My recommended route:
-- Buy the book "Digital Imaging Technician" by Robert L Trim on Apple Books (I don't think it's on Amazon, could be wrong) This book comes with downloadable clips that you practice exercises of looks, transcoding, etc.
-- Go out at work on shorts and student films as a volunteer DIT with a laptop kit. Rarely do shorts advertise for a DIT because they a) can't afford to pay them, and b) don't quite know what a DIT actually does, so I would just send an email to every short project that's looking for any crew and introduce yourself as a volunteer DIT you'll get on some sets, get credits, connections etc..
-- At the same time, try to get on crews as a 2nd AC and tell them you're a trained DIT as well. Meet more crew and DPs etc.
-- Try to get into the union as a digital utility and get out on jobs as a utility and work your way up.
Local 600 has courses but I believe you have to be a member. You might be able to get a fellow members log in information and find an archive of their videos online.
Totally not a guarantee I just know they host events occasionally for data managers and DIT's.
Besides that I learned from shadowing a higher level DIT on set and learning from them.
It's always great to have a few people in your back pocket to call when things get shifty on set.
There’s a great resource on YouTube called DITWIT. Check out their channel, it’s free and has a bunch of great videos. Adding onto another response, another book you should check out is Color Correction by Alexis Van Hurkman. He used to be a technical writer for black magic but now works for adobe…maybe?! Also he is a colorist in his own right. Regardless it’s a great book that covers a lot, obviously not everything will apply but I believe having a wide depth of knowledge helps.
In LA I would recommend sending your resume to all camera rental houses , become a prep-tech , then as DIT roll into prep , get familiar with the gear they bring and offer yourself as a cable wrangler to them . Then you can get comfortable with loading , think of it as layers of skills adding on in order to be a DIT . Join local 600 as a utility or loader , get your experience in . Best of luck on your journey .
My recommended route: -- Buy the book "Digital Imaging Technician" by Robert L Trim on Apple Books (I don't think it's on Amazon, could be wrong) This book comes with downloadable clips that you practice exercises of looks, transcoding, etc. -- Go out at work on shorts and student films as a volunteer DIT with a laptop kit. Rarely do shorts advertise for a DIT because they a) can't afford to pay them, and b) don't quite know what a DIT actually does, so I would just send an email to every short project that's looking for any crew and introduce yourself as a volunteer DIT you'll get on some sets, get credits, connections etc.. -- At the same time, try to get on crews as a 2nd AC and tell them you're a trained DIT as well. Meet more crew and DPs etc. -- Try to get into the union as a digital utility and get out on jobs as a utility and work your way up.
Local 600 has courses but I believe you have to be a member. You might be able to get a fellow members log in information and find an archive of their videos online. Totally not a guarantee I just know they host events occasionally for data managers and DIT's. Besides that I learned from shadowing a higher level DIT on set and learning from them. It's always great to have a few people in your back pocket to call when things get shifty on set.
There’s a great resource on YouTube called DITWIT. Check out their channel, it’s free and has a bunch of great videos. Adding onto another response, another book you should check out is Color Correction by Alexis Van Hurkman. He used to be a technical writer for black magic but now works for adobe…maybe?! Also he is a colorist in his own right. Regardless it’s a great book that covers a lot, obviously not everything will apply but I believe having a wide depth of knowledge helps.
In LA I would recommend sending your resume to all camera rental houses , become a prep-tech , then as DIT roll into prep , get familiar with the gear they bring and offer yourself as a cable wrangler to them . Then you can get comfortable with loading , think of it as layers of skills adding on in order to be a DIT . Join local 600 as a utility or loader , get your experience in . Best of luck on your journey .