The Key is to Get a Grip!

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.