Filmmaker Spotlight - Joe Tobon
Welcome to the Filmmaker Spotlight – this series shines a light on filmmakers, actors, editors, and more, as we ask them a few questions and uncover why they love what they do.
This time - Joe Tobon
Digital Imaging Technician
Tell us a bit about yourself, how did you get into the industry?
My name is Joe Tobon, and I am a US Navy Veteran turned filmmaker based out of New Jersey, USA. When I left high school, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do as a career; I was more concerned about living a comfortable life as opposed to doing something that I was truly passionate about. After spending a year barely passing my classes in Community College, I enlisted in the United States Navy. Some of my extended family enlisted and their lives changed for the better, so I figured I would follow suit. While I was enlisted, I would edit videos for fun, and even began streaming the games I play on Twitch just to give myself more source footage. This helped me remember something that I thought was lost.
When I was around eight years old, my dad and I were standing in Blockbuster waiting to rent our movie for the weekend. The TV above us was playing Back to the Future, and it was the scene where Doc and Marty are testing the DeLorean turned time machine in the mall parking lot. Something about that scene inspired me. I wanted to be part of the magic that makes movies special to everyone. After my enlistment ended, I used the GI Bill to enroll at New York Film Academy, where I spent the next few years earning my Bachelor’s Degree in Filmmaking. But it was more than just a college education. I was a crew member on every set for each of my classmates. I learned the importance and value of each of these positions while in them on these sets, and I made sure to give it my all in order to ensure the production goes as smoothly as possible. Once I graduated, I went freelance with my skills, looking for work anywhere that I could. At first I was editing remotely for a YouTube Channel with over 1.2 million subscribers. While in this position, a Producer that I worked with reached out to me, asking if I wanted to be the Assistant Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) on a indie film he was on, to which I quickly accepted. Before I knew it, I found myself driving to Connecticut, where I began my first on-set position in a long time. On this production, I helped the Lead DIT with organising the footage and audio files onto a Master Drive to ensure that all of the footage would be easy to locate for the editor. After this production, I returned to my remote editing position, and continued to search for more work.
My experiences on that feature film set led me to being the Lead DIT during the Preakness 150 in Baltimore, where I both backed up all of the footage and photos for the social media team, and duplicated them to hand off to the photo and video editors on site for them to be edited and uploaded for the social media teams in real time. From here, a few more opportunities were presented to me. The Producer on my first feature reached out to me for two more feature films, one in March and the other in August, but this time, I was going to be the lead (and only) DIT for both of them. With the experiences I have had, I was able to offer more input in terms of the required hardware to ensure that the data is transferred in a timely manner, and to ensure that the data was safe and secure for the editor. Each production that I am a part of gives me something to bring into the next one. Things are a little slow at the moment, and I have returned to editing remotely full time for a different content creator. But I continue to search for more and more opportunities on set, be it as the DIT, Production Assistant, Editing Position, or any position on set that I can fill.
What’s something about working in film/TV that outsiders would never expect?
Something that many people don’t know about film and television is that it is controlled chaos. You can plan all you want, make as many schedules and hold as many rehearsals as you think you’ll need, but there’s always an unseen variable. A car could break down, lunch could be late, a crucial piece of camera equipment needs replacement before another take, anything. However, this is where everyone comes together and becomes the most efficient they can be. Are there certain lines of dialogue that need to be spoken, or is there subtext in the previous action that can imply it? Do we really need a fight scene at this moment in the story, or can the discord be expressed through dialogue instead? Does a character need to monologue for an entire minute, or can they convey the same emotion with just a few words? While this does not apply to every single set, time is the one constant that you will find on all of them. Thankfully, my experiences on the Flight Deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford gave me much insight into what controlled chaos looks like, so I am able to adapt quickly on set should the chaos start to stir on set.
What have you learnt over time that you wish you knew when you started?
