Careers A–Z · Lighting
Gaffer
The gaffer is head of the lighting and electrical department. The DoP says what the scene should look like; you work out how to build it, power it and strike it inside the schedule.
It is a technical job, a safety job and a management job at the same time.
The basics
Also known as, and where the grade sits.
| Gaffer | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Gaffer; formally chief lighting technician. A rigging gaffer runs the pre-rig crew. |
| Level | Head of department, under the DoP. |
| Reports to | The director of photography; on budget, the line producer. |
| Comes after | Best boy, or years as a spark. |
| Leads to | More of the same on larger shows. Some gaffers become DoPs. |
The job
What does a gaffer do?
In prep you recce with the DoP, read the schedule against the locations, and build the lighting order: fixtures, distribution, generators, rigging days and crew numbers.
On the day you take the DoP’s intention and turn it into positions, levels and colour. You run the crew, keep the rig safe, and know before you are asked how long a relight will take.
The unglamorous end: you are responsible for electricity on a set full of tired people. Cable runs in rain, working at height, night shoots, and the pre-rig that happens days before anybody else arrives.
The requirement
What is a gaffer good at?
Lighting knowledge is only half of it. The rest is planning and safety.
Electrical competence
Loads, distribution, generators, and the regulations behind them.
Speed estimation
Knowing what a relight costs in minutes before you commit.
Reading a DoP
Understanding intent from a reference image and a sentence.
Crew management
Running sparks safely across long days and rigging schedules.
Safety judgement
Working at height, water, weather, and the confidence to stop a set.
Kit
Tools of the trade.
| What | The actual items |
|---|---|
| Fixtures | ARRI SkyPanel and Orbiter, Aputure, Astera tubes, HMIs from 1.2K to 18K, tungsten fresnels, space lights. |
| Control | Lighting desk or tablet, DMX and wireless DMX, dimmers, and the desk operator who runs them. |
| Power | Generators, distribution boxes, cable runs, ties into house supply, and the paperwork. |
| Shaping | Flags, nets, silks, bounce, poly, diffusion and gel, on stands and rigged. |
| Rigging | Scaffold and truss, clamps, safety bonds, cherry pickers, and the risk assessment for all of it. |
The unit
Who does a gaffer work with?
| Who | What passes between you |
|---|---|
| DoP | Look, levels, colour and what the scene is for. |
| Best boy | The order, the crew, the truck and the paperwork. |
| Sparks | Positions, levels, safety and the pace of the day. |
| Key grip | Who owns the stand, the flag and the platform. |
| 1st AD | How long you need, and when you will get it. |
Routes in
How do I become a gaffer?
Almost every gaffer came up through the department, and most started as a spark.
Up from best boy
The standard route. Gaffing smaller jobs while still best-boying larger ones.
Electrical trade
Qualified electricians cross into film regularly and are welcome.
Rigging crew
Pre-rig work is the least gatekept entry into lighting.
Live events and theatre
Desk, rig and power skills transfer almost intact.
A degree is not required and is not usual. An electrical qualification is worth far more, and so is a current safety ticket.
Gaffers are hired on trust: a DoP who has seen your rig, and a crew who will work for you again.
Nearby
The grades either side of this one.
Lighting and grip argue about the same stand all day. Read both.
Lighting department guide
Everything free and worth paying for in this department, in the order to take it, with the books.
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.
