Film crew hire/Manchester/DIT and data
DIT and data on Manchester shoots. Every card checked, copied and accounted for.
The footage is the only thing a shoot makes. Here’s how it gets from the camera to the edit safely: who handles it on set, how many copies, how much data a day makes, and how it leaves Manchester.
DIT · APA card
up to £527 a day
Copies · Netflix baseline
3, verified
1 hour of FX6 4K
about 112 GB
1 hour of ARRIRAW 4.5K
about 1.9 TB
On this page
01 Who does what
DIT, data wrangler or loader?
Three jobs that overlap, and get called different things on different sets. ScreenSkills’ definitions are the clearest.
Digital imaging technician
DIT
Works with the DOP on the camera’s settings and the look, checks every take for focus, exposure and noise, sets up colour for dailies, and runs the backups.
Backups and the log
Data wrangler
Takes the cards from the cameras, copies them to drives with verified backups, and keeps the log. On bigger shoots, the DIT’s assistant.
On smaller jobs
Camera assistant or loader
On small shoots, the 2nd AC or the operator offloads cards with verification software between set-ups.
Our view
Do you need a DIT? For a one- or two-camera interview day on an FX6, usually not: a camera assistant with the right software does the job. Book one for Black Magic, RAW or Alexa shoots, three or more cameras, a client who wants dailies the same night, or anyone you can’t film twice.
02 On set
How we handle data on a shoot
Five steps, every shoot.
01
Offload, verified
Cards are copied with checksum-verified software such as Silverstack, ShotPut Pro or OffShoot, never by dragging files in Finder.
02
Two copies, then three
Two verified copies on separate drives before a card is reformatted, and a third away from set by the end of the day.
03
Check it
Spot checks for focus, exposure, sound and timecode, while the crew are still there to fix it.
04
Log it
A report for every card, with an ASC MHL file of checksums travelling with the media as its chain of custody.
05
Hand it over
At wrap the drives go to you, to a courier, or straight to our edit.
Why it matters
Copying in Finder gives no checksum, so a corrupted file can go unnoticed until the card has been formatted and the original is gone. Netflix’s baseline is three copies, checksum-verified; the industry’s 3-2-1 rule adds two kinds of storage and one copy off site.
03 Storage
How much data a shoot day makes
Per hour of recording, from the manufacturers’ own data rates. Multiply by the hours you roll and the number of cameras, then by the copies you keep.
| Camera and format | Per hour of recording |
|---|---|
| Sony FX6, XAVC-I 4K, 25p | about 112 GB |
| Sony FX6, XAVC-I 4K, 50p | about 225 GB |
| Apple ProRes 4444, UHD, 25p | about 498 GB |
| Apple ProRes 4444 XQ, UHD, 25p | about 746 GB |
| ARRI Alexa Mini LF, ARRIRAW 3.8K UHD, 25 fps | about 1.14 TB |
| ARRI Alexa Mini LF, ARRIRAW 4.5K open gate, 25 fps | about 1.88 TB |
Worked example
A two-camera FX6 interview day, with three hours rolled on each camera at 25p, makes about 670 GB. Keep three copies and you need about 2 TB of drives.
04 Delivery
Getting rushes out of Manchester
By hand. Drives on the train: Piccadilly to Euston in as little as 2 hours 6 minutes.
By courier. Same-day couriers run from Manchester; a dedicated service keeps one driver with the drives, door to door.
By upload. The connection is the limit. At 1 Gbps a terabyte takes over two hours in theory; at 10 Gbps, about 13 minutes. MediaCity Post advertises dual 10Gb connectivity and secure media drop-off at MediaCityUK.
Proxies to the cloud. Frame.io Camera to Cloud sends proxies as you shoot, straight from supported cameras or through a Teradek or Atomos box on cameras like the FX6 and Alexa, so the edit can start before wrap.
05 Post
Post in Manchester
MediaCityUK
MediaCity Post
dock10’s post-production side until June 2026: 100 Avid suites plus Premiere and Resolve, grading, six dubbing theatres, dailies, and TPN Gold security.
MediaCityUK
Timeline Television North
Post-production at MediaCityUK’s Blue Tower.
Here Now Films
Our own edit
The people who shoot it cut it, grade it and mix it, all in-house. Send the rushes to us and the edit starts the same day.
Need a DIT, or the rushes handled?
Tell us the cameras, the formats and where the footage needs to end up. We’ll book the DIT or wrangler, the drives and the delivery. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Quick contact form
06 Questions
DIT and data in Manchester: questions
Do I need a DIT for a corporate shoot?
Usually not for a one- or two-camera interview day: a camera assistant with verification software does the job. Book a DIT for RAW, three or more cameras, same-night dailies, or people you can’t film twice.
How much does a DIT cost in Manchester?
The APA/Bectu card puts a DIT at up to £527 for an 11-hour day, on the September 2026 card. Their station and drives are priced separately.
How many copies of the footage should we make?
Three, each checksum-verified, with one kept off site: Netflix’s baseline and the 3-2-1 rule. Cards aren’t reformatted until two verified copies exist.
How much storage does a shoot day need?
It depends on the camera. An hour of Sony FX6 4K at 25p is about 112 GB; an hour of ARRIRAW 4.5K is about 1.9 TB. A two-camera FX6 interview day with three hours rolled on each needs about 2 TB of drives for three copies.
Can you get rushes to our editor the same day?
Yes: by hand on the train to London, by same-day courier, or by upload. If the edit needs to start straight away, proxies can go up as you shoot.
Around the crew
