There are many filmmaking channels on RU-vid, but very few who really talk about these things and the more technical aspects that go into making a film. Thank you so much, and from someone in my home country as well.
Yeah this kind of topic coverage is rare. All the masterclasses I've seen so far paint in broad strokes. Then for screenwriting, there's a channel called Film Courage, but they tend to interview negative people or screenwriters who haven't actually been successful.
I’m studying film and this is the kind of thing they would talk about in lectures, probably a lot of people don’t want to watch it cause it’s too technical, but then that’s as far as they will get
Thank you for making this video! I know so many people who get the DP and the gaffers jobs confused (The DP solely operating the camera and the gaffer lights the entire movie).
Yes except the DP doesn't solely operate camera. They are in charge of the look of the film which includes camera and lighting. As mentioned in the video, DP are responsible for concept and design of lighting while the Gaffer initiates this vision through setting up the lights.
I'm still confused though as to how much work a DP has to actually do. If the director decides camera positions and the gaffer does the lighting, what is left?
You can look at it like this: the DP is creatively responsible for the light and look in a given scene. The gaffer is the one who executes the lighting that the DP has in his/her head. Also very commonly (at least where I live) the DP is also the camera operator, and depending on how visual the director is (some aren't very much, others are), he also gets to decide the framing of the shot. The name says it actually: "director of photography", meaning responsible for the photography of the film.
You have a very distinct UK accent. Is that London or somewhere in. Northern England? Oh South Africa! No wonder I couldn't pinpoint it. Keep up the good work
Beautifully explained. Thank you for this video. I have a question though ✋🏾 in this era of “solo filmmakers” how does one who finds him/herself doing it all for small personal/business projects determine which role they fit into in a large production?
In Canada we do a hybrid of the US and British system. Sparks are responsible for the power distribution, the lights and the stands for the lights. The grips are responsible for any of the lighting modifiers and their associated stands in addition to the other grip responsibilities.
Thank you so much for making these! I'm in my early 30s and having some kind of career crisis and it's really helping me to think what I wanna do with my life going forward
Its soo cool to learn about what goes on behind the scenes 👍 Thank you for your time & effort in making these videos ❤️ Hopefully I can put in to practice what I learn from your vids 😀
Can you make a full time living working as a spark on film sets? I live next door to pinewood film studios, its been my dream to work on the film sets but still, no luck
Is the role of a gaffer at all an entry level position? Obviously, some experience is better than none, but generally among independent film/short film sets does the position call for the same seniority?
Nice video. Here in Argentina we are closer to the british sistem of work. The another one would be non-viable for us. I would love a video about the role of the DIT in a shooting and the relationship with the DOP. A video about light continuity or raccord in a same escene would be perfect to. Saludos desde el sur!
I’ve been enjoying your educative content so far. I hope you’ll be able to stay around as long as possible! Thanks again for the useful content. Stay safe
I had the option of choosing ‘Gaffer' or ‘Lighting Technician', so I took the credit of LIGHTING TECHNICIAN. But my role as Gaffer was there as I had to work with others (Director/Director of Photography/producers) to get what we needed.
"half silk = strong bounce source" :p weelllll I'm just teasing you ahah, great video on the role of the gaffer and collaboration with the DP, as always!
Interesting, I didn't know we had a different style here in America as far as the delegation of duties is concerned. So far I've only worked with smaller form projects but a "Spark" is not a term I've herd. Everything you described has been done by the grip team aside from tweaking, shaping and adjusting the lights.
Love this! Can you do Producer next? Would be cool to see the range on that, especially in the Indie space it seems like theres a slight difference between the two worlds
