Charlie Productions : Grips Department

The definition of a Grip changes between America and the UK, apparently. Well, all we know is jolly old Britain, and over here the Grip moves your camera around for you.

We started out just the two of us arsing about with a camera. Generally without a tripod. Moving on to bigger and bigger crews, it would be a common sight to see the camera op and the camera assistant/focus puller/loader struggling to put the tripod in the right place and at the correct height. This seemed to be the normal natural way of things. So when on Hallo Panda we got to see Jody making sure that the tripod was there, already sorted, fussing away around the camera crew, it was at first amusing, but then, as always with film crews, gratifying to realise how much even that brings to the shoot. It makes you shoot quicker, it means the DoP can specify here, this height, this way, and know that it'll be done, so they can concentrate on getting the lighting done.

Not that that's all the Grips do, arse about with tripods. No, they are in charge of all the different equipment you can mount a camera to. The most common of these being a Dolly, hence the name 'Dolly Grip'...

Charlie Productions believe passionately in doing things and always trying to stop in time for tea.

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