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DECEMBER 2004

What in the World is a Grip & Gaffer?
By Liza Young

The final product of movie making is based on an intricate process usually involving the collaboration of scores of people. Of course it is common knowledge what the role of actor, director and producer are, but we could not see their work without the involvement of grips, gaffers and photography directors.

Shane Shauer

Shane Shauer, currently a key grip, has had an interesting career path in the film industry. He has had experience doing work as a gaffer as well as director of photography (DP). Talking to him, he was able to illustrate the roles of the grip, gaffer and DP and the interplay between them. 

As described by Shane, the DP is in “charge of creating the look of the film by controlling light.” The key grip and gaffer assist him in making this possible. The gaffer is in charge of lighting while the key grip is in charge of shading. The support staff of the gaffer are electricians who run power cables and control lighting. Grips work under the direction of the key grip, and they are involved with setting up stands, building and support rigs and carrying sand bags.

With respect to how one can get involved in the business, Shane shared his insights. He was fortunate to have graduated from a great program for film, that is, Florida State University (FSU) Film School. Shane describes the school as providing an excellent overview and examination of the film production process, from pre-production to post-production. While there were some courses focusing on the technical aspects of gripping, but mostly the school provides the encouragement and resources to support and enrich one's talents and goals in the field of filmmaking. 

During his time at the university, Shane had the opportunity to work with excellent equipment and he became adept at working with it, to the point of even knowing how to repair it. After graduating from FSU, Shane segued directly into the role of Key Grip. Since then, he has also worked as gaffer and occasionally as DP.

Shane finds all aspects of filmmaking enjoyable. There are interesting challenges involved. He recalled how on the last film he worked he was able to creatively deal with a lighting difficulty. The challenge was to recreate lighting that had been filmed earlier that day. Light kept showing up on camera, but Shane came up with the idea of removing the ceiling tile, hiding the lights above, and covering the hole with diffusion paper, thus recreating the appropriate lighting. According to Shane, “the biggest part of filmmaking is taking whatever resources you have and making them work. Things might seem impossible, but I always tell myself there has to be a way to make it work so just find it out.”

Additional advice Shane has for those wishing to enter the world of filmmaking, working behind the camera, is that there is a lot of competition in the field, and that initially the hours are long with relatively low salary, but good work is recognized in the field and with persistence and dedication, one can work at tasks which are more personally enjoyable. The important thing is to start working on film sets in any capacity, read the set technician handbooks, build a network of friends, and of course, never give up. 

Shane has moved his way up the path of filmmaking, only recently having graduated from FSU, and having already accomplished such tasks as serving as the DP for several commercials as well as movies including Hunger and Slingshot. His dream is to become a recognized cinematographer, with acceptance in the American Society of Cinematography. According to Shane this will involve lots of work and dedication, but “you don't get there by giving up.”#
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