"D" is for "Director", except when...?

[Sarah Neufeld]

Hello!

I'm translating a manga about teenagers in show business, and the characters tend to refer to members of the film production staff by the first letters of the English equivalents of their job titles. ("P" for producer, "AD" for assistant director, etc.) So I assumed "D" was for director, until I hit this line:

それを元に監督やDがコンテを切る。

I thought it might have been a typo, but then it came up again:

[The producer]の意見が監督やDを通して現場に伝わる。

I've been going through lists of studio jargon online, but the only other job title abbreviated as "D" seems to be "designer", and that wouldn't fit this context.

Any idea what's going on here? Could it be a confusingly-punctuated attempt to make sure readers know that "D" = Director? (As in "the director, or 'D'...") Were they in the mangaka's term list as alternates, and he used both by mistake? Or is there another job out there that's on the same level as "director" and also abbreviated "D", and I've somehow just managed to miss it? Any insight very much appreciated.

Sarah Neufeld
Beaverton, OR, USA

[Motohiro Kojima]

Sarah Neufeld様

私はマンガやショー・ビジネスのことは詳しくありませんが、
あなたの推測は正しいと思います。
絵コンテを切るのは、通常は監督またはディレクターでしょうから、
Dはdirectorを指していると考えるのが自然です。

FYI（業界用語辞典）
https://tf-tms.jp/glossary/getword.php?w=%EF%BC%A4%3C%EF%BC%A4irector%3E
http://webyougo.wiki.fc2.com/wiki/D%EF%BC%88%E7%95%A5%E8%AA%9E%EF%BC%89#:~:text=%E6%84%8F%E5%91%B3,%E3%81%AFWeb%E3%83%87%E3%82%A3%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AF%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%81%AE%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%80%82

2022.11.07 15:23:00
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小島基弘 <mthr...@imoduru.net>

[Sarah Neufeld]

小島様、

用語集は助かりました！ やはり「Director」しかないですね... 当ててよかったです。大変ありがとうございます！

Sarah Neufeld