What is the role of Key Grips and Best Boys in nearly every movie?

What is the role of Key Grips and Best Boys in nearly every movie? - Photo of Female Mobster Pointing the Gun on Man

I have noticed there are always these two roles mentioned in the final credits of every movie. What do these people do?



Best Answer

Key Grip

In North American filmmaking, the key grip supervises all grip (lighting and rigging) crews and reports to the director of photography.

Before filming begins, the key grip attends location scouts and meets the director of photography to determine what additional tools (location-specific motor vehicles, dollies, cranes, mounts, etc.) will be needed, orders and prepares required equipment, and transports equipment to the filming location. Once on set, the key grip coordinates with the electric and camera departments alongside the director of photography to control lighting and camera movement and setup. As a supervisor, the key grip directs the crew of grips, many with specialized skills such as dolly grips, crane operators, or special equipment operators.

Best Boy

In a film crew there are two kinds of best boy: best boy electric and best boy grip. They are assistants to their department heads, the gaffer (in charge of electricals) and the key grip (lighting and rigging), respectively. In short, the best boy acts as the foreman for the department. A woman who performs the duties of a best boy may be called best girl. All are sometimes called best person.

Best boys are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the lighting or grip department. Their many responsibilities include the hiring, scheduling, and management of crew; the renting, ordering, inventory, and returning of equipment; workplace safety and maintaining discipline within their department; completing timecards and other paperwork; stocking of expendables; loading and unloading production trucks; planning and implementing the lighting or rigging of locations and/or sound stages; coordinating with rigging crews and additional photography units (if applicable); handling relations with the other production departments; overseeing the application of union rules (where relevant); and serving as the day-to-day representative of the department with the unit production manager and coordinator of their department.




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What is the role of a best boy in film?

THE BEST BOY is a senior electrician on a film crew, coming second in the hierarchy to the "gaffer", the chief electrician. The electricians are responsible for the technical side of the lighting and are known as the "sparks" in this country or "juicers" in the US.

What does a grip do in the movies?

While directors think of the artistry of the shots, grips work out how they are going to move the cameras to make that happen. Before filming starts, grips break down the script and work out with the DoP what equipment will be needed to support the cameras for each scene. They go on recces to check out the location.



What Exactly Does a Key Grip do on Set? - An Interview with Jake Reeder




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