What does a digital imaging technician do?
Digital imaging technicians (DITs) help the director of photography (DoP) with the digital knowhow of the camera.
They advise the DoP on contrast, brightness and the effects of under or over-exposure, as these constraints are different from shooting with film. They also advise the camera crew on shots in progress, reporting any soft focus, framing issues or unwanted reflections and shadows.
They do quality control checks on the recorded material. Most digital footage on professional shoots is shot raw, which means it has no colour baked in and the colour is applied in post-production. DITs apply colour to the raw footage to give an idea of how it will look. And they might be asked to put it into a viewable file so the director can watch it on a tablet on the way home.
What’s a digital imaging technician good at?
- Digital cameras and computers: have expert knowledge of cameras, file formats, storage media and computer systems to get the smoothest workflow
- Digital photography: understand contrast, focus, lighting, cinematography and colour, have a good eye for grading raw footage
- Problem-solving: be able to fix kit, tech and cable connections
- Communication: advise the director of photography on the benefits or limitations of particular set-ups, be the liaison between the set and the post-production team, create the best possible workflow between the two
- Film production: understand how a film set works, the roles within it and production process
