Grip Minutia: Proper Spelling

I'll be grading papers this week, so I want you all to make sure you know the proper spelling of these commonly misspelled grip vocab words.

• Duvetyne- not duvyteen, duvatyne, or my favorite "dubateen." Wikipedia- Duvetyne
• Refrasil- not ruffasil, reefasil, or rufacil. Hitco- Refrasil Cloth
• Cheeseborough- This one is actually tricky as there are many acceptable spellings, but very little info on a "correct" spelling. I would consider Cheeseboro, Cheeseborough, Chesebro, and Chesebrough to all be acceptable, with the last one appearing to be the most historically accurate. ControlBooth Wiki
• Cardellini- not cartollini or cardalini. Cardellini Products
• Mafer- Believe it or not, today I just saw - "Mapher," kill me now. Matthews Studio Equipment
• Mitchell- I know this isn't misspelled that often, but I know I'm always tempted to drop an L.
• Anderton Pin- It's not an anderson pin, just think of Tom Cruise from Minority Report. Cardellini Products
• Speed C- not Speed Cee or Speed See
• Griffolyn- not griffolan or griffalon. Matthews Studio Equipment
• Lamé- and you type the é on a Mac by pressing Option+E and then E. Wikipedia- Lamé
• Mombo Combo- not mambo combo. American Grip Equipment

Grip Minutia: Wrenches (part 2 of 2)

Part one was all about internal hex wrenches or Allen wrenches, part two is all about external hex wrenches.

There are a few main sizes that get used pretty constantly:

• 7/8" - standard cheeseborough size
• 11/16" - Modern Studio Equipment cheeseborough size
• 9/16" - standard 3/8" bolt head(the most common bolt grips will encounter)
• 7/16" - standard 1/4" bolt head(the second most common bolt grips will encounter)

Let's start with the second two first. These are the easiest to find and the least interesting to discuss here. Sears/Orchard Supply Hardware both carry the Craftsman brand and are probably the best place to start looking for a wrench you like. You can chose to go the socket and ratchet route, the box wrench route, or even the ratcheting box wrench route. You can get a deep socket, a flexible head box wrench, or even Craftsman's new pass through socket wrench. You pretty much can't go wrong.

"Hater" Wrench for cheeseboroughsThe first two are a different beast though. You'll find yourself using these to sizes on a pretty regular basis and having good solution for dealing with these is pretty important. You can go with a "Hater" but that only covers you for the standard Craftsman 11/16" x 7/8" ratcheting box wrenchcheeseborough size and your fellow grips will have a hard time loosening clamps that you've tightened with that super sized lever. My reccomendation is to go with a double ended ratcheting box wrench from Craftstman. They make a wrench that has 7/8" on one end and 11/16" on the other. They make a straight version that fits in your tool pouch better, or an angled version that is a little more ergonomic to work with.

Grip Minutia: Wrenches (part 1 of 2)

I'm going to do a 2 part series about the the different sizes and types of wrenches grips find themselves using.

To start things off, the mother of all grip wrenches, the one that makes almost everything we do possible:

3/16" hex key

The majority of the fittings we use on speedrail and 5/8" rail, and a lot of other stuff uses 3/8" set screws or "grub nuts" that use a 3/16" hex or allen key. There are many different types of hex wrenches out there and they all have different strengths and weaknesses. I haven't met a style of wrench that didn't have it's merits in one situation or another.

But far and away the most common, mostly useful type of 3/16" hex wrench is the speed wrench. This compact little guy doesn't take up much space on your belt and is long enough to get you the leverage you need. Another popular option is getting a stubby ratchet and then put a hex key socket on it. With that setup, you can also put a rubber band on the socket to get a little thumb wheel action going on. You can also get a set of allen keys which is handy for when you need to fix a riser on a stand as they usually use a different size. Speaking of which, the other hex key size that is pretty common is 7/32". That is the size used in countersunk bolts for cheeseplates.

