Gaffer

From ArticleWorld

A gaffer or Chief Lighting Technician, is the individual in charge of all the lighting for the studio and set locations, who works directly with the director of photography to create all the conditions necessary to portray different emotions and actions through light.

Role

Responsible for all the lighting on the set, the gaffer has to coordinate all the necessary equipment, resources, and people to create the desired effects. Gaffers have a lot of knowledge about electrical equipment and what lights are necessary to produce specific effects such as full sunlight, the change of night to day, light on a rainy and misty day, etc. Working with a key grip who is in charge of particular lighting equipment, the gaffer has an assistant called the best boy and numerous lighting electricians to help rig up the lights and move equipment quickly on the set. Gaffers have their equipment, tape, trucks, and lights. Gaffers use gels to quickly change lighting effects on sets and to produce different moods and effects. Working closely with the director of photography, gaffers are intent upon ensuring that sets are well-lit and appropriately lit.

The word ‘gaffer’ is derived from numerous associations such as the long poles or gaffs used to represent booms of sailboats for stage performances and from the ‘gaff’ poles on the ground used on sets in early productions that would move large mirrors in the roof of studios and thus alter the amount of light on the set. In these early productions, lighting was principally natural. ‘Gaffer’ also means boss, a word used in the early sixteenth century, to represent the head of a group of laborers. Gaffers are also sometimes referred to as technical directors or T.D. and also as lighting directors.