The scene is set at sunset, but it will take six hours to shoot. The gaffer has to make the light coming through the window look like the same sunset at two in the afternoon and at eight in the evening. That means big lamps outside on a platform, a generator round the corner and a crew adjusting the light between every take. The gaffer is the head of the lighting department.
What a gaffer does
The gaffer works for the director of photography. The DoP describes the light they want. The gaffer works out how to get it, which lamps, where they go, how much power they need and how many people it takes. They join in pre-production, scout locations with the DoP and the location manager, and make a lighting plan and an equipment list.
On set the gaffer leads the best boy and the electricians, who rig and move the lamps. The gaffer stays close to the DoP, adjusts the light for each shot, and keeps an eye on safety, because film lighting means heavy kit and a lot of electricity.
Responsibilities
- Plan the lighting with the DoP for each set and location
- Draw up the lighting equipment list and the crew needs per day
- Work out power needs and the use of generators or mains supply
- Lead the electricians and agree priorities with the best boy
- Adjust the light for every shot during the shooting day
- Keep electrical work safe for cast and crew
- Work with the key grip on rigging and shaping the light
How the role touches the budget
Noticeably. The lighting package, generators, fuel, extra electricians on big days and pre-rigging (crew building the lights a day before the shoot) all come from the gaffer's plan. The line producer or production manager agrees a weekly lighting package and a crew size with the gaffer. Extra kit or extra people go through them first.
How people become gaffers
Most gaffers start as electrician, often with an electrical background, and move up to best boy before running their own department. Many keep working with the same DoPs over years, so relationships matter. Training in electrical safety and power distribution is part of the route in many countries.
Where the name comes from
Nobody knows the origin for certain. In the US the formal title is chief lighting technician, but "gaffer" is used everywhere in the industry, in the US as well as in Europe.