Best Boy, What Does He Do? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gaffer

The department head in charge of lighting is called the "gaffer" and the best boy electrical is the assistant to the gaffer. In fact, the best boy often acts as a sort-of foreman for the lighting department and their duties cover much of the logistical side of the department responsibilities. While the gaffer has more administrative duties, the best boy may be in charge of the lighting crew, of the setting up of filming locations, safety, and inventory amongst other duties. They will also step in for the gaffer if there is an absence.

The origin of the term "best boy" is unclear, but may be from the idea that the person is the "best boy for the job". If a female fills the role, she may be called "best boy" or sometimes "best girl".

Answer: Microphone

The boom operator works in the sound department. The boom is a long pole with a microphone attached to the end. The boom operator has to place the microphone close to the actors so that the mic can capture their dialogue, but not too close so that it appears in the scene.

The use of a boom was developed in order to allow the actors to be mobile on set and still have the mic close enough to them to pick up what they're saying. Before, the microphones were hidden on set and actors had to remain largely static near them. The first (documented) film to use a boom was "Beggars of Life" in 1928 where the mic was tied to the end of a broom handle and allowed two actors to walk down a street while talking.

Answer: Special effects

Action sequences can be difficult to shoot as many of them may be dangerous and expensive. The explosions, destruction and gravity-defying stunts that you may be used to need a special someone to coordinate them and make sure that they all happen as planned. The SFX supervisor is the person who coordinates all of the special effects on and off set and runs them with as few hitches as possible. If there is a need for weather, time of day, and other camera tricks, the SFX supervisor is in charge of this.

An example, the 2008 film "The Incredible Hulk" was filmed right outside where I was living, but mostly between the hours of 1 and 5, AM. However, many of the scenes in the movie were daylight scenes. The SFX supervisor had his crew set up massive floodlights that literally lit up the entire area and made the city feel like it was day, while actually filming in the middle of the night. One gaffe that the SFX supervisor had was that the neon lights that were set up to make the city look like New York were never taken down. For months the fake sign of New York's Apollo Theater was still hanging in the streets of Toronto!

Answer: Plants

When creating a set, it can sometimes be very important to have the proper background and setting. This often includes the greenery like plants, landscaping, and artificial alternatives. The greensman (sometimes called a greensperson) is the person in charge of anything that might be watered to grow, or looks like it might need water. Additionally, they do set landscaping and may move gravel, stones and water onto the set or location to make it fit the vision of the director.

Answer: Script supervisor

It can be very frustrating to have a lack of continuity between different shots in the same scene. One example is in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz". When you watch the movie next time, take note of Dorothy's hair length. Throughout the film, Judy Garland's hair is at different lengths - it grows, it shrinks, it's somewhere in between...

This is something a script supervisor should have caught. They are in charge of continuity, so they are sometimes called the continuity supervisor, and their job is to take meticulous notes of what things happen that weren't scripted and also what needs to remain the same from shot to shot.

Answer: master

Prop(erty) masters (or prop mistresses) are in charge of all of the items used on set by the actors, except for the wardrobe. In order to make sure that the set has all of the items needed, the prop master works with all of the people involved, the director, producers, set dressers, camera operators and many more roles in order to make the set pleasing to the eye and the lens, as well as continuously coherent with the rest of the scenes that are filmed.

They have to keep the different props in their inventory and produce them when needed.

Answer: Clapper loader

The second assistant camera, or the clapper loader, is the person in charge of operating the slate, or clapperboard, when filming a movie. The slate is an important tool to use when filming because it helps the editors line up the audio to the video - at the moment of the clap, the sound of the clap occurs. Since the audio is recorded separately than the video, it is important to get them to line up.

Also a part of the 2nd AC's role is to load raw film into the cameras between takes. You don't want to be responsible if there's an amazing take being filmed and the camera runs out of tape to film it on...

Answer: Budget

Line producers have a very important job. They oversee the budget of a film and make sure that all of the ducks are in a line... they deal with the HR aspect of the production with the crew as well as the cast, they make sure all of the cheques don't bounce and that all the departments have a budget to do their jobs (and are not exceeding them).

They make sure everything is delivered in a timely fashion by setting monetary goals and calendar deadlines. Line producers try to negotiate the best deals possible for filming resources and they do it in an efficient and effective way, because, otherwise, it's their head on the line...

Answer: Putting objects in their places at the location of filming

A set dresser is the person who 'dresses' the set, or filming location. They make sure that each object is placed in the right location. They move around things like furniture and curtains or they hang pictures and place light fixtures to make the set seem like what the director envisioned.

They purchase or rent many of the objects they use, but there have been times where the set dresser has had to build or create the objects used to dress the set. The set dresser works with the prop department closely to make sure everything is taken care of.

Answer: Lighting

The key grip is in charge of the rigging and the lighting on set or on location when filming a movie. The key grip coordinates between the crews that put up the various lights and rig the sets and the director of photography, who is also in charge of the camera crews.

In the past, the key grip was also in charge of the set safety, but that job has been phased out of their portfolio. The key grip has people specialized on different parts of the rigging, like crane operators and dolly grips, which means that those crews are very dynamic and require attention while filming.