Scott McLeslie – Drones and DIT

"I shoot movies, brew beer, and ride my bike." Scott McLeslie, DIT, drone operator and cinematographer talks with host Cirina Catania about his recent work with Village Studios on some pretty awesome projects with major stars and a great team. He has some very interesting and amazingly candid comments about the future of the DIT's position with the production—and it is NOT on the set! We grabbed Scott as he was in his car and stalked him at the airport in Nashville as he was headed out to his next assignment. Listen in! In This Episode * 00:14 - Cirina introduces Scott McLeslie, DIT, drone operator, and cinematographer.* 05:20 - Scott talks about the TV series Salvage Marines, directed by Shaun Paul Piccinino.* 11:01 - Scott explains the intricate ways of shooting on RED Helium’s 8K camera when working on a movie.* 16:56 - When did Scott McLeslie first realize he was born with creative skills that led him into the film industry?* 21:53 - Scott discusses how they produce LUTs and color grade on sets using Qtake, a digital video assist software.* 26:05 - Scott explains the seamless workflow he structured for Village Studios’s setup for making various productions.* 31:17 - How is DIT going to be handled in the future?* 36:27 - Do DITs need to be on set/gig all the time? What are the primary key responsibilities of a DIT?* 41:57 - Scott talks about Grand Isle, a film directed by Stephen Campanelli.* 48:16 - Visit Scott McLeslie’s website at scotty.ru or his company Black Hangar at blackhangarstudios.com to learn more about him. Jump to Links and Resources Transcript This is Cirina Catania OWC Radio, and I am so excited. Scott McLeslie is on the phone with me. We've been chasing around trying to get this interview done for at least a month now, but his production schedule is unbelievable. Scott, where are you, and what is happening today? Oh, by the way, I should tell people what you do so they have a little bit of background. Scott is the Chief Technical Officer at Village Studios and Black Hangar. He's a DIT specializing in 3D stereo and 360 imagery engineering, and he's also a post-production supervisor. And he's been around for a while now, even though he's quite young. So we have a lot to talk about today. And let's start off by asking you where are you? Where are you going? What's happening today for you? All right. Hello, everybody. It's super exciting to be on the show. And at the moment, I am traveling to New York. We just wrapped a shoot for the first block of Salvage Marines, which is a sci-fi movie that I was not only doing DIT, I was flying some drones, shooting some camera. And now I am off to do some establishing shots for our next thing.  Oh, my goodness. Are you in a car? You're literally traveling. I mean, when you say you're traveling, you're literally in the car, right? Sounds like it. Yeah, I am. Don't worry, and I'm not behind the wheel, so it's safe to talk.  Okay, good. No texting while you drive. I'm glad you're not driving. That's awesome. So you're headed to the airport? Where are you currently? New Orleans. We started off in Baton Rouge, and we are almost at the airport in New Orleans. Oh, my goodness. Well,