Bill Essling has been a member of Local 80 since 1995 and has worked on many films, televison shows and commercials. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BA in communication art and the earnest desire to make significant movies. Today he will do just about anything to produce a fat paycheck.
Bills credits include: American Pie, Crazy/Beautiful, Zoolander & Minority Report
Blogger DVDs
Daily Blog
August 25, 2008
Sorry for the delinquent blogging, but my wife and I had a baby boy and things have been a bit hectic. Please send all college fund contributions to Bill Essling c/o Local 80.
A grip in the entertainment industry gets some strange requests. It seems that if a particular job isn’t assigned to a specific department, it will inevitably fall into the grip departments’ lap. Oh happy day. In my time I’ve been asked to rock cars to simulate movement, block the paparazzi from taking photos and throw snowballs at cars, among many other curious requests, but one thing seems to have fallen into our job description on a permanent basis, and that is making people comfortable.
When I first started working in the industry my department never carried a pop-up tent. Now we carry several. The minute I see a bead of sweat break skin on the director’s neck or a squint in his eyes as he tries to see the monitor, I know that a pop-up will soon follow. Its amazing how fast people will clamor to shade on a hot sunny day. “You guys all nice and cool? Great I’ll just sweat my way back to work.”
Now that the shade is in place it can only be a few more beats until someone pipes up about how sore their feet are, and what a long week it has been. “Hey Bill! Can we get a few apple boxes over here to sit on?” Now, trust me when I say that my feet are screaming as well, but being a yes man doesn’t come easy. So I fly the boxes in with a big fake smile and a half joke about being their work mommy.
When a furniture blanket is called for these days it is almost always because,
A. Someone needs something soft to nap on.
B. The apple box is too hard, “throw a furniture pad on top of it.”
C. Someone is getting cold.
I guess the word blanket in the name should be a give away.
The worst case scenario is a rainy day. Everyone wants to stay dry (including me) and pop-ups and overheads go up for all the people and lights. Trust me when I say that it is nearly impossible to stay dry while keeping everyone else dry, and when it is all done I can count the thank yous on one hand.
I don’t mind doing my job. If you’re a cameraman in an uncomfortable position, I’ll be more than happy to help you out, but if you just want to get comfy while you do nothing, It would be great if you went and grabbed your own stuff, and then do me a big favor and put it back where you found it when you’re done.
Remember, I’m not your Mommy and I’m not your maid. I can’t begin to estimate how many work hours I’ve spent picking up and looking for equipment that other people just discarded when they were done with it.
I know we’re all busy and things can get crazy, so just consider this a friendly reminder of every day life,….please, thank you and return things where you find them.
I’m still the yes man,… just with a little more attitude.
July 28, 2008
In my last blog I talked about the day to day responsibilities of being a grip, and while everything I wrote was true, its only the tip of the iceberg in the essence of gripping. There is one thing above all others that I feel is the most important aspect of being a good Key grip, and that thing is a small, simple, single syllable,…the word ‘yes”.
Over the course of any given day the D.P. will pose many questions to the key grip. As a key you must be careful never to answer to honestly, because when push comes to shove, the only word they really want to hear is “yes”.
“We’re missing something here. Bill, can you get me an 18k on top of that tree across the street?”
Now, while your first inclination may be to say, “Are you kidding me? I don’t think a monkey could climb to the top of that fifty foot tree, much less one of my forty year old, arthritic stricken coworkers with three kids and two dogs to support!” Trust me when I say that the correct answer is, “Give me forty-five minutes and we’ll get you something up there.”
Hopefully the forty-five minute timeline will put a kibosh on the whole rig, but if by chance the company happens to have that kind of time to spare, be prepared to pull a coworker monkey out of your ass and train him to hang a light at the top of that tree in forty-five minutes or less.
Here’s a little pearl of wisdom that I’ve gleaned for myself during my time in the industry and am now going to share with you dear reader. Your superiors aren’t interested in having you point out the shortcomings in their plan. The boss didn’t hire you to stand around throwing a wet blanket on him all day. Don’t rain on his parade. In fact, I advise getting out a baton and leading the parade around set while bellowing his praises.
I spent many years in the industry trenches telling people what was wrong with their ideas, and during those years my advancement was slow. The day that I started using the word yes as an extensive part of my vocabulary was the day that I started ascending at a steady pace.
Remember, please may be the “magic word”, but yes is its mystical sibling at the very least.
I am the yes man coo-coo kachoo.
July 19, 2008
Inevitably the first question out of someone’s mouth after I tell them that I am a grip is, “What is a grip? What do you do?”. Put on your seat belts folks, as I drag you through a lengthy and painful description of what a grip is, and what his duties are.
The term ‘grip’ dates back to the early era of the circus (we’ve always been clowns). From there it was used in vaudeville and then in today’s film and television sets. Some have suggested the name comes from the 1930s-40s slang term for a tool bag or "grip" that these technicians used to carry their tools to work. Another popular theory states that in the days of hand-cranked cameras, it would be necessary for a few burly men to hang on to the tripod legs to stop excessive movement of the camera. These men became known as ‘good grips’- as they were constantly being instructed to ‘keep a good grip on the tripod’.
Grips are lighting and rigging technicians in the film, and video industries. They make up their own department on a film set and are led by a key grip. Grips have two main functions. The first is to work closely with the camera department, especially if the camera is mounted to a dolly, crane, or other unusual position. Some grips may specialize in operating camera dollies or cranes. The second is to work closely with the electrical department to put in the lighting setups necessary for a shot.