I have learned that networking is one of the best ways to help you grow as a creative. The Covid-19 Pandemic isolated everyone from each other, and while I was in the Navy, we were under orders to not congregate off of the ship unless needed. This led to me not having many interactions outside of purely professional settings. When I began at New York Film Academy, many of our classes were remote, and networking events were held over Zoom. While convenient, if two other people are talking to one another in a Zoom Call, it’s difficult to talk to someone else on the call. As the restrictions relaxed more, I began to develop my networking skills. But it’s more than just asking for a business card and telling them to “Call me if you need something.” It’s checking up on them, encouraging them on their accomplishments, and if you see a position that this person may fit, recommend them for it and see what happens. While a person’s skills may be great, if they can’t simplify for others to understand, you may end up setting yourself back a little. This skill does take time to develop, so don’t try and rush it. Just be you!
What’s one skill, creative or technical, you wish more people in the industry took more time to master?
I think that a skill everyone should take more time to master is humility. While everyone on set is professional, dedicated, creative, and oftentimes fun, there are occasionally those on set that believe they are incapable of failure or blame. In my experiences, I have learned there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance; the challenge lies in walking that line. We are all professionals on set, we all know what we need to do in our positions in order to ensure a safe, smooth, and successful production. I myself am confident in my abilities on set as the DIT, but I also know that there are things that I don’t know, things that I need help with from time to time, and that I am continuing to learn on each set that I am a part of.
Who or what inspires you in your work?
While serving on the USS Ford during my final year of enlistment, I told some close friends about my desire to go to New York Film Academy and to become a part of the movie making industry. At the time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was at its peak, and we were all on our way to see Avengers Endgame. When we were all walking out of the theater together to have our post-movie talk, my friend turned to me and said “I want to see your name in those credits soon, Tobon.” We all laughed, but it got me thinking. What would happen if I was a part of these movies, or any movie for that matter, and during the credits, they saw my name pop up? What would their reaction be? Would they remember this conversation? Would they be happy? Would they laugh? The friends that I made while in the Navy are some of the best people that I have the privilege of knowing. They were there for me on my not-so-good days, and I keep in touch with all of them as best I can. I may not make it to the MCU like they thought I would, but you know what? I have a feeling these friends are going to cheer when they see my name in the credits. I want them to remember the good times that we all had since the Navy was basically our college experience. I want them to smile. And I want them to know that I’m going to keep getting onto other sets.
What’s one project you’re especially proud of, and why?
The project that I am the most proud of is my role as the DIT for the upcoming indie film Tox. This was my first solo position on set, and it was where my skills for this position were put to the test since I wasn’t the assistant this time. On set, it was my job to back up the day’s footage and audio, and to duplicate it to a Master Drive for safe keeping, and to an SSD so that I can deliver it to the post-production facility where the final stages of the production would take place. Not only was it my job to create these backups, but I had to ensure that the files were duplicated properly, otherwise the footage may not function properly when moved into the editing software. The files needed to be organized in a way that would be clear to the editor as to where everything is, so I collaborated with some of the post-production team to illustrate and explain where they will be able to find the files they are looking for. They approved of the organization system, and everything went smoothly.
What’s a typical day like for you when you’re on set as a DIT?
When you’re on set as a DIT, you usually begin your day around lunch/first meal. While this sounds like a great way to actually get some sleep on set, there’s a reason for my call time being later than everyone else. But we’ll get to that later. Once I arrive at the established Production Office, I take out my laptop, camera card reader, and the 2 SSDs that I will be using for backups that day. Since the crew is taking their lunch break, I go up to the camera team before they get in line and ask for the camera’s memory cards to start the duplication. I duplicate the camera cards to both SSDs, one for backing up to both of the Master Drives later in the day, and the other as an emergency backup. In my experience, if the footage exists on 1 Drive, it may as well not exist, since if something happens to that drive, the footage is gone. Once all of the footage has been backed up, I make note of that on my spreadsheet tracker that I create for every production. Since the sound card won’t be backed up until the end of the day, as well as the remaining camera cards, I spend the day creating proxies if the editor requests them, or I am backing up to one of Master Drives that I bring with me to set. The other Master Drive is in a secure location off set to ensure that the footage and audio up to that point are safe should anything happen to the drives on set. The SSDs act as “Shuttles” and are wiped once the footage has been moved to both of the larger Master Drives. When the day is over for the crew, the day has reached its halfway point for me. I must back up the remaining camera cards and the sound card to the Shuttles as well as the on site Master Drive, which I give to one of the Camera Team Members for the evening. Once I am where the other Master Drive is I begin the duplication of the day’s footage and audio. Since I now have all of the day’s data on it, as opposed to just the first half of the day like at lunch, the transfer time takes longer to complete. By the time all of the data has been successfully backed up, it is usually between 1am-4am depending on the Master Drive’s reading and writing capabilities. I repeat this process every day of production, and once everything has been backed up, I gather up each of the drives and return them to one of the producers, who will take custody of them from then on. While DIT isn’t the most physically demanding on set, it is one of the most stressful positions in my opinion because I am literally carrying the entire production on a few pieces of hardware. I have to ensure that all of the hard work from the cast, director, producers, camera team, sound team, grip department, art department, production assistants, the catering team, everyone, is secure and ready. So while everyone is celebrating a successful wrap that evening, I am doing what I can to make sure everything is set to go for the producers and editors the next day.
