Digital Intermediate is a process of mastering a motion picture. It used to be associated with movies that have special effects like sci-fi ones, but these days it is applicable to all sorts of film genres. Also referred to as DI, it's becoming more and more popular because of the many advantages it has compared to the more traditional processing done at a laboratory.

This process involves the digitizing of a processed film. This means that it is run through a scanner in order to be converted into a digital file. The editor uses a computer as the main tool rather than all sorts of chemicals and a few other instruments at the processing laboratory. Afterwards, the edited product is printed onto film once more.

One of the many advantages DI offers is it doesn't reduce the film's resolution. In the traditional method, the original negatives resolution has to be downgraded to end up as a projection print. The digitized approach, however, allows the retention of a film's original resolution. In other words, it's an alternative to laboratory processing that is lossless.

With the frames digitized, DI offers an editing approach that is very flexible. As mentioned earlier, it is no longer limited to movies containing special effects. Mastering digitally allows for so many things, and in ways that are more flexible. For instance, color correction is carried out by the pixel, permitting the editor to skip those parts that require no adjustment.

The same applies for changing the contrast. It may be performed only on some areas where the ratio of the brightest and darkest colors needs to be increased or decreased. DI also makes it possible to make lighting effects consistent. Scenes with different lighting setup or shot at varying times during the day may be edited for conformity purposes.

Special effects enhancement or addition is definitely a possibility. Even without the use of green screen technique during filming, composting such as the inclusion of scene elements as well as the removal of them may be done. These things that such mastering offers can be done all at the same time, be it throughout the entire film or on select frames only.

The steep price tag of Digital Intermediate is one of the few cons around. But expect the cost to get lower as computers become even more powerful in the near future. What's more, the proliferation of studios offering motion picture post-processing services makes the mastering approach more affordable and accessible to commercial as well as independent films.