What Are Dailies in Film? Definition, Workflow & How They Work

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Published: December 5, 2025 | Last Updated: December 19, 2025

Why Dailies Matter to Your Workflow

Dailies help you spot problems like missed lines, bad lighting, or out-of-focus shots. Fixing these early keeps your schedule and budget on track.

If a take isn’t usable, you can reshoot it right away instead of discovering the issue weeks later in post. That saves time, prevents delays, and keeps your project moving forward.

How the Different Crew Members Use Dailies

Dailies keep the set crew and post team in sync by showing exactly what was shot, so editors and VFX teams know what materials they’ll be working with.

Editors use them to log takes, label scenes, and begin rough assemblies based on the director’s notes. Visual effects teams use dailies to identify which shots will need digital work, so they can start preparing assets and schedules early.

Producers watch dailies to make sure everything is going according to the plan, including deadlines, script goals, and overall cost.

Who Reviews Dailies

Several key team members rely on dailies to stay aligned. Each one watches for something different, such as performance, technical quality, continuity, or editing needs.

• Director — checks if the performances match their vision.
• Cinematographer (DP) — confirms lighting, focus, composition, and movement.
• Editor / Editorial Team — verifies coverage, marks good takes, and plans how to assemble scenes.
• Producers — track shooting progress, cost, and whether the material matches what was planned.

On larger productions, actors, script supervisors, or VFX leads may also review dailies to give feedback or check continuity.

What Dailies Typically Include

Dailies show everything shot on set that day. That includes all takes, even the ones with mistakes or camera errors.

You’ll see multiple angles, alternate performances, insert shots, second-unit material, or visual effects plates — clean background shots used later to add digital elements. Even takes with a boom mic in frame or a flubbed line can be helpful to study blocking, lighting, or camera movement.

Dailies aren’t edited or color-corrected. They show the raw footage as it was captured on set.

The DIT Crew is Responsible for Dailies

The Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) is the person responsible for backing up the footage, applying temporary color presets (LUTs), and organizing files for the post team. They work directly with the camera department to ensure that everything shot is safely stored and properly labeled before being turned into dailies.

Digital versions include timecode, clip names, and color presets (called LUTs) that show what the final look might be. These markers help editors reconnect preview files with the high-quality master footage during the final edit or color grade.

When and How Dailies Guide Your Shoot

Watching dailies regularly helps you make changes on the fly, like adjusting performance, lighting, or camera placement before filming the next scene. The earlier you review them, the easier it is to correct problems on set.

Dailies are usually reviewed the next morning, during lunch breaks, or after wrap. Some teams watch them together in a screening room, while others review them remotely using cloud platforms.

If the dailies show a weak performance, a missed insert shot, or missing coverage, you can schedule a pickup, i.e., a short extra shoot to capture a missing or improved shot. This avoids costly reshoots later or missing footage during the edit.

For productions with visual effects or tight post timelines, it’s best to plan your dailies workflow before the shoot starts. Decide how the footage will be labeled, safely stored, matched with its audio, and shared with the team for review. This prevents problems like missing clips, sync issues, or confusion between departments.

Alternate Terms and Industry Usage

The word “dailies” isn’t the only term you’ll hear. Depending on your production or location, there may be other names for the same review process.

Dailies are also called “rushes,” especially in the UK and older film circles. In animation, they’re known as “sweat box sessions,” where newly rendered shots are screened by the director and animation team for notes.

All of these terms describe the same process: reviewing footage daily to find mistakes, make adjustments, and confirm that the scene looks, feels, and performs the way the director intended.

How Dailies Were Created (Then and Now)

The process of making and watching dailies has changed over time. Film productions used to rely on printed workprints. Now most use digital files.

In traditional, film-based workflows, the shoot negative was sent overnight to a lab. The lab developed the film, created a workprint, synced it with audio using the clapperboard, and returned it for screening. This physical copy became the dailies for that shoot day.

Today, dailies are usually digital. Footage is backed up, synced with audio, and uploaded to a secure platform. Directors and editors can view the footage quickly, even during the same shoot day. This makes it easier to give notes and adjust the next scene.

Summing Up

Dailies are the unedited footage from each day of filming. They let you check whether performance, camera work, lighting, sound, framing, and coverage match your intentions. They help you catch mistakes early, while the set, crew, and cast are still available to fix them. Dailies give the editing team exactly what was filmed, so they can start organizing footage, planning cuts, and preparing for post work right away.