My career in movies started in Hollywood. I bought a ticket to LA from Boston and landed a job as a swing grip/electric on a movie called “Love Cheat and Steal”. This means that if the electric dept needs me, I help them, and if the grip dept needs me, I help them. I “swing” between departments. This position allowed me to learn both sides of “g and e”. The Key Grip of that movie took me under his wing and hired me on several more movies as a grip. I was very eager to learn, and what I didn’t know, I made up in enthusiasm and comedy. At first I was so “green” that I was hired just because I was funny and kept a light attitude.
After a while I became confident in my abilities and was ready to climb the ladder. I landed a job as Key Grip and eventually to Gaffer. Gaffer is another way to say Chief Lighting Technician. I have always love light and countless ways to manipulate it. Soft bounce, edge, rim, fill, contrast, are only a few of the terms I now use on set to describe light. Lighting is one topic I enjoy doing as a job and teaching others how to do. I Love getting a bunch of students together and show them how they can easily manipulate lights or the sun to get the “kind of light” we are looking for. Whether it be with gels to change quality and color, or materials to bounce the light and direct the light in the position it is best for the scene. I could go on and on.
After living in LA for a few years i was ready for another challenge. I had been told that South Africa was a great place for film work. I didn’t really know anybody there, but I bought a six month round trip ticket and was going to give it my best shot. I heard of many scary stories about S A but thought what the worst that can happen is? I could die. I was there for a week or so and got a car, an apartment and while checking out the equipment rental houses, I was offered a job as a key grip. Soon after I got an agent and was booked on commercials as gaffer. Several of the jobs took me too many parts of Africa. So lucky am I.
For a few reasons that I won’t get into, I returned back to Boston and try to “get in” the local movie business. Keep in mind that this business revolves around who you know. For the third time in this business, I didn’t know anybody. I had a little bit of knowledge and whole lot of enthusiasm. Well by now you can tell I am not the type to sit and wait for people to call me. I called everyone and took a bunch of free jobs. Well I have been back in N America for about 10 years and I’ve done ok. I work primarily as a freelance camera operator, and teach Directing, Lighting, and Camera. If you know me well, you know I am a grip at heart. On a movie set, the grips are usually the most fun to hang around. I have lots of grip stories, and many I am forbidden to repeat. Let’s leave it at that.