How do you approach storytelling through editing, especially when balancing the director’s vision with your own creative input?
I have learned that the best way to approach editing on a project that isn’t your own is to establish an editing style prior to the edit beginning. With the internship that I was a part of, and with both of the content creators that I have worked with, we would discuss a mood, a desired emotion, and a color style prior to any editing. There were always at least 2 revisions after the initial draft was sent, but having that collaboration in the beginning set expectations, with the revision phase shaping it to be closer to what the director had in mind at the beginning. If there was a creative disagreement, I would make the revision that they requested, while making a note of my personal editing choices from the previous draft. If they preferred my style over their initial notes, I would change it back. If they prefer the new version, we went with it. Being in a creative field means that many ideas are going to clash, but collaboration helps everyone involved understand the stylistic choices that were made.
Favourite on-set snack?
Now this is a tough one. On one hand, I want to say Bananas since they are good for you and help keep you going on set. On the other hand, I want to say that Welch’s Fruit Snacks are the best because I don’t need to worry about my hands getting sticky, which is something you don’t want to have when dealing with computers, hard drives, and camera cards. It’s really a tough call to make!
Any advice for people wanting to do the job that you do?
For anybody that wants to be the Digital Imaging Technician on set, since the DIT is often in the background of the background on most film sets, when you’re not actively supervising a data duplication, walk over to the set in between takes and make sure to introduce yourself to some of the other crew members. Your job is going to be very isolating at times since you’re doing data management, and it’s good to get up, walk around a bit, and check in on the cast and crew. See how they’re doing, ask about the shoot so far, and build relationships with everyone that you can.
As for some technical advice, I would suggest investing in a Mac Laptop that has at least 48GB of RAM. The more RAM your computer has, the faster the data can be transferred between the camera cards, sound cards, and the storage drives that you will need on set. Granted, how fast the data actually moves is determined by the hardware that the device is moving to and/or from, but it is always good to make the investment on the faster laptop going in. I would also suggest a protective laptop case for your laptop. You will be moving a lot, and sometimes your bag might bounce around a little bit. This will also make it easier to pick your laptop out of a lineup, since MacBooks tend to populate sets frequently, and the last thing you need is for someone to grab yours instead.
Currently working on a project or want to plug something?
Is it alright if I select 2? Yes? Thanks! The first project that I would like to plug is Tox, my first project as the lead DIT. The film follows a perfection-obsessed woman who, after decades of transforming herself, eagerly returns to her high school reunion, convinced that her newfound beauty will rewrite her past and win the validation she believes will fix her life. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this looks put together, as the footage looked amazing while I was backing it up!
The second project that I would like to plug is Higher Love, the second indie film where I was the lead DIT. The logline is “When a devoted husband is faced with his wife’s critical health crisis, he must make an impossible choice between two unacceptable outcomes, and is thrust into a life of caregiving, loneliness, and unexpected friendship that challenges everything he thought he knew about love, family, and faith.” The cast and crew on this production were absolutely incredible as well, and I am looking forward to seeing the final cut!
If you want to contact Joe you can here
