Film Term of the Week

Film Term of the Week: Gaffer

Film Crew

Gaffer

1. A gaffer in the motion picture industry and on a television crew is an electrician, sometimes head of the electrical department, responsible for the execution (and sometimes the design) of the lighting plan for a production.

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Gaffer within the motion picture industry originally related to the moving of overhead equipment to control lighting levels using a gaff. It has been used for the chief electrician in films since 1936. His assistant is the best boy.

Experienced gaffers can coordinate the entire job of lighting, given knowledge of the time of day and conditions to be portrayed, managing resources as broad as electrical generators, lights, cable, and manpower. Gaffers are responsible for knowing the appropriate color of gel (plastic sheeting) to put on the lights or windows to achieve a variety of effects, such as transforming midday into a beautiful sunset. They can re-create the flicker of lights in a subway car, the motion of light inside a turning airplane, or the passage of night into day.

Usually, the gaffer works for and reports to the Director of Photography (the DP or DOP).

Source: Wikipedia, Ldsfilm

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Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
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