IDT (Intermediate Digital Time)

You're working in the color suite or in VFX compositing and wonder why your footage suddenly appears in a different color space than the one you shot in — that's IDT. The Intermediate Digital Time format isn't a new codec, but a mathematical transformation that converts your raw footage or camera log into a standardized, linear working color space. DaVinci and NUKE work internally with it to give you reproducible, stable results, regardless of whether you start with Alexa Log-C, RED IPP2, or other proprietary gamma curves.

Practically, this means: The IDT is the first mathematical operation that your image material encounters. It decodes your camera's logarithmic recording and converts it into a linear color space — a space where the physics are correct. Highlights and shadows are preserved because the transformation respects your camera's non-linear curves. You don't notice it directly on set or in post, but without IDT, your color correction would function mathematically incorrectly. When you select the camera model in DaVinci, the system automatically loads the appropriate IDT — that's no coincidence.

A common mistake: Confusing IDT with LUT. A LUT is a visual transformation, an artistic tool. The IDT is a physically correct decoding — it has no artistic intent. It is as invisible as possible and as precise as necessary. With 16-bit work or highly complex VFX pipelines, you'll notice how critical this is: If your IDT is incorrect, all compositing work will go awry because the mathematical foundations are wrong.

Important to know: IDT standards are maintained by camera manufacturers and color management organizations (like the Academy). Red, Arri, Sony — each provides its own IDT implementation. You'll be safest if you use the manufacturer's file, not some recreated version. In daily work, this is usually handled automatically — but as soon as you mix multiple cameras or reprocess older material, you need to pay attention to the correct IDT.