We at DCS are very sad to report the passing of our good friend and founding member Dan DiPaola. Dan wore many hats working in the entertainment industry for over 40 years, always at the pioneering intersection of technology and creativity. He served as creative producer and director on many varied projects and used his extensive on-set film and post production background to help integrate new technology in the service of creativity.

After stints at Coppola’s American Zoetrope, Digital Domain, and Walt Disney Studios, Dan founded his own company, Digital Production Racks, in 2003, being one of the first to bring post production technology to the set. He later formed both HD-Encoding and Forward Movement Studios.

Dan was a proud native of Laguna Beach, California and lived for many years in Burbank before moving to Marin County in Northern California, and finally to the state of Washington. After living with Parkinson’s for 15 years, and more recently with Lewy body dementia, Dan passed peacefully on the evening of March 26th at the age of 73. He is survived by his wife of many years, electronic gaming executive Rachel DiPaola and their two adult children, Sophia and Dominic.

Donations can be made in Dan’s name to the Michael J. Fox Foundation with a mission to eliminate Parkinson’s disease: https://www.michaeljfox.org/