A post-production runner works in a facility, the post house where a shoot becomes a finished film or programme: you open the building, look after the suites, theatres and clients, do the runs, log the money and lock up, and in the gaps you learn how rushes become deliverables. It is the traditional first job for editors, colourists, sound editors and post producers. At Stage 1 you have never had a job in the industry, so the work is learning the pipeline, the software and the rules before you apply, on your own laptop and on short films, mostly unpaid. Stage 2 is placements, references and contacts. Stage 3 is the runner job itself, which is employed and must pay at least the legal minimum, and the technical work that gets you out of it. Mark each line done, next or later, be honest about the gaps, and take the list to an MFJF mentor clinic. Post is quieter than it was in 2022 and promotion takes six months to two years, so plan a second income.
Read the career guide for what the job involves day to day.
Stage 1: Before your first job
34 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 10
- Apply for work experience placements at post houses during the holidays; facilities book them months ahead and often close the summer list by spring, so write in January, not the week before.
- Work on collaborations from the MFJF collaborations board as editor, assistant editor or sound editor to show career focus on your CV; agree the delivery spec and the date, and treat it as a post job, not a favour.
- Cut, grade and mix one three-minute scene end to end in DaVinci Resolve, which is free, and export it to a written spec: ProRes 422 HQ, 1920 x 1080, 25 frames per second, stereo audio.
7 more lines
Skills 12
- Are you comfortable transferring data the facility way: a checksum-verified copy tool such as Silverstack, never drag and drop, two copies in two places before a card is wiped, and a label and a log line for every drive that moves?
- Are you fluent in macOS and Windows file management: folder structures, naming conventions, external drives, permissions, finding a file by name, and never renaming or moving media by hand?
- Do you know an editing package and Pro Tools well enough to open a project, find the media, make a cut, export a file to a spec and not break the project?
9 more lines
Knowledge 12
- Read Art of the Cut: Conversations with Film and TV Editors by Steve Hullfish (2017) and Volume II (2024); these interviews are the book the guide's Art of the Cut line meant.
- Read Concrete Wedding Cake by John Heath, a short practical book on cutting, and In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch (2nd edition, 2001).
- For post sound, read Sound Design by David Sonnenschein or Producing Great Sound for Film and Video by Jay Rose (4th edition); Andy Farnell's Designing Sound, the book behind the old link, is about synthesising sound in code and is not for a post runner.
9 more lines
Stage 2: Experience and contacts
31 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 10
- Do you have a reference from a work experience placement or a short film you have worked on? In this industry a reference is a phone call: were you reliable, and would they have you back.
- If you have worked in customer service or part time waiting tables, highlight the key criteria in your CV; they are excellent transferable skills.
- How much relevant experience do you have on your CV? A graduate film will not be enough.
7 more lines
Skills 9
- Practise your interview technique with friends and relatives; interviews are only nerve-racking when you have not had many.
- Continue to develop your skills and further your knowledge of industry software.
- Can you ingest a card: a checksum copy onto the server, folders named to the house convention, a log of what arrived, and two copies before the card is wiped?
6 more lines
Knowledge 12
- Use the free training in the Foundations course and the careers guide to further your knowledge: Blackmagic Design's Resolve courses, Avid's Pro Tools and Media Composer training, and Production Expert for how working mixers and editors actually work.
- Research the company before each interview and keep re-reading the job description; know which rooms the facility has and which kind of work it does before you say why you want to be there.
- If you are receiving no response, go back to your CV and work out what is missing; do you need more experience, or is the software section a list rather than proof?
9 more lines
Stage 3: Paid work
24 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 9
- Do you have a CV with relevant experience in editing or post-production sound?
- Have you used your time at a post-production company wisely and involved yourself in the machine room (MCR): shadowing the operator, learning the storage, the backups and how a job is set up on the server?
- Have you taken them up on their offer to use the equipment when you are not on shift to work on your own projects?
6 more lines
Skills 7
- Can demonstrate experience of ingesting footage.
- Familiar with the facility's system for logging client expenses, whether bookings software or a spreadsheet, and with the scheduling software used for suite bookings.
- Can you sync rushes, build bins to a house convention, make subclips and selects, export an AAF or EDL, and relink a cut to the camera originals for a conform?
4 more lines
Knowledge 8
- Extensive knowledge of the post production process.
- Extensive knowledge of the role of the facilities company and the clients' work.
- Can use the industry software and know the facility's hardware: shared storage, the LTO library, ingest and transfer stations, calibrated monitors and the dubbing theatre.
5 more lines
Ways in for a post-production runner
Real schemes, checked on the organiser’s own page. A shut one is still here with when it comes back, because half the big schemes are closed at any one time and that is worth knowing.
- Trainee FinderScreenSkillsPeople over 18 who live in the UK and have less than 12 months of paid production experience in their chosen department. No on-set experience is needed, and there is no upper age limit.Final deadline 28 October 2026
- Yorkshire's Screen Diversity ProgrammeScreen YorkshirePeople aged 19 or over who live in York and North Yorkshire and have not done a Skills Bootcamp in the last 12 months. No screen experience or qualifications are needed, and graduates and career changers are welcome. Screen Yorkshire particularly encourages applicants from groups under-represented in film and television.Final deadline 2 November 2026
- Sara Putt Associates Trainee SchemeSara Putt AssociatesTwo professional credits but under three years' cumulative experience, in Camera, Sound, Edit, Production Office, Art, Costume, AD, Script Supervisor, Locations, or Hair and Make-Up.Final deadline 24 January 2027
Sources and References
This is MFJF’s own three-stage career plan for a post-production runner, written up from the career plan and the careers guide on our site. Open any of them yourself.
- MFJF career plan: Post-production Runner (PDF) the original plan this page was written up from
- MFJF careers guide: Post-production Runner what the job involves day to day
- The Three Career Stages the framework all three stages follow
Every link checked 19 September 2026. The plan itself was last revised September 2026.
