DIGITAL THERAPY / 07
www.thecallsheet.co.za
WEZLEY JOAO FERREIRA OF DIGITAL THERAPY
TALKS DIT
to attend relevant courses and am very active in online blogs about DIT, the technology and various discussions about the job role. A digital imaging technician (DIT) is the only person that understands how the image is captured down to a binary level. I can set a camera in any way to recreate whatever I see, whether it is in my imagination or not. As a DIT I’m entirely responsible for the image quality and I’m on the leading edge of image technology.
Wesley Joao Ferreira
Why did you get into the digital imaging industry? My life has always been incredibly visual. My Dad is a fine art dealer and my stepmother was an artist; so I have grown up around art since I can remember. My mom is blind, so I acted as her eyes by explaining what I could see. I was responsible for recreating the world for her. To be my mother’s eyes, I could recreate images from my own imagination, or from reality. I started in the industry when I was 16, in my school holidays I would help my uncle with gear checks and labelling his camera boxes before his next movie. I looked up to him and followed in his footsteps as long as I could remember. After Matric, I studied my N3 Electronic Engineering, A+ IT Basics, Multimedia Graphic Design and had these behind when I was a loader and the Digital Revolution began. I travelled to London to learn from some of the best technicians and worked at rental houses, and finally was invited to become a member of the British Guild of Camera Technicians. I continue
What exactly does a DIT do? DIT is the Master Manipulator of the image and data capture process. Pre Production: the DIT would meet with Producer, DoP and the Editor to discuss the workflow (process from camera to cinema), in this meeting we will discuss and agree on camera settings, data integrity, the look of the film and any other specific services they need us to deliver. Gear Check: The DIT begins with camera settings. This is one of the most important steps as the settings affect everyone around the camera and the entire postproduction pipeline. Then we run some tests on the Camera Sensor and ensure it is 100% perfect. Quality Checking: a DIT’s responsibilities also include knowing exactly what issues to look out for and correct. Sometimes this means having to reshoot. Knowing you need to reshoot something today could save you a lot of money if you had to come back and set it all up after the job is complete. Data Wrangling: this is the backing up and report creating of all the original files/footage from the camera. These days it is done with very complex
software that creates checksums for insurance as proof of copy. Transcoding: syncing of the sound and video files on set, and the changing of a file format from the RAW (uncompressed) file the camera shoots with to a smaller, more compressed file the editor can cut with (offline files) or for the Director and DoP to watch after set (dailies). This process normally includes applying colour correction and adding of a specific look or grade for the offline files. Tech Support: there are often technical questions from camera, production and/ or edit, and we are there to help with advice and technical support around the camera. Other Tasks: Monitor Calibration, iPad Dailies, Live Colour Correcting On Set, High Speed, 3D Stereography, and various other very technical things. Does this mean you are the new film lab? The DIT’s responsibilities are very similar to the FilmLab and Telecine process in the days of 35mm film. Before the advent of digital, a chemical process was used in which celluloid was put through various chemicals in order to remove the silver and to create a positive or negative out of the film, and it was then telecined to the studio, who then telecined the positives and then turned that into digital format, which was then colourgraded and then turned back into celluloid and sent to the cinema. As a DIT we are responsible for the lab processing and checking as well as the telecine process on set in real time, and it’s of great importance that we are aware of the entire pipeline or workflow all the way to the finish.
That sounds incredibly stressful! What’s your turnaround time? We do it on the day. On the day of filming, we will set the camera, download the footage and quality check the footage – we will apply a look like they do in telecining and we would process like they would at the lab and we would then deliver dailies or offline files for the Editor or the Director to watch at the end of the day’s shooting. What is the most common pitfall in the industry? The most important thing producers need to understand is the difference between a DIT and a Data Wrangler. A Data Wrangler is responsible only for data and reports (DarkRoom Loader). A DIT is responsible for everything else, including the management of data (Film Lab and Telecine). A Data Wrangler should never be responsible for the camera settings, colour decisions or asked to deliver transcoded files for the Editor or for postproduction. Data Wranglers are assistants to the DIT on bigger jobs where the DIT needs to Live Grade or be onset for technical camera support. What is the value of your footage? The cost of inexperience can last longer than the joys of the initial saving. *Part 2 of Digital Therapy’s feature will appear in the June edition of the Callsheet , in which Wez introduces you, the reader, to Digital Therapy’s world-class team.