Job Responsibilities
Best boys are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the lighting or grip department. Their many responsibilities include the hiring, scheduling, and management of crew; the ordering, inventory, and returning of equipment; overseeing workplace safety and maintaining discipline within their department; completing timecards and other paperwork; stocking of expendables; loading and unloading production trucks; planning and implementing the lighting or rigging of locations and/or sound stages; coordinating with 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.
The best boy also commonly accompanies or stands in for the Key Grip or Gaffer during technical scouts. During shooting, the best boy may also cover for the key grip or gaffer when he/she is on break or otherwise away from set.
On films with very small crews, the electric (lighting) department often consists of only a gaffer, a best boy, and a few electricians. The grip department may include only a key grip, a best boy, and a few grips. Large-scale productions such as major motion pictures commonly include full-time rigging and second unit crews, and in total may hire many dozens of grips or electricians at one time.
Read more about this topic: Best Boy
Famous quotes containing the word job:
“For me being a poet is a job rather than an activity. I feel I have a function in society, neither more nor less meaningful than any other simple job. I feel it is part of my work to make poetry more accessible to people who have had their rights withdrawn from them.”
—Jeni Couzyn (b. 1942)