film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television crew Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew, but with several differences. Pre-production : Work before shooting begins is called the pre-production stage. The crew in this stage include the casting director, costume desig ...

s, the gaffer or chief lighting technician is the head

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

, responsible for the execution (and sometimes the design) of the

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...

plan for a production. The gaffer's assistant is the '' best boy electric''.

Etymology

There are several possible explanations for the history of the term Gaffer. One possibility is that the term originally referred to the moving of overhead equipment, or before electricity and in Shakespeare-era play theatres, lighting louvers to control lighting levels using a long pole with a wide grappling hook on its end, called a

gaff Gaff may refer to: Ankle-worn devices * Spurs in variations of cockfighting * Climbing spikes used to ascend wood poles, such as utility poles Arts and entertainment * A character in the ''Blade Runner'' film franchise * Penny gaff, a 19th- ...

. Another potential origin is as a contraction of " godfather", originally applied by country people to an elderly man, or one whose position entitled him to respect; the female equivalent was "gammer", a contraction of "godmother". Both words are found in the comic play ''

Gammer Gurton's Needle John Still (c. 1543 – 26 February 1607/1608) was Master of two Cambridge colleges and then, from 1593, Bishop of Bath and Wells. He enjoyed considerable fame as an English preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of an ...

'', printed in 1575 but possibly written earlier. In this etymology, "gaffer" later became used more generally for a "master" or "governor", and by 1841 was applied to foremen and supervisors of gangs of workmen. In any case, it has been applied specifically to the chief electrician on a film set since the 1920s. The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' includes a citation from ''

Picture-Play Magazine ''Picture Play'', originally titled ''Picture-Play Weekly'' was an American weekly magazine focusing on the film industry. Its first edition was published on April 10, 1915. It eventually transitioned from a weekly to a monthly magazine, before e ...

'' of 1926 and a 1929 book on motion picture production also uses the term.

Role

The gaffer is responsible for managing lighting, including associated resources such as labour, lighting instruments and electrical equipment under the direction of the

director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

(DP, DOP or Cinematographer) or, in television, the lighting director (LD). The DP/LD is responsible for the overall lighting design, but delegates the implementation of the design to the gaffer and the

key grip In North American filmmaking a key grip is a senior role for an experienced professional on every set. Their responsibilities are extensive and range from supervising grip crews, assessing what equipment is necessary for each shooting location ...

. The key grip is the head grip, in charge of the labour and non-electrical equipment used to support and modify the lighting. Grip equipment includes stands,

flags A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic desi ...

and gobos. The gaffer will usually have an assistant called a best boy and, depending on the size of the job, crew members who are called "set lighting technicians" or "

electricians An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

", although not all of them are trained as

s in the usual sense of the term.

Gaffer tape

The name of the position gives its name by association to

gaffer tape Gaffer tape (also known as gaffer's tape, gaff tape or gaffa tape as well as spike tape for narrow, colored gaffer tape) is a heavy cotton cloth pressure-sensitive tape with strong adhesive and tensile properties. It is widely used in theatre, p ...

, a strong cloth-backed adhesive tape used within the film and TV industry. Gaffer tape is typically utilized by set lighting technicians under the supervision of, and not directly by, a gaffer. Many other types of tape are also used in the industry, such as paper tape,

pressure-sensitive tape Pressure-sensitive tape, known also in various countries as PSA tape, adhesive tape, self-stick tape, sticky tape, Sellotape, or just tape, is an adhesive tape that will stick with application of pressure, without the need for a solvent (such a ...

(A.K.A. snot tape),

electrical tape Electrical tape (or insulating tape) is a type of pressure-sensitive tape used to insulate electrical wires and other materials that conduct electricity. It can be made of many plastics, but PVC (polyvinyl chloride, "vinyl") is most popular, as i ...

, J-LAR, and cloth tape.

References

{{Authority control Filmmaking occupations Electrical trades