GAFFER
The Gaffer is head of the lighting crew. On a low budget
movie one Gaffer can be the entire crew. There are some female gaffers,
but the job is a hard one. Lights are pretty heavy to move and rig up.
Cat walks (over head ramps suspended by ropes) with a lot of heavy
lights hanging from them are dangerous and require a special degree of
safety and expertise. A Gaffer may be a member of the cinematographer's
crew, since the DP relies heavily on collaborating with the Gaffer.
There are special lights, light color temperature
considerations, differing moods for the various genres and so many
specialized pieces of equipment that on well-financed productions,
there may be a five or ten ton truck full of equipment on hand on all
locations.
The amount of light needed may well require a mobile generator (for
locations and areas with limited power sources,) dozens of stands,
hundreds of lights and bulbs, nets, scrims, special effects gear and
fog machines.
But regardless of the equipment available, a Gaffer needs to set up
lights for the scenes and sometimes for every shot. So much of
photography depends on lighting that the Gaffer plays an important
role, even when one light is involved or a couple of reflectors on an
outdoor scene. The Gaffer can create a special magic that makes
everyone look good!