The Data Wrangler
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 09:28AM No not the peson you hired to download your compact flash cards. There's a robot that will do that for you now. Well not exactly a robot but it is quite large and could possibly be sentient. More on that in a bit. First, I'm going to use this opportunity to address a bit of nomenclature.
What would you call the person you hire to download and manage your production's digital media? These days there are a lot of people out there who would call this person a "DIT". Maybe that's an accurate description by some accounts but in my opinion this position should really be called "Digital Loader" or "Digital Asset Manager".
Prior to the widespread use of the RED One, DIT's were, and still are in my opinion, video engineers who primarily deal with images. Hence the job title, Digital Imaging Technician. Not Digital Compact Flash Card Technician. If I'm not working closely with the DP to craft the digital image and help them get the most out of the camera, I don't feel like I'm doing my job as a DIT. Not to say that I don't have the utmost respect for RED Tech's and what they do. On some shoots, the RED Tech is making enormous visual contributions. But sometimes they're just downloading compact flash cards. There in lies the ambiguity - is a RED Tech a Loader or an Engineer or Both? Either way It's a crucial position within the camera department even if the job description is hard to pin down. I guess by own criteria, if the technician is involved with the creation of the images, they are a DIT. If all they're doing is downloading and backing up data, they're a Loader.
My own experiences working as a RED Tech have varied wildly. On some jobs I've done nothing but sit at the cart and download cards all day. Very boring. Other times I've worked closely with the DP, ensuring a color and exposure baseline throughout the scene, creating and managing custom looks, doing sample grades to identify problematic exposures, etc. I've found working as a RED Tech in this way, where I'm actually contributing to the image, to be far more enjoyable. Occasionally I've been asked to pull focus and/or perform the duties of the 2nd AC in addition to managing the workflow. This is truly ridiculous and I have no desire to work with any production that would deny colleagues work or run someone ragged just to save a little money. There's obviously a lot of confusion these days regarding the DIT's job description, but we are not camera assistants. That is someone else's job and a completely separate skill set. If this is the trend, then it needs to stop.
Another issue I have with all of this regards rates. It seems a lot of productions have gotten used to paying someone, often times someone with little training or qualifications, a couple hundred bucks a day to download and manage their media. They call this person a "DIT". This then sets a precedent for such unacceptably low rates. When these same productions call me to DIT on something that actually requires some video engineering, I tell them my rate and they're often very surprised. I often don't hear from them again. What's happening right now isn't good for anyone. More on this later..
Now meet another Data Wrangler. A new product from 1 Beyond that is designed to streamline and take some of the variables out of the tapeless workflow. And yes it wants your job ;)
It's a great idea. It looks expensive though and I didn't see any prices anywhere. This would be fantastic on a Phantom shoot with its 10GB Ethernet connection. No more overnight downloads from the CineMag. Seems like it would be good for multi-cam too where you had lots of different formats to deal with. One box to take care of it all. I like the sound of that.
I'd love to try out The Data Wrangler. If anyone in NY has it and would be so kind as to show it to me, let me know.
Ben Cain in DIT / video engineering, accessories, software
Reader Comments (8)
We no longer use a DIT - I was one for the several years that I worked with the Varicam/F900/950s. We use the term DAS or Digital Acquisition Specialist. Our DAS might need to pop the slate from time to time, especially if our 2ndAC is running his steadicam.
We've found that DAS covers the majority of their roles - at least in our version of red based workflow.
That's the thing - the traditional division of labor in the camera department is changing rapidly because of the RED and camera's like it. It's interesting to see how it will all shake out and what these new positions will ultimately be.
If I wasn't clear in my post - my number one concern with this is rates. DIT's are guaranteed a pretty decent rate. If the word "DIT" gets confused with "PA who is downloading my cards" then that's a big problem for a lot of us.
Thanks for weighing in, Drew.
lol. Your response was almost exaxctly what I was going to post as a comment. There are so many kids getting run through all these film schools that there looks like an infinite flow of cheap labor for the forseeable future.
It seems that way.. This is Darwinism. Adapt or die. If "adapting" means slashing my rate to a fraction of what it is, then that presents a huge problem.
I heard a rumor that there is a new ICG 600 "Digital Loader" class in the works. Who knows if that will ever happen and what effect it will have though.
I've been hearing that for a couple of years. I'll give you my thoughts on that offline. Just saw an interesting article about trust and online social media and made a little post about it.
http://cmieritz.blogspot.com/2010/02/trust.html
One of the things I really appreciate about you, and your blog, is that you provide useful information on subjects about which you are passionate and genuinely interested. It shows.
Well thanks, Craig. I try to share a useful product and dare I say, even make it a little entertaining at times for such boring and technical subject matter. I do have passion for this stuff and I wouldn't take the time to do this if I didn't.
That's a great article you posted and I'm digging your blog as well. Jealous you got to play with a Brute Arc!
On the subject of Trust. I write this blog with a GIGANTIC disclaimer - available at the bottom of every page.
http://www.negativespaces.com/copyright-disclaimer
This blog is a collection of my opinions and nothing anyone finds here should be taken as the hard and fast "truth". I strive to stick to the facts and be objective but I've made plenty of mistakes in the past. I do hope that people who find information here trust me and trust that I don't post stuff that I'm completely ignorant about. If you don't trust me though, I completely understand and don't blame you. The blogosphere is a strange place. Does anyone really have the authority to present information to the public? It's a fascinating development in media and how it's consumed.
I wish I had half of your technical knowledge. My beef is with people who are pimping products. God, I make so many mistakes, but I am slowly learning. I've learned a lot from your posts, so I hope that is encouraging.
Operating the arc was one of my happiest moments as a film worker. Even my wife was a little jealous when she saw the smile on my face. Larry Parker at Mole Richardson is an incredibly generous person.
We don't let PA's download our software. He ask our DAS to scrub the footage (RED). He has full authority to stop operation on set if we have a "dirty gate."
I don't want to see DIT rates drop at all. For me it's reason to keep my DP day/weekly rate up. I don't replace the DIT, but I can communicate more effectively with him/her.
Great write up. Great comments.