film jobs

[paulz]

Daughter caught me out over the weekend [not hard she's 9, I'm not] She was watching the credits on TV for some film or other and wanted to know what the 'Best Boy' did, why wasn't there a 'Best Girl/Woman;' what does a key grip do [?look after the bags - I guessed] what about the 'Gaffer' [is he a sparky of some sort?] there must be other wierdy titles, but they'd gone thru to quick to catch.

[LeMarchand]

Best Boy: (AKA: Assistant Chief Lighting Technician, Best Boy Grip, Best Boy Electric). The chief assistant, usually of the gaffer, but more often lately used as a general term for the second in command of a group. This term is likely borrowed from early sailing and whaling crews, as sailors were often employed to set up and work rigging in theatres. There are no "best girls" per se; female chief assistants are also called "Best Boys". Key grip: The chief of a group of grips, often doubling for a construction co-ordinator and a backup for the camera crew. Key grips work closely with the gaffer. Gaffer: (AKA: Chief Lighting Technician). The head of the electrical department, responsible for the design and execution of the lighting plan for a production. Early films used mostly natural light, which stagehands controlled with large tent cloths using long poles called gaffs (stagehands were often beached sailors or longshoremen, and a gaff is a type of boom on a sailing ship). In 16th Century English, the term "gaffer" denoted a man who was the head of any organized group of laborers. Check http://www.imdb.com/Glossary/ for other definitions!