Gain the essential skills of a professional grip to become the jack and master of all trades on any movie or television show set. This new edition has been fully updated and revised and will enable aspiring and professional grips to discover vital insider tips ranging from how to operate cutting-edge rigging and lighting equipment to performing difficult camera mounts on aircraft, boats, trains, and cars.
Seasoned Hollywood grip Michael G. Uva teaches you to install, set up, maintain, and ensure the safety of all equipment on a set, such as C-stands, cameras, and any specialty gear needed for a shoot. Expanded content on navigating the set, including set etiquette and how to succeed as a technical crew member, will jump-start your career and make you a valuable asset on any film or television crew. This seventh edition has been updated to include the latest technology, further explanations of equipment and how to use it for those new to the role, a new chapter on working as a grip on virtual sets. Other features include technical expertise on maintaining the latest and greatest filmmaking equipment; a self-test section containing over one hundred questions and answers; a comprehensive appendix containing a robust glossary of insider and equipment terms; and guidelines on what a grip has to be physically able to perform in their day-to-day duties.
The book is ideal for the aspiring or working grip to use on the role, as well as aspiring students looking to break into the industry.
Contents
A rose by any other name
WHO KNEW!
Contributing Companies, Manufactures, and Suppliers That you Should Know
Author’s Note
Warning
About the Author
Acknowledgements
What Could Happen on Your Way to the Throne!
Introduction
1) Basic Essential Equipment
Apple Boxes
Baby Plates
Bar Clamp Adapter Pin
Basso Block
Bazooka
Bead Board Holder
Big Ben Clamp
Branch Holder
C-Clamp Branch Holder
Tree Branch Holder
Cable Crossovers
C-Clamps
Camera Wedge
Cardellini Clamp
Chain Vise Grips
Condor Bracket
Cribbing
Crowder Hanger
Cucoloris
Cup Blocks
Dots and Fingers
Drop Ceiling Scissor Clamp/Cable Holder
Drop-Down, 45-Degree Angle
Empty Frames
Flag Box/Scrim Box
Flags and Cutters
Cutters
Flexarms
Furniture Clamp
Furniture Pad
Gaffer Grip
Grid Clamp
Grifflon
Grip Clip
Grip/Electrical Stage Box
Grip Helper
Grounding Rod/Spike
Hand Truck
Ladder
Lamppost System (by Backstage Equipment)
Mafer Clamp
Matt Pipe Adapter Baby
Matt Poles—Polecats
Meat Ax
Miniboom
Muscle Truck (by Backstage Equipment)
No-Nail Hanger
Offset Arms
Parallels
Pipe Clamp, Baby
Pipe Clamp, Junior
Pony Pipe Clamp
Poultry Bracket (Matthews)
Putty Knife
Reflector
Reflector Slip-Ons (Scrims)
Sandbags
Scrims—Grip
Single Net
Double Net
Lavender Net
Silk
Scrims, Butterfly Kits
Silks
Scrims, Flex
Side Arms
Stair Blocks
Stand Adapter Pin
Stands
C-Stand
C-Stand Operation
Low-Boy Stand
Reflector (Combo/Light) Stand
Overhead (High Roller) Stand
Overhead Stand Usage
Stand Extensions (Riser)
Studio Overhead Grip Arm
Taco Carts
T-Bone
Telescoping Hanger-Stirrup
Trapeze
Trombone
Tube Stretcher
Tubing Hanger
Turtle
Umbrella
Wall Bracket (Set)
Wall Plate—Junior
Wall Sled
Wall Spreader
Wedges
2) Expendables
Automatic Tape Gun (ATG) Tape
Baby Powder
Bead Board
Black Wrap
Bobinett
Butcher Paper
Clothespins (C-47s)
Drywall Screws
Dulling Spray
Duvatyne
Foam Core
Grip Chains
Laminated Glass
Layout Board
Lexan
Penny Nails (#8 and #16)
Plywood
Pushpin
Sash Cord #8
Show Card
Silicone Spray
Spray Glue
Spray Oil
Staples
Stove Pipe Wire
Streaks ‘n’ Tips®
Tapes
Camera Tape
Double-Faced Tape
Gaffer or Grip Tape
Paper Tape
Visqueen
Filters & Gels
3) Knots
Bowline Knot
Clove Hitch Knot
Half Hitch Knot
Square Knot
4) Basic Tool Descriptions
Standard Screwdriver (Common or Blade Type)
Phillips Screwdriver
Reed and Prince Screwdriver
Files
Hacksaw
Lineman Pliers
Torpedo Level
Crosscut Saw
Circular Saw and Blades
Drill Bits
Mat Knife
Tape Measure
Reel Tape Measure
Claw Hammer
Personal Tools
Personal Tool Belt
Everyday Basic Tools for a Grip’s Personal Toolbox
Power Tools
Useful Items to Also Carry
Recommended Personal Gear
5) Truck Order Form (Basic)
6) Green and Blue Screens
7) Mounts
8) Cranes
9) Condors and Lifts
10) Walkies
11) T.O.T.S. (Tricks Of The Trade)
12) F.A.C.T.S.
13) Fly Swatter
14) Chain Motors
15) Virtual Sets
16 Fluid Heads
17 Field Operations
18) Grip Tests
19) Terms
20) Glossary
21) Index
Biography
Michael G. Uva is a well-respected key grip in Hollywood, with over 32 years of experience in film, TV, movies, and commercials. Credits include films such as Easy A, Kalifornia, and Iron Eagle, and TV shows such as The League, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Bones. He has taught at UCLA’s extension program, the Phoenix, Denver, New Mexico, Cuyahoga College Cleveland, and Bakersfield Film Commissions, as well as for the Hollywood CPR Program at West Los Angeles College. He has also taught at international institutions such as the Kerry ETB Training Centre in Ireland.
