Film Career · Camera
DIT (Digital Imaging Technician)
Camera · IATSE Local 600
- Union
- IATSE Local 600
- Day rate
- ~$500–$1,800/day
- Experience
- 1–5 yrs
What does a DIT do?
The DIT manages the digital image pipeline on set: media offloads, backups, exposure monitoring, and on-set color so the DP can see something close to the final grade. On data-heavy shows the DIT stands between a day's work and a catastrophic loss, which is why the role commands trust.
What does a DIT make?
- Day rate about $500-$1,800 for labor, plus $250-$1,000+ a day in cart and gear rental billed separately, so the cart often earns as much as the person.
- All in, roughly $70K-$250K a year.
- Color-pipeline complexity and gear ownership drive the range.
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
Government wage data
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the closest federal occupation.
On the job
- Offload, verify, and back up camera media with checksummed redundancy
- Build and apply on-set looks so monitors show the DP's intent
- Monitor exposure and signal, flagging problems while they are still fixable
- Manage the data pipeline from card to editorial with documented custody
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You know color pipelines, LUTs, codecs, and data management
- You are meticulous about backups and media integrity
Soft skills
- You are technical and detail-obsessed
- You bridge the camera and post worlds comfortably
Career progression
DITs come from camera utility and loader positions or from post-production data work. The progression is data wrangler on smaller shows, then DIT on larger ones, sometimes growing into supervising digital workflows across whole productions.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
- Production Assistant· 0-2 yrs
~$35K–$55K/yr
- Data Wrangler· 1-3 yrs
~$50K–$200K+/yr
- DIT (Digital Imaging Technician)you are here· specialist peak
~$70K–$250K/yr
How do you become a DIT?
Master the tools: Silverstack, Resolve, and the camera formats in current use. Data wrangling on low-budget productions is the open door; a reputation for never losing a frame is the career. Camera crews recommend DITs they trust, so start where the camera department can watch you work.
On covered productions, rates, hours, and conditions for the role are set by IATSE Local 600 contracts.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.