A Day in the Life of a Content Operations Director at a Global Media Company
Dillan's role as Director, Content Operations involves managing the multifaceted lifecycle of five films concurrently, from initial budget verification and vendor collaboration on creative assets ("trailers and posters") to post-release expense tracking and financial reporting. This dynamic process culminates in a post-mortem analysis determining the film's success and the return on investment.
Project Management, Finance, Content Distribution, Vendor Management, Financial Reporting
Advizer Information
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Undergrad
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Traits
Dillan Damodar
Director, Content Operations
Global Media Company
University of California, Irvine
UCLA Anderson School of Management, MBA, Spring 2024
Economics, Film, Media Arts, Visual Arts
Arts, Entertainment & Media
Operations and Project Management
Honors Student, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Transfer Student, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Dillan's role involves managing the financial aspects of film marketing and advertising, from budgeting to final reporting.
2. He works closely with creative vendors to ensure timely delivery of content across various platforms.
3. His responsibilities span the entire film lifecycle, from acquisition to post-release analysis, offering a holistic view of the industry
Transcript
What does a typical day look like in your role?
My role, day-to-day, really depends on the stage of each film title. We typically manage about five films concurrently, but they're all in different phases.
In the beginning, focusing on legal and acquisition, I verify expected marketing, advertising, and distribution costs. I ensure these are factored into financial reporting.
Once a film is acquired and the release strategy is agreed upon, I work with creative vendors daily. We ensure content is in the pipeline for delivery to theaters or for duplicates.
This includes making sure trailers and posters are finalized and sent to the correct platforms or publishers for exclusive releases. This also applies to content for YouTube channels, which needs to be released at specific times.
After the film's release and as revenues come in, I track all expenses, reviewing every invoice. I then relay this information to a tracking sheet for the finance team.
This allows us to determine our actual costs and forecast remaining distribution expenses. Finally, in the post-mortem reporting, we assess if the expenses were justified and if the film was successful.