Best boy
Encyclopedia
In a film crew
there are two kinds of best boy: best boy electric and best boy grip. They are assistants to their department heads, the gaffer
and the key grip
, respectively.
, a best boy, and a few electricians. The grip department may include only a key grip, a best boy, and a few grip
s. Very large crews may have as many as 24 grips or electricians per department and may include full-time rigging crews and additional photography units, depending on the scale of the production.
Best boys are responsible for the daily running of the lighting or grip department. Their many responsibilities include the hiring and scheduling of crew, the ordering and returning of lighting or grip equipment, workplace safety, timecards, expendables, loading production trucks, planning and implementing the lighting or rigging of locations and/or sound stages, coordinating rigging crews and additional photography units (if applicable), handling relations with the other production departments, overseeing the application of union rules (where relevant), and serving as the day-to-day representative of the department with the unit production manager
and coordinator of the film.
As the gaffer is sometimes credited as the chief lighting technician, the best boy electric is sometimes credited as the assistant chief lighting technician.
In the early days of film, the key grip would ask the gaffer, "can I borrow your best boy for an hour?" and vice versa. The term stuck.
The title is accepted for use in credits by the BBC, despite its general policy against credits which imply that certain jobs are the preserve of one gender only.
use Best Boy in their credits. The term has been known to appear in the credits of some French films made in France, but it has not been known to appear in French language Belgian or Swiss films.
The German film Auf der anderen Seite (The Edge of Heaven
), which takes place in Germany and Turkey, uses the term Best Boy in its German credits.
Film crew
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew positions.A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the Actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for...
there are two kinds of best boy: best boy electric and best boy grip. They are assistants to their department heads, the gaffer
Gaffer (filmmaking)
A gaffer in the motion picture industry and on a television crew is an electrician that can be head of the electrical department, responsible for the execution of the lighting plan for a production. Gaffer, outside of the motion picture industry, is a traditional British English word for an older...
and the key grip
Key grip
In the United States and many parts of the world in film-making, the key grip is the head of the grip department and chief rigging technician on the set. Using light, he or she is in charge of the shadows of light, the movement of the camera, the placing of cameras on any stationary, moving,...
, respectively.
Job responsibilities
On films with very small crews, the electric (lighting) department often consists of only a gafferGaffer (filmmaking)
A gaffer in the motion picture industry and on a television crew is an electrician that can be head of the electrical department, responsible for the execution of the lighting plan for a production. Gaffer, outside of the motion picture industry, is a traditional British English word for an older...
, a best boy, and a few electricians. The grip department may include only a key grip, a best boy, and a few grip
Grip (job)
In the U.S. and Canada, grips are lighting and rigging technicians in the filmmaking and video production industries. They constitute their own department on a film set and are directed by a key grip. Grips have two main functions...
s. Very large crews may have as many as 24 grips or electricians per department and may include full-time rigging crews and additional photography units, depending on the scale of the production.
Best boys are responsible for the daily running of the lighting or grip department. Their many responsibilities include the hiring and scheduling of crew, the ordering and returning of lighting or grip equipment, workplace safety, timecards, expendables, loading production trucks, planning and implementing the lighting or rigging of locations and/or sound stages, coordinating rigging crews and additional photography units (if applicable), handling relations with the other production departments, overseeing the application of union rules (where relevant), and serving as the day-to-day representative of the department with the unit production manager
Unit production manager
A Unit Production Manager is an on-set manager responsible for the administration of a film's production.-Overview:A UPM is usually hired by a Producer of a film or television show, and is responsible for managing the production and regulating the costs of delivering the expected film or...
and coordinator of the film.
Word origin
The term predates the film business. In the English apprentice system, the "best boy" was the Master's oldest, most experienced apprentice, who thus had more responsibilities than the others. In effect he was the second person in charge, as a best boy grip or electrician is today, carrying out the key grip's or gaffer's instructions.As the gaffer is sometimes credited as the chief lighting technician, the best boy electric is sometimes credited as the assistant chief lighting technician.
In the early days of film, the key grip would ask the gaffer, "can I borrow your best boy for an hour?" and vice versa. The term stuck.
The title is accepted for use in credits by the BBC, despite its general policy against credits which imply that certain jobs are the preserve of one gender only.
Usage outside of English
Many French language films made in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
use Best Boy in their credits. The term has been known to appear in the credits of some French films made in France, but it has not been known to appear in French language Belgian or Swiss films.
The German film Auf der anderen Seite (The Edge of Heaven
The Edge of Heaven (film)
The Edge of Heaven is a 2007 Turkish-German-Italian drama film written and directed by Fatih Akın. The film won the Prix du scénario at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival...
), which takes place in Germany and Turkey, uses the term Best Boy in its German credits.