What is a DIT report (offload report), and what should it contain?
At the end of a shooting day, the DIT hands over a report. It’s a small document with a big job: it’s the written proof that the day’s footage was copied, verified and accounted for. Here’s what goes in one and why it matters.
What a DIT report is for
Production and post need to trust that what the camera shot is safely on drives and nothing is missing. The report is that trust, in writing — a record they can check now and refer back to if a question ever comes up. It’s part paperwork, part chain of custody.
What belongs in it
A good offload report answers “what did we shoot, where is it, and is it proven?” That usually means:
- Card / reel identifiers — which magazine or card this covers (A001, B012…).
- Clip list — every clip, ideally with timecode, frame rate and resolution.
- Checksums — the hash of each file, so the copy can be re-verified later. (Checksum verification explained.)
- Destinations — which physical drives the footage was copied to, and how many.
- Verification status — copied vs verified, clearly separated. A report that only says “copied” isn’t proof.
- Date, project, and who did the offload.
Many facilities also want the machine-readable versions: a CSV for spreadsheets and an ALE for editorial to relink against.
Why “verified” has to be on it
The single most important line in the report isn’t the clip count — it’s whether every file was verified, not just copied. That’s the difference between “we moved the data” and “we proved the data.” (How do you know a card copied correctly?)
How Olycen handles it
Olycen generates the report as you offload — PDF for handing over, CSV and ALE for the tools downstream — carrying the reels, clips, checksums, destinations and per-file verification status. The name of the DIT the licence is issued to appears on it, so a producer always knows whose evidence they’re reading.
See the features or join the beta.
Keep reading: How do you know a camera card copied correctly? · What ASC MHL is
Offload that never lies to you.
Olycen copies every card to as many drives as you want, verifies each file by reading it back, and only says the word verified once the proof is in. One-time $129, two Macs, no subscription — the launch list pays $99.