Grip & lighting North Carolina would likely made you think about the last time you watched a movie or tv program and look at the long list of credits. It’s likely that the word grip flashed onto the screen, followed by much more grips and so on. If you have ever wondered what a grip actually does, well it’s not that glamorous, but it’s a job in which many generations of working families in Hollywood have supported themselves on for nearly a century. In grip and lighting North Carolina, a grip is actually a handyman who sets up lighting equipment, sound boards, electrical systems, wardrobe and also props.
The work duties of a grip began in the 1920s when Hollywood first started to churn out film after film. Day labourers in the old days camp out right in front of the studio lots looking for work. The ones that were selected were sent to the train depot to pick up baggage for the actors and help them to carry it back to the studio. The word grip was a sort of a slang word used to refer to the baggage. When the motion picture labour unions formed, they retained the slang word and began calling the grunt workers grips. Even now a movie-set staff carrying electrical cables around the back lot or moving mini-skirts on a rack is known as grip.
The grip arrives on the set early and leaves late, first person in and last one to go home. A grip helps the photography director and also helps him get the lighting just right before the cameras role. Aside from being there for the photography director, a grip is also expected to load and unload equipment from the shooting location and repair broken parts when needed. A grip has to be strong, ingenious and at all times ready to assist. He also needs to work nicely with others and have some sense of etiquette, specifically when the director, producer or actors are on set.
The very best way for you to be a grip is to network with people within the industry. Try to find non-union work first, like a student film, then join the IATSE Local 80. The Local 80 has numerous job listings that it gives only with members. There are no academic requirements to become a grip, but membership in IATSE Local 80 is needed to work on the big studio sets.
The beginning pay of Grip & lighting North Carolina for an experienced grip was $29.03 per hour for IATSE Local 80 members. Many grips work more than forty hours weekly and receive time-and-a-half for overtime. In the United Kingdom, Australia and many parts of Europe, grips are not involved in lighting. In the British System, a grip is exclusively responsible for camera installation as well as support. The term ‘grip’ goes back to the early era of the circus. From there it was used in vaudeville and then in todays film sound stages as well as sets. A few have suggested the name originates from the 1930s-40s slang term for a tool bag or “grip” that these technicians use to carry their equipment to work.