The Key is to Get a Grip!
When deciding what department I wanted to write about
for this assignment I first thought about what job I would like to do myself.
Having always wanting to be a cameraman I first looked into that. It quickly
became apparent that I was looking at the wrong department. As I have years of
construction background, I saw gripping as a possible career path for someone
like myself.
The grip department is responsible
for constructing and maintaining camera and light supporting equipment. On a
typical set the grips make up their own department directed by the Key Grip. Grips have the responsibility, or should I say
the enjoyment, of working the dolly, cranes, and any other joyful camera
support systems.
"Grips'
responsibility is to build and maintain all the equipment that supports
cameras. This equipment, which includes tripods, dollies, tracks, jibs, cranes,
and static rigs, is constructed of delicate yet heavy duty parts requiring a
high level of experience to operate and move. Every scene in a feature film is
shot using one or more cameras, each mounted on highly complex, extremely
expensive, heavy duty equipment. Grips assemble this equipment according to
meticulous specifications and push, pull, mount or hang it from a variety of settings.
The equipment can be as basic as a tripod standing on a studio floor, to
hazardous operations such as mounting a camera on a 100 ft crane, or hanging it
from a helicopter swooping above a mountain range." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grip_(job)#cite_note-0
One of my favorite things I learned
about grips from doing my research was stated in a short video “There is a
stereotype, where we are all a bunch of smokin, fartin, tough guys.” Brett
Hughes. http://www.5min.com/Video/What-a-Grip-Does-on-a-Film-Set-316946968.
I like this comment because I can
totally see myself fitting right in. My seven years of construction taught me
that hard work is fun, but only when you and your crew make it fun.
One film that really got me thinking
about grips is Zack Snyder’s, Sucker
Punch. While watching this movie I couldn’t help but to notice the
numerous, detailed camera moves required for the effects used. Although most
people didn’t care for the movie all that much, I couldn’t help but to be drawn
to every aspect of it. Every few minutes I find myself asking, “How did they
pull off that shot?” This was optimized by a shot with the four girls looking
into their makeup mirrors. The camera pulls an ark around the back of the girls
and doesn’t stop. It seamlessly moves around where the wall should be and
recreates the girls on the other side of the mirror. I noticed this shot the
first time I watched the movie, yet everyone I watch it with never picks up on
the magic it created. This shot was obviously the creation of the director or
director of photography, but was the responsibility of the grips to help pull
it off using the dolly. Shots like this make me want to be part of a film crew!
While the grips aren’t widely
accredited for being a major part of the movie, I believe they are the infantry
of a movie set. Without grips every movie would be a shaky mess of camera work.
While Key Grips and Best Boy Grips
can make salaries upward of $100,000, http://www.forbes.com/2006/03/02/hollywood-jobs-guide_cx_mr_0302moviejobs.html,
yet I suspect most everyday grips make far less than that. This is a job I am
very interested in but I really want a reliable job that I can support a family
with. I’m not completely sure this is a job that could reliably do that.
