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Digital Image Technician
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- Category: About
- Published: 01 January 2011
- Written by Joomla!
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The digital image technician position was born when digital cinema started to take it's foothold in the film industry. One primary reason was to help seasoned DPs migrate from shooting on film to shooting on digital and get the exact look that is needed. Today it is an often misunderstood position on set. One of the biggest misconception is that the DIT is just a Data Wrangler on set to offload footages from the camera. The responsibilities of the DIT is still evolving as DP become more tech savy and familiar with the digital image, but it is still a position that is more than just data wrangling.
As a DIT on set, I ensure that you acquire the best image quality possible from the Red Epic and that the image maintains integrity delivered to you at the end of the day. This includes verifying checksum for each and every file copied. I also recommend having redundant copies of the footage. The one area you do NOT want to cheap out on is the hard drives that holds your precious footage. I have had incidents where hard drives fail on set but because there was a backup copy they were able to go out and purchase another hard drive and copy everything back over while rechecking every clip's integrity. Using Redcine-x I can provide quick grading of the footages on set providing a clear idea of the look you are going for. A more detailed grade with 2K renders can also be done in Davinci Lite, tho this is not a common practice while shooting. Transcoding can also be provided on set. Automatic proxy generation allows for instant dailies on set. Using a Red Rocket with the Mac Pro, proxies can be quickly generated and you will have dalies to view on set the same day.
My in-depth knowledge of the Red camera system and its workflow will make sure your production flows as smoothly as possible. The Red Epic is a great camera, but like any other electronic devices including the Arri Alexa they are bound to have it's quirks and failures. I am familiar with all the quirks of the Red Epic and am able to remedy any problems that may arise on set that anyone else. The reduser forum is a great place to see problems other users have stumbled upon and I read every single issue that arises no matter how small.
Many productions try to save money by having a PA or someone with a computer and just have them copy files. While anyone can just copy files, chances are they can not provide any of the things I have listed above. In the end, data is lost, image quality is poor, and time lost due to downed cameras. So hiring a real DIT with in-depth knowledge of the camera you are shooting on will in the end save you money.
Contact me for a quote for your production!