What is a DIT? (Digital Imaging Technician):

When you rent a super awesome Nikon, Canon or RedOne camera, and you are ready to head off to the set to make great movies, you will need to hire a DIT to take you thru the tricky waters of how modern cameras are used on a full production movie set. CompuNirvana hires people who are qualified as both camera person as well as editor, to provide the balance between the two work flows. We supply this service so your shoot will run smoothly and you get the most out of your team. The idea is, we train our DIT so your camera is set up correctly and your data is captured and backed-up securely, “On the Fly”.

DIT work is relatively specialized so it’s important to realize that a DIT is not a substitute for a second camera assistant, but an additional role. The DIT must stay focused on the ‘back end’ of the camera, so you will still need a standard shooting crew including a Focus-Puller and Second AC.

Getting Started, Camera First
A good DIT will organise and implement all camera settings to correspond with DP’s specified instructions. This includes project settings, metadata, audio menus, sensor settings,  colour and ‘look’ files, timecode sync, etc... He will then work together with your crew to complete the appropriate monitoring configurations and conditions for everyone (i.e. DP, Director, Client, Focus Puller, Sound recordist etc...) to have access to the necessary information.

The DIT is on the set to assist the camera crew with all camera settings and relevant changes to the camera configurations as they become necessary. DIT will also oversee any problems or misuse of the camera that may lead to loss of data, incorrect capturing of images, problems in post-production, acting as a fail safe against these issues.

Where Will I Work? - the DIT Station
The DIT gets organised and sets up a “DIT station” to manage and back up all data (rushes) from shoot. This station is the equivalent of a ‘loading station’ for a film shoot. You’ll find power supplies for Laptops, RAID arrays, battery chargers, monitors etc. Occasionally, the DIT will be without his station while running off battery power in a ‘run and gun’ scenario for short periods of time.

Why Am I Here? The Data!!!
This is the primary job for the DIT. Each new camera load must be correctly formatted and prepared for use on the specific camera, with complete metadata information for use in post- production. The time taken to change a mag is equivalent to that of changing a film magazine, usually about 30seconds.

The captured footage that is removed from the camera is backed up immediately onto a hard drive, and then backed up to a second hard drive. Often the DIT will use a RAID protected drive array. As this is happening, the DIT will download the files into a pre-organised file structure that details shoot, date, roll and mag ID info for easy later access, both on set and in post-production. Creating a simple text file at this point, the DIT takes any additional notes regarding takes or dark shots that need adjustment or such. Time permitting, the raw footage is then checked against the original roll both through a digital checksum and by manual checking against the camera notes. After the footage is checked again from the second backup drive, the digital magazine is re-formatted for use. All the camera ‘stock’ works in a shooting cycle which allows constant availability to the camera to shoot new data. The cost of the digital magazines is a substantial part of shoot expenses, and it’s important to properly calculate the ratio of cartridges needed per shoot. One of our top priorities is for the DIT to avoid a data backlog. Nobody wants to have a director calling for a new load, and not being able to get it instantly!

Helping the Editor with Copious Notes
Camera notes are the responsibility of two people on the new Hollywood set. The second AC records all the details of each specific shot, and then passes those details to the DIT with the exposed digital magazine. The DIT will check the shot settings against against the actual recorded files, and compile a final set of sheets for the editor. Often times the second AC and DIT will share a laptop or netbook for this purpose exclusively, in order to provide a high level of accurate, updated information.

The details of this process is dependant on the information required by the editor and/or producers. It will also vary based on the type of shoot as music videos need less documentation than than dramas.

What? Software Required?
Each camera comes with a recommended software package to check and verify the footage as it comes off the camera. Typically it’s RedCine operation and/or Canon ImageBrowser. Additionally, we often recommend Adobe Photoshop as a format to view the files for integrity. RedCine is the software that comes with the RED One camera and allows the DIT to display the recorded RAW images to the DP / Director. The software allows for sophisticated display and control over the images. They can be viewed here at a 1:1 pixel level, allowing for close scruting of the images being recorded. On occasion, the DIT will work closely with the director or DP to simulate a ‘look’ or ‘first light grade’ adjusting exposure, color balance and gamma curves to display the potential for grading and manipulation the images in post-production. It’s important for the DIT to stay focused and use the proper techniques to insure the process is done in a non-destructive method.

Final Cut Pro On Set
The DIT loads offline proxy versions of the footage into Final Cut Pro to show how shots look together as part of a cut or sequence. It is important not to over task the DIT as an editor, as staying on the #1 target of data security is a job that should never be taken lightly.

Off To Post
The DIT’s job is purely on-set. Usually, the DIT hands over a disk drive (or multiple drives!) to the producer at the end of the shoot day. The drive has all the footage shot throughout the day, catalogued and organized, together with completed camera notes. It is usually recommended that the DIT holds the 2nd copy for up to 2 weeks as a secure ‘off site’ backup that allows for a quick call for any detailed questions regarding files or such.

Seen that amazing music video for "Her Morning Elegance" by Oren Lavie?  It's generated over 7 million views on You Tube and won acclaim and awards for its creators Yuval & Merav Nathan.

Compunirvana has had the pleasure of working with Yuval, Merav, and Acme Film Works on a new series of stop-motion advertisements being shot here in Los Angles.  The concept is similar to their previous success but has a whole batch of new tricks to show off and a new computer enhanced workflow utilizing Dragonstop, a software designed specifically for stop-motion animation.

As on site editor and digital technician for the shoot I was able to to get an inside look at how Dragonstop and Final Cut Pro can work together to allow filmmakers, animators and artists greater creative flexibility and a more stable workflow.

The real fun begins with Dragonstop. The program allows animators to preview, onion skin, compose and adjust every element involved in visualizing theanimation in a live view environment. It also allows for some degree of camera control such as exposure, color temperature and ISO settings usinga variety of digital video and still cameras. In our case, the Canon 5D Mark II was used with manual Nikon prime lenses to create a sharp high resolution RAWfile that can be imported into the Adobe CS4 Production Suite as an image sequence for final adjustments and color-correction as well as output.

Dragonstop allowed us to capture a RAW image file, high res JPEG and low res JEG for reference simultaneously into well organized bins.  The software also allows the animators to review each move in real time to be sure they are satisfied with evolution of each scene without having to export, render and review anything outside of that environment.  Meanwhile, while they are shooting animations in Dragonstop, the on-set editor is building a 3-frame conform of their animation using the hi-res JPEGs in FCP so that the producers and clients as well as the directors and animators have the ability to see a more robust version of the scene as it is created.

After shooting, the RAW files can readily be imported into a program such as Adobe Bridge for universal color and exposure adjustments, before being sent to Photoshop for more detailed frame by frame modifications.  Once the individual images are set to the designer's satisfaction the entire image sequence is exported to Adobe After FX for final review and finishing.  We look forward to seeing the final results of their work and are proud to have been a part of the project.

Eric Grush, On Set Tech, Compunirvana