 

The Rare and Elusive "Grip/Gaffer"

This post will contain information that to my knowledge is current and factual at the time of writing.

But, I must warn you, this is totally a pet peeve post.

Knowledge of correct nomenclature is very important in any profession and the film industry is no exception. On Craigslist you will find countless examples of people that have no clue about the lighting department. I don't hold it against them; typically, if you are posting on Craigslist for your crew, you aren't a professional. If you were professional, you would know that the typical method of hiring a crew is by word of mouth/recommendation from the top down. You hire department heads and they find the crew that will be working under them. So you find yourself posting on Craigslist and thinking to yourself, "Okay, I need a sound mixer.... I need a DP... and I need some of those guys that setup the lights and equipment... what are they called again? Well, I've heard the names GRIP and GAFFER tossed around, they must have something to do with lighting... but I don't know which one's which.... I'll just assume they are the same thing and put a slash there."

"Looking for a few grip/gaffers to help light my short"

If you were looking to start a football team, you just asked for a few linebackers/coaches to help you out.

When you say things like grip/gaffer you not only show your own ignorance, but you show your lack of respect for the professions of the people you're looking to hire. When I have enough money to make a project of my own, I'm going to post on Craigslist looking for a couple of PA/UPMs.

So just to dispel any false impressions people have about the words GRIP and GAFFER, let me spell it out for you. There are two departments within the Lighting Department, the GRIP department and the ELECTRIC department.

The Grip department is headed by the Key Grip and has a Best Boy Grip. The rest of the people in the department are Grips and there are some Dolly grips. The Grip department is responsible for three main things: helping light the scene by bouncing light, diffusing light, coloring light, and creating shadows; helping the Electric department rig lights when they go anywhere other than a stand; and supporting the Camera department with dollies, cranes, and rigging the camera anywhere other than a tripod.

The Electric department is headed by the Gaffer and has a Best Boy Electric. The rest of the people in the department are Electrics(or SLT's Set Lighting Technicians). The Electric department is responsible for operating the generator, running power to where it's needed on set, and setting up and operating the lights needed to light the scene.

To review(each department is in order of seniority):

Electric Department

• Gaffer
• Best Boy Electric
• Electrics

 Grip Department

• Key Grip
• Best Boy Grip
• Dolly Grips
• Grips

If you want to be professional, hire a DP and he'll hire his Gaffer and Key Grip.

If you want to look professional, say you're looking for a Gaffer and a Key Grip.

If you don't care.... keep posting whatever the hell you want on Craigslist and have fun working with amatuers. 

Please, Don't Run on Set

"No job is worth dying for... especially not this one"

~unknown

Film sets can be very dangerous places to work. We've all done things that would give our mothers a heart attack. We make a habit of working in dangerous environments and we regularly ask actors and stunt men to do hazardous things over and over again. Because of those tendencies we collectively try and focus on taking steps to make our environment safer. We put tape X's on floor to ceiling windows; we put brightly colored tape on low overheads; we even install handrails where there wasn't any. But sometimes, no matter how much you try, someone manages to hurt themselves.

Last night I was working on a sloped rooftop, filming stunt men jumping off the roof onto a lower roof, and lighting from a third rooftop. The main rooftop(pictured) was littered with cables and conduit, was accessible by a staircase, but had no railing other than a one foot high parapet. The lower rooftop was also littered with trip hazards, sloped in a deceptively off angle, and was kept very dark for the scene. The third rooftop was only accessible from at forty foot ladder that was barely holding on to the building, had a very aggressive slope, and it's two foot high parapet was made of crumbling brick.

We spent six hours shooting shooting on those rooftops, and no one got hurt.

No one on the roof that is.

Someone was running away from set to grab something and fell down a flight of stairs. I didn't hear the final word, but the rumor was a dislocated shoulder and tweaked back.

I understand that you want to do your job well. You don't want production to be waiting on you. But your health and safety is worth the extra 30 seconds.

Please, use your common sense, don't be stupid,

DON'T RUN ON SET... EVER!