Director of photography A director of photography — often abbreviated DP or DOP , and somewhat arguably interchangeable with the term cinematographer — is a key department head on the production of film and digitally - captured productions set in the " Doctor Who " universe . In charge of the lighting and actual filming of an episode , the DP is perhaps most simply thought of as the person responsible for the visual tonality of principal photography . Combined with the post - production talent of the colourist , the cinematographer is one of two key people whose artistic choices are indispensable to the way an episode looks . Consistently present in " Doctor Who " universe credits since the 1996 Paul McGann movie , the job has no true analogy in the 1963 version of the " Doctor Who " — perhaps mainly because the term is almost never applied to videotaped entertainment . Instead , the job of the modern DP was then effectively split between the " lighting director " ( often completely uncredited , or listed under " studio lighting " or just " lighting " ) and the " camera supervisor " ( often completely uncredited or the first name given under " cameras " or " camera operator " ) . Naming controversy . Though the term is often interchanged with the word " cinematographer " , debate within the industry as to a definable difference between a " cinematographer " and a " DP " has meant that " Doctor Who " and its related programmes have preferred to formally use the credit " director of photography " . Nevertheless , as some DPs , like Glen MacPherson and Ernie Vincze , have been members of prestigious national societies of cinematographers , the line between a " DP " and a " cinematographer " on " Doctor Who " is a fine one . Job functionality . On the BBC Wales version of " Doctor Who " , the DP uses the American definition of the job . He — for a woman has not yet been a DP on any " Doctor Who " - related show — is thus in full charge of both the lighting and camera departments . His principal duty is to design the lighting plan for the episode and to manage the technical details of actually filming it . People that report to the DP include , but are not limited to : gaffer s , best boy s , grip s , lighting rigger s and camera operator s . The DP notionally reports to the director , but relationship between the two is usually consultative and collaborative . An example of cinematography . The short scene where Donna Noble and the Tenth Doctor initially met affords an unusual chance for the ordinary viewer to clearly see what the cinematographer actually does . Ernie Vincze had lit the original take of the scene in " Doomsday " , but Rory Taylor was " The Runaway Bride " s DP . Because Vincze preferred to use gels that cast the set in blues and greens — and because Vincze tended to light for heavy areas of shadow in the console room — it would not have been possible for the production team to merely " lift " the scene from " Doomsday " and insert it into " Bride " . So much of the episode was set inside the Doctor ' s TARDIS , that the difference between the two cinematographers ' choices would have been visually disharmonious . Thus , " Bride " s director , Euros Lyn , was obliged to re - shoot the entire scene with Taylor ' s preferred lighting , matching it shot - for - shot with Graeme Harper ' s work on " Doomsday " . At right is a comparison between the two takes of the scene , taken from exactly the same moment in the respective takes . The dramatic difference between the two clearly illustrates the impact a cinematographer can have on a scene , but also instantly reveals Taylor to be a director of photography who preferred rich , warm colours , like reds and yellows . It also shows a penchant for strong , even lighting in interior TARDIS scenes . This preference was not limited to " Bride " , but the Christmas special was a kind of turning point . Afterward , the difference between the two men ' s work was somewhat less pronounced . This can easily be seen by comparing any Taylor series 4 episode to any Vincze series 4 episode . Even greater proof of the shift in Vincze ' s design philosophy can be plainly observed by comparing his series 1 episodes with his series 4 work . Rose ' s initial scene in the TARDIS ( TV : " Rose " ) is lit quite differently to her final one ( TV : " Journey ' s End " ) . Specialised varieties . Though the main director of photography retains overall control over the filming of an episode , sometimes specialised units have their own DOPs . Model unit DOP . Infrequently credited , the model unit DOP has the functionality of a DOP within the narrow confines of a SFX shoot that exclusively involves models . Aerial DOP . Aerial DOPs are somewhat rare in the history of " Doctor Who " generally — much less the BBC Wales version . This is because it involves camera work from within a helicopter or plane — and these sort of shoots have historically been too expensive for the budget of " Doctor Who " . Nevertheless , an aerial DOP was known to have been employed on the opening sequence of " The Eleventh Hour " . ( WC : " Doctor Who Video Explorer " )