Film Career · Post-Production
QC (Quality Control) Technician
Post-Production · Varies by facility
- Union
- Varies
- Day rate
- ~$250–$450/day
- Experience
- 0–2 yrs
What does a QC (Quality Control) Technician do?
QC technicians inspect finished masters against delivery specifications before a film ships to a studio or streamer: audio levels, subtitle timing, dropped frames, color space compliance. Every platform has its own spec sheet, and QC is the last gate before delivery is accepted.
What does a QC (Quality Control) Technician make?
- Day rate about $250-$450, or $25-$55 an hour, roughly $50K-$95K a year.
- An entry-level deliverables role; senior leads with streaming-spec knowledge (Netflix, Dolby) and overtime reach the top.
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
On the job
- Inspect masters frame by frame against platform specifications
- Verify audio loudness, channel mapping, and sync compliance
- Check subtitles, captions, and metadata against requirements
- Write rejection reports precise enough to fix from
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You know deliverable specs and can catch technical flaws
- You are methodical about formats and standards
Soft skills
- You have a sharp, patient eye
- You like being the last line of defense on quality
Career progression
QC sits inside post facilities: operators grow from media and data roles into QC chairs, then into senior QC and delivery supervision. The craft leads naturally toward post supervision and mastering work.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
- Production Assistant· 0-2 yrs
~$35K–$55K/yr
- QC (Quality Control) Technicianyou are here· craft peak
~$50K–$95K/yr
How do you become a QC (Quality Control) Technician?
Post house operator jobs are the entry, and obsessive attention to detail is the qualification. Learn the major platform spec sheets; people who can recite what a streamer rejects for become the facility's safety net.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.