Talk:Grip (occupation)/Archives/2012

dispute merge

 * Construction grip is an exclusively new york term and who's responsibility falls under the Swing gang which is part of the Art department. Grips and are generally prohibited by union regulations from touching anything related to set or props as those are the exclusive domain of the Art department.  if "Construction grip" needs to be merged with anything, it should be with Swing gang and not Grip (job).

Thanks for the clarification! My father, Gordon Palmer, was a grip for Paramount Studios for 20 years and then worked at Universal Studios before retiring. I never really understood what he did and my mother would joke about how the grips played cards until they were needed. I guess the best part of his job was when he went on location to places like Egypt to work on the movie, "The Ten Commandments" or working with interesting movie stars like Johh "the Duke" Wayne in the movie "Horse Soldiers". For the most part, my father did not speak very favoribly about most of the studio folks with the exception of Danny Kaye who he admired. The oldest of 5 boys, my dad along with his brothers and mother, worked as movie extras in silent movies after moving to California from Kentucky. Over time, my uncles became producers, directors, and a film editor. On my mother's side, her cousin was Joan Leslie, a popular actress in the 1940's - see more about Joan at http://www.geocities.com/cathyjpalmer/Hollywood.html?1137879375540.

I've never felt as strong about something else in my life: Grip and Key Grip must be merged. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.32.54.108 (talk) 10:30, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

I am and have been a Key grip in Hollywood for more then 18 yrs/25 yrs at the craft. In response to the above paragraph. It's important to understand the duties of a grip before commenting on the dept. It is a grips job to handle the set walls once a set has been filmed, so long as that set will be in use. The grips remove walls for shooting and replace those walls after shooting. As well as ceiling peaces. The term "construction grip" is used because the construction dept must use a grip when the moving of walls falls under our work description. Therefore the term "construction grip" is used solely to define the dept a grip is working with. Often the construction dept will budget in the use of grip labor because it is required so often. Hence the term (construction grip). So the term has nothing to do with the East coast or west coast, more simply with just the job duties and the dept in which we support when our duties are needed.