Dodge’s new Digital Workflow class gets technical

Frederick Bourbon’s new experimental course in the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts aims to familiarize students with the nitty-gritty of post-production workflow. Photo courtesy of Katie Reul

Although the digital imaging technician (DIT) is arguably one of the most integral positions on a film set, the role remains largely shrouded in obscurity to even the students of Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. Unless, of course, they happen to be roaming around the editing bays of Marion Knott Studios at 2 a.m. 

Responsible for transferring raw footage off the cameras to hard drives so key creatives can gauge how the film is looking, DITs spend much of their time on set sitting in front of a computer crossing their fingers to ensure that nothing goes wrong. 

One might think a job this nuanced would require extensive training, but the majority of DITs at Dodge College find themselves thrusted into the role without any prior experience. However, Professor Frederick Bourbon’s new Digital Workflow class (FTV 329) aims to ensure that students are better prepared to face the intricacies of post-production workflow.

“I felt like there was a need for a Digital Workflow class,” Bourbon said. “It’s not been taught at a lot of schools, and when I graduated from Dodge in 2012, I realized just how essential it was for professionals to know different camera formats and know the process from image acquisition all the way to delivery.”  

Because the details of transcoding and organizing footage have never previously been taught in an official capacity, knowledge on the role of a DIT has typically been passed down from student to student over the years at Dodge.

Like many others, Charlie McTavish Smith, a senior television writing and production major, said he had no idea what he was doing when he first started out as a DIT. When the then-sophomore signed on to work on one of Dodge’s many TV pilots in 2019, he told The Panther he expected to spend his time on set as a camera utility.

“When I showed up the first day, the producers were like, ‘Well, we don’t need a camera utility anymore, but we do need a DIT,’” McTavish Smith said. 

With only the director of photography present to show him the ropes, McTavish Smith blindly embarked on the task. He quickly found that these footage transfers could not be achieved by simply “dragging and dropping.” In order to preserve as much of the metadata as possible, DITs must contend with an abstruse network of file formats, options and codecs — where even the slightest error could result in the whole process grinding to a halt. 

Even experienced DITs like junior screenwriting major Mel Anbild, who enrolled in Bourbon’s class at the advice of one of her program advisors, feel like there’s always more to learn. 

“DIT work can be so complex that I think even veterans could benefit from a class like this,” Anbild said. “There's always more to figure out. Every new software update that’s released brings another weird bug you’ll have to navigate.” 

The Digital Workflow Experimental Course (FTV 329) is currently being offered on Mondays from 7 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. Feb. 11 will be the last day students are able to enroll in the course.

Until it passes out of the experimental phase, the class will be offered every other semester. For more information, contact bourbon@chapman.edu.