- Experience of working independently and as part of a team
- Experience of navigating a high-pressure environment
- Professional experience in handling 16mm film (desirable)
- Experience of working in a small festival team (desirable)
- Knowledge of experimental film and artists’ moving image (desirable)
TERMS
Hours
Flexible with a sensitivity to Alchemy’s office hours (9am – 5pm, Monday to Thursday); it is estimated that the work encompasses 35-39 days with fluctuations in intensity.
Term
3 months fixed-term (3 February to 5 May 2025)
Rate
£4000 (freelance)
Location
Hawick, Scottish Borders
Reports to
Alchemy’s Producer
APPLICATION
To apply for the role of Print Traffic Coordinator, please submit the following to Michael Pattison, michael@alchemyfilmandarts.org.uk, by 5pm on Monday 25 November:
- CV summarising skills and experience
- Cover Letter demonstrating how your skills and experience match the role requirements. This can be submitted as a PDF (one side of A4 suggested), as a Word document or equivalent, or as a video recording (no more than two minutes in length).
- Contact details of two referees
Please include ‘Print Traffic’ in your email subject and include your name in the title of all attached files.
Deadline for application
Monday 25 November 2024, 5pm
Notification of interview
Wednesday 27 November 2024
Interviews
Interviews for this role will take place on Thursday 5 December 2024. We will provide interview questions in advance and will inform interviewees of who will be present on the panel.
We can provide additional support in terms of access provision—please notify us of access measures you require.
OTHER INFORMATION
Alchemy Film & Arts is a diversity-led organisation and we place inclusion and equity at the centre of our work. We encourage applications from individuals who experience barriers to working in creative and rural contexts, and will work to ensure appropriate support and infrastructure in accordance with this.
Alchemy Film & Arts is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected and will only use personal information and data provided in line with our GDPR and Privacy Policy.
Image: Sanne Gault
