Digital intermediate (typically abbreviated to
DI) is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a
motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. It often replaces or augments the photochemical timing process and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie before
distribution in
theaters. It is distinguished from the
telecine process in which film is scanned and color is manipulated early in the process to facilitate editing. However the lines between telecine and DI are continually blurred and are often executed on the same hardware by colorists of the same background. These two steps are typically part of the overall color management process in a motion picture at different points in time. A digital intermediate is also customarily done at higher
resolution and with greater color fidelity than telecine transfers.