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 atmospher ...

and television crews, 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 dayl ...

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

best boy In a film crew there are two kinds of best boy: best boy electric and best boy grip. They are assistants to their department heads, the gaffer (in charge of electricals) and the key grip (lighting and rigging), respectively. In short, the best ...

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. 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'', 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 c ...

'' includes a citation from '' Picture-Play Magazine'' 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. 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 and gobos. The gaffer will usually have an assistant called a

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, 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 as ...

(A.K.A. snot tape), electrical tape, J-LAR, and cloth tape.

References

{{Authority control Filmmaking occupations Electrical trades