Careers A–Z · Grip
Grip
A grip builds, moves and secures everything the camera sits on. Track, dolly, crane, car rigs, scaffold, clamps and the flag that is stopping a light hitting the lens.
The dolly grip — the person pushing the dolly through the take — is a grip specialism and a craft of its own.
The basics
Also known as, and where the grade sits.
| Grip | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Grip. Specialisms: dolly grip, crane technician, rigging grip. |
| Level | The department’s working grade, with a grip trainee below. |
| Reports to | The key grip. |
| Comes after | Grip trainee, construction, scaffolding, rigging. |
| Leads to | Dolly grip, crane technician, key grip. |
The job
What does a grip do?
You carry and build. Track laid level and quiet, dolly assembled and balanced, crane counterweighted, stands and flags set, and everything bonded so it cannot fall.
As dolly grip you push the move: starting and stopping on the frame, matching the operator’s pace, hitting the same marks take after take without the camera feeling pushed.
The unglamorous end: it is heavy, it is early, and it is often outdoors in weather. You lift the track back up at the end of the day and load it in the dark.
The requirement
What is a grip good at?
Strength helps. Care, timing and mechanical sense matter more.
Timing
Matching a move to a performance, repeatably.
Mechanical sense
Balance, leverage and knowing when a rig is wrong.
Care with kit
Dollies and heads are expensive and unforgiving.
Teamwork
Nothing in this department is lifted alone.
Safety
Bonds, straps and the discipline to check twice.
Kit
Tools of the trade.
| What | The actual items |
|---|---|
| Track and dolly | Straight and curved track, wedges, levels, Panther and Chapman dollies, risers, seats, boards. |
| Support | Hi-hats, low mode brackets, magic arms, cheeseplates, speed rail, apple boxes. |
| Rigging | Clamps, ratchet straps, safety bonds, sandbags, suction mounts, scaffold fittings. |
| Shaping | Flags, floppies, nets, silks, butterflies, poly and every kind of stand. |
| Personal | Gloves, spanners, a spirit level, tape and steel toecaps. |
The unit
Who does a grip work with?
| Who | What passes between you |
|---|---|
| Key grip | Your allocation, your rig and your day. |
| Camera operator | Move, speed and where the camera goes. |
| 1st AC | Distance, marks and how the move affects focus. |
| Sparks | Stands, flags and the running argument over floor space. |
| Construction | Floors, platforms and what will take the weight. |
Routes in
How do I become a grip?
Grip is one of the most open departments in the industry for anyone practical.
Grip trainee
The direct entry. Turn up fit, early and willing to lift.
Trades
Scaffolders, carpenters and riggers transfer straight in.
Grip rental house
Prep and delivery work, and a fast route onto units.
Commercials and promos
Short jobs, heavy rigging, quick learning.
A degree is not required and is not expected in this department. Rigging, manual handling and working-at-height tickets are what a key grip wants to see.
Turn up, lift properly, and be somebody the department wants back.
Nearby
The grades either side of this one.
Read the grade above and the two departments you share every set with.
Grip department guide
The short list for the least documented department in the industry, with the one book.
Never been on a set? Start here. Offered a first day? Read this first. Want to know where this grade leads? Where people have gone names people who trained here and the productions they went to.
