Publisher’s note: Team Mixing Light is thrilled to welcome our newest contributor, Amanda, a Tampa Bay-based freelance DIT, Camera Operator, Broadcast Engineer, and Editor, with expertise in post-production supervision and Color Grading.
Please welcome Amanda in the comments below. You can read her full bio and get links on her Author page. As always, the first Insight from our Contributors is never behind the paywall – feel free to share this page!
From camera card to post house – a reliable workflow for on-set data management and proxy delivery
When you’re working as a DIT on set, your workflow needs to be bulletproof. There’s no room for guesswork when you’re responsible for camera-original data and delivering specs that meet post-house requirements. In this insight, we walk through a complete DIT workflow – from offloading camera cards with ShotPut Pro to creating properly formatted proxies in DaVinci Resolve that match the post house’s spec sheet.
This workflow covers the essential steps you’ll encounter on most productions: verified offloading to multiple drives, syncing audio by timecode, loading LUTs provided by the DP, and generating proxies with baked-in looks at the exact specifications requested by editorial.
“The spec sheet provided by the Post House…they requested that the codec be Apple ProRes proxy, the native frame rate, and they want this at half resolution for the proxies. They want the LUT baked in…as well as the audio synced and the timecode matching the original camera files.”
Amanda J. Arismendez, DIT
Key Takeaways
Related Mixing Light Insights
Mentioned Resources
- ShotPut Pro by Imagine Products
Let’s chat in the comments!
What challenges have you encountered with on-set workflows or proxy creation? How do you handle variations in spec sheets across different post houses? If you’re a Mixing Light Premium member, head down to the comments and let’s have a conversation – including any topics about on-set workflows you’d like me to tackle.
– Amanda
This Insight In-Depth: The Complete DIT Workflow – From Card to Proxy Delivery
Working on set as a DIT means juggling multiple responsibilities – offloading footage, creating backups, verifying data integrity, and delivering properly formatted proxies to the post house. Each step must work seamlessly, as production relies on these files being flawless. We’re breaking down the complete workflow, from the moment a card comes off the camera to delivering verified proxies that match editorial specs exactly.
My typical workflow begins with:
Setting Up ShotPut Pro for Verified Offloading
The foundation of reliable data management starts with verified offloading. ShotPut Pro handles this by creating source checksums during the copy process, ensuring that what ends up on your backup drives matches the original camera files exactly.
For the camera card offload in ShotPut Pro:
The replication process copies to both drives simultaneously while generating checksums. Once complete, ShotPut Pro creates a comprehensive offload report showing:
For audio cards, the process follows the same verification workflow:
These reports become your documentation trail. If production calls three months later asking about a specific clip, you have detailed records of every offload with visual confirmation.
Syncing Audio and Loading LUTs in Resolve
With verified camera and audio files offloaded, the next phase happens in DaVinci Resolve.
Audio sync by timecode is straightforward in Resolve:
Before generating proxies, you need to load the LUT provided by the DP. This ensures the baked-in look matches what the DP approved on set:
Generating Proxies – Two Methods
Method One: Generating Proxies from the Media Page
This Media Page method generates proxies directly from your source clips using Resolve’s built-in proxy tools. This approach is efficient when you want straightforward proxy generation without timeline creation.
Setting up proxy generation:
Generate the proxies:
Verify the output:
This verification step catches any issues before you deliver to the post house. The timecode must remain frame-accurate to maintain sync throughout the editorial process.
Method Two: Creating Proxies via Timeline Render
The timeline render method offers more control over the final output and works well when you need specific timeline settings or want to manage clip order precisely.
Creating the timeline:
The timeline now contains all synced clips at the correct resolution with the LUT applied. Scrub through the timeline to verify everything appears correct before rendering.
Rendering individual clips:
This method generates individual proxy files, each named to match the original camera files, making them easy to identify and manage in editorial.
Verifying Media Before Delivery
Verification doesn’t stop at render completion. Before delivering proxies to the post house, play through each clip to confirm:
This quality control step catches problems before they reach editorial, saving time and maintaining your reputation as a reliable DIT.
Workflow Considerations and Next Steps
This workflow represents the core DIT responsibilities on most productions: Verified data handling, proper audio sync, look management, and proxy creation. Some productions also require live grading on set, which adds another layer to the workflow but follows similar principles of verification and proper handoff to post.
The key to successful DIT work is developing reliable systems that scale across different productions while maintaining the flexibility to meet specific post-house requirements. Each spec sheet may request different codecs, resolutions, or delivery formats, but the underlying workflow of verified offload, proper sync, and accurate proxy creation remains consistent.
