Derrick Ritchie – Lighting Gaffer

I’ve been a bit unfortunate when it comes to technical classes with industry practitioners so far. First it was Cammy for Sound and I was at the Mòd, and this time it was Derrick for Lighting and I had an MER Meeting. So I only got the benefit of an hour of his class though that was enough to pick up some very handy tips and gain an insight into the role and responsibilities of a Gaffer. One thing I would have liked to have asked him was if he knew where names like ‘gaffer’, ‘best boy’ and ‘grip’ originated from and how they came to be used for roles in a film crew. I did a bit of personal research and it seems that ‘gaffer’ is a traditional English name for a grandfather or respectful term for an elder and has been used as the name for Chief Electrician on a film set since 1936. ‘Best boy’ is much the same in origin and dates back to the apprentice system where the ‘best boy’ was the Master’s oldest and most experienced apprentice, the second-in-command, and this is reflected in their role on a film set. ‘Grip’ on the other hand seems to originate from the circus, and possibly from the early days of filmmaking where ‘grips’ were men whose job was literally to ‘keep a good grip’ on the camera to prevent it moving. All this really fascinates me and I’d love to research it more, but certainly it was very interesting to have a session with a real Gaffer even if it was, for me, rather brief.