Media Security

In a business where millions of dollars are at stake, there must be at least some form of control over access to restricted content. To ensure the proper handling of media by dubbing studios, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has instantiated a facility security evaluation program to help fight film theft. This is a security survey conducted on site, on behalf of MPAA member companies Disney, Paramount, Sony, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal, and Warner.

The survey's objective is to strengthen security practices in the worldwide supply chain holding pre-release content, which includes dubbing and sub-titling facilities, courier, delivery and freight, creative advertising, digital cinema (mastering), digital services (restoration), distribution, DVD creation facilities, film labs, in-flight entertainment (IFE) and hospitality services, post-production services, replication plants, and visual effects (VFX) studios. The survey is conducted by a third-party firm hired by the MPAA. An independent facility that wants to become part of the game can also request to be inspected.

The MPAA Content Security Model provides a framework for assessing a facility's ability to protect a client's content. It is comprised of a number of security topics across its management system, physical security and digital security, outlined in this standards and industry best practices chart:

The type of content that directly concerns dubbing facilities is usually low-resolution, highly watermarked / spoiled / partial feature video content and full resolution audio masters and audio elements, as well as digital versions of dialogue scripts.

A 2011 Sites Security Program trending report shows the following tendencies: an increased international interest in American production, at 48% compared to 33% the previous year. The industry continues a move towards a completely digital workflow and distribution, and the shortening of content windows will pose additional risks as studios will need content sooner to perform functions such as encoding/transcoding and authoring. Particularly weak points for dubbing studios are media inventory and digital security. This may be because maintaining the MPAA standards requires significant capital investment; smaller studios may have less IT expertise in-house, which may lead to them underestimating digital-related risks. For more information about media security you can visit fightfilmtheft.org, a site supported by the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)