Comfortable?

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.