DPs keep hiring the same key grip because of days like the one when a car rig had to go on a picture vehicle in forty minutes, or a 20-by-20 silk had to stay up in a canyon wind. The key grip decides whether a rig is safe, and the rest of the set works on that call.
Where grip ends and electric begins
Electricians handle anything powered. Grips handle what holds, blocks, bounces, or moves: C-stands, flags, floppies, nets, silks, butterfly and overhead frames, sandbags, apple boxes, speed rail, scaffolding, and the dollies and cranes the camera rides on. A typical lighting setup uses both. An electrician places a light, and a grip puts a solid in front of it to cut the spill off a wall.
The key grip works alongside the gaffer, and both answer to the director of photography. In the grip department the best boy grip runs the crew and truck, the dolly grip pushes camera, and the rest of the grips rig and set.
Prep: scouts and the rigging plan
On a feature the key grip generally joins a week or more before shooting. The job starts with the script and the scouting photos, looking for anything that needs building. That list might include a 12-by-12 overhead on a patio for sun control, a hostess tray car mount for a driving scene, scaffolding outside a second-floor window, or a condor holding a frame over a street.
On the tech scout the key grip asks the questions nobody else is asking. Where can the grip truck park? Is there somewhere to anchor a rig, or does it need ballast? Will a crane fit through the gate, and can the ground take its weight? What does the wind do on this hill in the afternoon? Those answers become the grip order: the base truck package, additions like a crane or Technocrane for specific days, extra crew for rigging days, and expendables like tape, rope, and black wrap.
A day working exteriors
For a 7:00 AM crew call on a sunny backyard location, the key grip's day might go:
| Time | What is happening |
|---|---|
| 6:30 AM | Walks the yard. Sun is coming over the neighbor's roof at the wrong angle for the afternoon scenes |
| 7:00 AM | Grips start a 20-by-20 frame with silk over the dining table while the dolly grip lays track |
| 7:45 AM | Rehearsal. DP asks for more contrast; key grip adds a negative fill with a solid on the shadow side |
| 8:15 AM | First shot. Key grip watches the wind and puts a grip on each frame leg |
| 12:30 PM | Lunch. Before breaking, the key grip decides whether to fly the silk lower for the afternoon angle |
| 2:00 PM | Reverse coverage. The whole overhead gets walked and re-anchored |
| 6:30 PM | Wrap. Frame comes down first while there is still light |
If gusts get too strong the key grip calls the frame down, and the 1st AD works around it, because a silk that catches wind can pull a stand over onto crew or cast.
Kit rental and truck packages
Many key grips rent the production a kit: personal clamps, specialty hardware, a cart, and tools collected over years. It is paid as a weekly rental listed on the deal memo, with an inventory. On commercials and smaller features, a key grip who owns a grip truck may rent the full package to the show. That package is invoiced through the key grip's company, carries its own insurance certificate, and sits in the equipment budget, with the key grip's labor still paid through payroll. The kit and box rental guide walks through how those payments are handled for tax and insurance.
Paperwork and safety
The key grip reviews the grip order and approves loss and damage claims with the best boy. They also review time cards for the grip crew. When a scene involves height work, water, cranes, or vehicles, the key grip helps prepare the rig plan and speaks at the safety meeting. On union shows the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee bulletins apply to things like aerial lifts and camera cars, and the key grip is usually the person who knows which ones.
A grip equipment list is a good place to keep the add-on days straight. The equipment checklist template works as a starting format.
Union rules and pay
Grips in Los Angeles are covered by IATSE Local 80, and the key grip's minimum is set in Local 80's wage schedules under the IATSE Basic Agreement. The 2024 Basic Agreement raised all minimums 7% in the first year, 4% in the second, and 3.5% in the third, compounding. Pay depends heavily on the production type. Theatrical and high budget streaming shows use the full schedule, while low budget theatrical and new media agreements use lower tiers. Many key grips negotiate above scale.
Outside Los Angeles, New York grips are in IATSE Local 52, and the Area Standards Agreement covers many other US regions.
How key grips come up
The usual route runs from grip to best boy grip or dolly grip, then to key grip on smaller shows or second unit. DPs tend to carry a key grip with them, so relationships matter more than applications. For union work in Los Angeles, Local 80 holds orientations for future members, and placement on the Contract Services Industry Experience Roster requires qualifying work days plus the Contract Services general safety and harassment prevention courses before placement.
Storiara for grip orders
In Storiara, grip equipment can be added to the Equipment module with cost and rate fields and availability, or imported from a rental house CSV or XLSX quote, and printed for the truck. See Equipment.