Grips do not touch the lights themselves. The placement of lighting instruments and the power distribution to deliver electricity is handled by the electricians. Grips do however, handle all of the equipment not directly attached to the lights that diffuse and shape the light. This work is done by setting stands that hold flags, nets and diffusion in front of a lighting instrument to shape the beam of light. This is called "cutting light" and is where much of the art of lighting is achieved.
Grips also set "passive fill", which is a term for the reflected light that is "bounced" back onto a subject. Grips may also be called on to set "negative fill", which is the cutting of ambient light to raise contrast on the subject. This is achieved by setting "solids" made of black fabric, either flags (up to 4′x4′) or rags (6′x6′ or larger) wherever the negative fill is desired.
When shooting day exteriors, grips perform similar functions, but with the sun as the light source. Grips use overhead frames from 4’x4’ to 20′x20′ and in some cases much larger, for the shaping and filtering of sunlight. The lighting setups for these exterior shots can become quite extensive, with the use of boom lifts common. Lifts are especially useful at night when they are rigged to raise lights high in the air to create moon-effect lighting.
Grips also satisfy rigging needs on set. Simple rigs can be menace arms that offset lighting instruments to reach over set walls or goal posts that span the set to rig over actors and crew. More advanced rigs can include working with pulleys, steel cable or trusses. Grips are also called on to rig picture cars on process trailers. They place camera and lights all around the vehicle to achieve driving shots.
Grips may also be called on for "blackouts" and "tenting-out" windows and doors for “day for night shots”. Day-for-night is a term used for describing when film crews shoot scenes set at night during the day. When shooting interiors day-for-night on location, grips need to cut all the daylight entering onto set. The light may be simply blacked out with cloth or plastic sheeting. However, when windows or doors are seen from camera, these openings must be tented to allow some exterior dressing to be seen. In some cases windows must be tented to allow a light to be placed just outside to create a needed lighting effect. Day-for-night is a time consuming and labor intensive choice for producers and only used when scheduling or location restrictions do not allow actual night shooting.
Grips are also responsible for safety on the set. Stands, ladders, scaffolds, and overhead rigs must be carefully installed. Grips are charged with making them safe because the other crew members will invariably have to climb on, walk around, or otherwise negotiate the different grip setups.
Whew! what a mouthful. That covers the basic responsibilities of gripping in the film industry. Every day on set is different and therefore brings a unique set of lighting setups, rigs and challenges. To me this is what keeps the job fresh, the constant change, different people, places and things. No cubicle for me, thanks.
Types of Grips
Key Grip - The foreman of the grip department
Best Boy Grip - Assists the Key grip in logistical issues, such as manpower and equipment.
Construction Grip - Responsible for building, moving and adjusting major set pieces (walls, ceiling flats)
Dolly Grip - Operates the camera dolly.
Rigging Grip - Puts rigging in stages and locations enabling the film company to come to set and begin shooting without delay. Then follows behind to clean up rigs.
July 16, 2008
My journey into the entertainment industry really began in college. I wish I could tell you that it called to me like a beacon through all the text books and exams, but I suppose the truth is that I had no idea of what to do with my life, and the entertainment industry seemed less like work and more like,…well, entertainment.
For those of you who went to college I’m sure you remember what it was like,… girls, parties, concerts, sporting events, bars and a little bit of classes and studying squeezed into the limited free time that was left over. If your college years weren’t like that, then your probably not an alumni of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and you’re most likely making considerably more money than me these days. If your college days were like mine, then you very well may have had the same thing happen to you,…it all ended and the real world loomed large and ugly.
Outside of Los Angeles, entertainment related jobs are limited and Madison is no exception. I pounded the pavement for months after graduation looking for some kind of work at the local television and radio stations with no success. Looking back on it now, I suppose the waist length hair, and smug attitude were of little help, but hey, I was sure I was destined for bigger things than technical director at the local news station anyway. I settled on two temp jobs to help me save money for my move to Hollywood, bartender and pizza delivery guy.
It was odd how well these two jobs suited me. In a way it was like I was still in college, drinking most of my meals, with cold pizza filling in the missing nutritional needs of my diet. The one glaring difference was that I was now living with my parents, and for some reason this was a constant, nagging reminder of my limbo status. Motivated by their continual questioning of my plans for the future, I slowly began to amass a sizable nest egg for my move out west. When my savings account ballooned to an astronomical $1500.00, I knew it was time for me to hit the road.
Armed with my small fortune I drove my rusty toyota celica out west to a waiting couch at my friends place in Studio city. Once there I again pounded the pavement with my resume in hand, only to find that my long hair, lack of experience and questionable attitude were still undesirable. Job interviews it seemed were not my forte.
I put the word out to every soul I knew in the Los Angeles area that I was looking for work and as fate would have it the phone actually rang. A friend of mine knew someone who was making a small movie and it seemed they could use my help. This was it, my big break into the industry. Then I learned the meaning of “deferred payment”. I would be working for free.
Everyone told me that this was a great way to make contacts (probably the biggest buzz word of every aspiring entertainment employee) and learn my way around set. I begrudgingly agreed to take the “job” and soon found myself immersed in the hollywood dream, long hours and longer commutes. I must admit that I learned a lot on those numerous “deferred payment” jobs, and I actually had a lot of fun. I still have not received a penny from them, but with all the new internet programming maybe there is still a chance (a guy can dream).
I’m no gear monkey, but for some reason I seemed to mesh best with the grip and electric departments, probably due to my long hair and attitude. Finally I was appreciated. Slowly but surely the phone began to ring with obnoxiously low paying jobs. I was on my way. Move over Spielberg.
