A gaffer in the motion media industry is the head of the electrical department, responsible for the execution (and sometimes the design) of the lighting plan for a production. Gaffer, outside of the motion picture industry, is a traditional British English word for an older man or boss. It is essentially a variant on grandfather, used as a term of respect for a village elder, and applied to those in charge of workers since the 19th century. Within the motion picture industry the term has been used for the chief electrician in films since 1936. His assistant is the best boy.
Experienced gaffers can coordinate the entire job of lighting, given knowledge of the time of day and conditions to be portrayed, managing resources as broad as electrical generators, lights, cable, and manpower. Gaffers are responsible for knowing the appropriate color of gel (plastic sheeting) to put on the lights or windows to achieve a variety of effects, such as transforming midday into a beautiful sunset. They can re-create the flicker of lights in a subway car, the motion of light inside a turning airplane, or the passage of night into day.
Usually, the gaffer works for and reports to the director of photography or, in television, the Lighting Director (LD). The DP/LD is responsible for the overall lighting design, but he or she may give a little or a lot of latitude to the gaffer on these matters, depending on their working relationship. The gaffer works with the key grip, who is in charge of some of the equipment related to the lighting. The gaffer will usually have an assistant called a best boy and, depending on the size of the job, crew members who are called “electricians,” although not all of them are trained as electricians in the usual sense of the term. Colloquially they are known as ‘sparks.’
Many gaffers are expected to own a truck complete with most basic lighting equipment and then rent extra lighting equipment as needed.
The black tape which is used for temporary fixing of cables etc is thereby known as gaffer tape.
Robert McKenna
Jon Montgomery
Joe Grimaldi
Darrel Flowers
Phil Guye
John Frisbie
Martin Bourgund
Some Assistant Camera’s who have worked for BCP
July 13th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
[...] that goes around the outside edge of the device. Perhaps instead of the silver duct tape, some black gaffer’s tape might prove to be a more elegant option? [...]