Media Conservation and Digitization Assistant, National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), Washington, DC

Interested parties should email Walter Forsberg, Media Archivist, NMAAHC at [email protected] to receive further details and obtain a complete scope of work and position description. Below is an overview of some required experience and relevant work activities. In order to qualify for consideration, applicants need to be registered as federal government vendors in the SAM.gov database, and possess a valid DUNS # and Cage Code.

Review of applications will begin November 10, 2015 at COB.

The contractor shall have experience with:

• Motion picture film, analog videotape, digital video files, audiotape and grooved disc recordings, and corollary moving image and recorded sound preservation best practices and technologies;
• Archival film inspection and handling of Super 8, 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm film;
• Analog video and audio digitization workflows including transfer monitoring and quality control;
• Database approaches for employing moving image technical and descriptive metadata schemas and field standards;
• Moving image and audio collections inventorying and processing;
• Scholarly research, analysis, and writing in the field of Cinema Studies;
• Specialized knowledge in the field of African American history and culture;
• Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, a museum collection information system (preferably The Museum System (TMS)), ffmpeg, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Media Express, DaVinci Resolve, Wavelab, Audacity, ScanStation 5K digitization software;
• Working with a museum collections management team;
• Working with the public, with specific experience in a customer service role;
• Motion picture analog and digital production/post-production workflows.

 The contractor shall do the following:

• Inspect analog film, audiotape, and videotape elements to evaluate physical condition and perform minor repair conservation activities as needed;
• Identify, analyze, and differentiate between multiple instantiations and versions of the same work across different formats;
• Create and edit cataloging records, and conservation documentation and reporting;
• Create and edit transcriptions, captions, and various corollary file types associated with them;
• Assist NMAAHC staff with digital reformatting of analog videotape and audiotape collections;
• Transcode digital video derivatives using ffmpeg and/or other NLE video software;
• Perform collections inventorying;
• Perform scholarly Cinema Studies subject specialty research on independent and amateur African American cinema productions;
• Research, identify, and document extant collections of African American moving image and recorded sound materials at other national and international archives;
• Assist in the development and planning for public programs as they relate to independent and amateur cinema productions;
• Exhibit and project motion picture film, and digitized derivatives thereof;
• Modify, or update records in DAMS and TMS;
• Tag assets with metadata for the Enterprise Digital Asset Network (EDAN);
• Assist in liaising, and facilitating digitization, with outside vendors;
• Assist in management of digital assets, including uploading digitized assets into the Smithsonian’s DAMS;
• Assist NMAAHC staff with basic digital video production and post-production tasks relating to the generation of collections-relevant online content;
• Work closely with the Museum’s collection management, curatorial, and digitization staff, contractors, volunteers, and interns on the Museum’s digitization initiatives.