By: Kristina Ensminger

If y'all've ever sat through the closing credits in the theater, you lot've noticed the hundreds, if non thousands, of people who brand upward the bandage and crew of a single film. And, similar me, perhaps you're curious about what some of those people really practice on set up. Take a "all-time boy," for example. How many gold stars must one acquire to become a all-time boy? Are there best girls? And what near a "gang dominate?" That sounds more similar a character in The Warriors than a crew fellow member. When you accept a problem on set is the gang dominate the guy who "takes care of it?"

Virtually movie-goers are aware of the more than common titles at the meridian of credits, so we're going to spotlight some of the lesser-known gigs on set. And then, next time the credits roll, you'll exist able to impress your friends with your motion picture crew knowledge… or at least score some points on a Jeopardy! category someday.

1. FOLEY Creative person

When "talkies" (motion pictures with synchronized audio) took the picture industry by storm in the late 1920s, a new audio art was created thanks to Jack Foley. Foley was the first to record custom sound furnishings and sync them to the moving-picture show in mail-production, creating an entire art of sound pattern that never existed in the silent picture globe. This new practice required a sound phase to record the special furnishings, with a collection of peculiar odds and ends kept on hand to recreate everyday sounds. Doors slamming, floors creaking, phones ringing, swords clanking, and papers rustling are all sounds that are recorded through Foley once the film is shot.

One well-known Foley technique is snapping a stick of fresh celery to recreate the sound of a broken os. You can also squish mayonnaise in your hand to mimic the sound of a worm crawling out of mud as supervising sound editor Owen Granich-Young explains. These days, entire archives of these custom audio effects be, only back when Jack Foley was creating, everything was recorded from scratch. Technology has evolved since Foley art was created, only the modern-day audio stages are full of relics and miscellany from the past. Lucasfilm built four Foley sound stages at Skywalker Ranch, the newest of which looks like a mix between Santa'southward workshop and a junk store, where mad scientist John Roesch conducts his sonic experiments for what is arguably the coolest job on a motion picture.

props

2. PROP MASTER

The prop master (short for holding chief) is responsible for buying, renting, designing, or manufacturing all the props on a film shoot. If at that place's an item that an actor carries around, touches, or interacts with equally part of a scene, then it's considered a prop. Props tin can include items such as phones, books, umbrellas, instruments, pens, dishes, food, guns, toys, and many, many other things.

Once all of these items are acquired, then it's the prop master's job to keep runway of each prop and work with the script supervisor to maintain the continuity of these items in each scene. Attempt to imagine how many dissimilar scenes and locations there are in a single movie, and how many items in those scenes are touched, moved, and carried around throughout the form of a feature flick. Every unmarried one of those items is handled by the prop master.

Want to meet a real prop principal? Here's our Q&A with Elisa Malona, caput of props for The This evening Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

3. GANG BOSS

This gig is definitely less ominous than it sounds. There are two very dissimilar roles on prepare that share the title "gang boss." The get-go is a transportation manager who coordinates and supervises all travel for the cast, coiffure, and product equipment to and from the fix, ensuring that everyone and everything arrives to assail time. The gang boss is also responsible for securing permits and parking zones for all the production vehicles in each shoot location.

Some other type of gang boss is similar to a foreman on a construction site. This gang boss is in the fine art department and is responsible for supervising whatever is being built on set and managing the structure crew. The construction gang boss is typically role of the ideation phase in pre-production. Once the gear up design is agreed upon, then it's the job of the gang boss to execute that vision and bring those ideas to life. The gang dominate makes sure the materials go far on fourth dimension, monitors deadlines, and manages quality control on all the construction projects.

bird

4. WRANGLER

A wrangler sounds like a character in a John Wayne film who wears dusty jeans and a lasso every bit a chugalug. Which sounds like a pretty cool gig. The wrangler on a film set isn't a bad gig either. In that location are a variety of wranglers – brute wranglers, child wranglers, vehicle wranglers – depending on what the film calls for. Generally, a wrangler is someone who's responsible for people or things that tin't intendance for themselves, such as wild animals, small children, and inanimate (but expensive) objects.

An beast wrangler is typically the person who'southward preparation the animals to perform whatever actions or behaviors are necessary in a scene, as well as keeping them clean-cut and relaxed between takes. A child wrangler is more like a combination of an acting omnibus and a really enthusiastic babysitter. They keep the young actor(s) focused when information technology's time to shoot a scene and watch over them when the camera isn't rolling to make sure they stay quiet, rubber, and entertained.

5. Food STYLIST

A food stylist for movies is the person who makes the food and drinks look appetizing throughout the grade of the shoot. Sounds pretty simple, correct? Cook some food, cascade a glass of vino, and set information technology on the table – voilà! Nope. A single scene could have hours or even days to shoot depending on the scenario, then that plate of pasta or piece of cake needs to await fresh in every ane of those 100 takes. Non only is the food stylist's task to whip up nutrient that looks good on photographic camera, only the food also needs to taste good enough to eat… over and over, potentially for hours on terminate.

The food stylist acquires the produce and products necessary to make the food, then they accept to prepare it while working on location (frequently from a food truck or a trailer). There'south also a fleck of inventiveness and chemistry involved when adding nutrient coloring, paint, sprays, or lacquer to certain foods to obtain the desired visual aesthetic. Once the food is placed with the actor(s) in the scene, then the food stylist refreshes and replaces food between takes, often preparing multiple servings of the same dish on long shoot days.

food prep

6. CRAFT SERVICE

Caterers serve the main two meals of the solar day on set, and craft service handles everything else. The craft service department was created to back up the "crafts" on ready – a.k.a. the production crew – and it provides all snacks, beverages, sandwiches, fruit, and sustenance between meals. In addition to making sure the snacks are stocked, the arts and crafts service department is also tasked with keeping the set clean.

Craft service is also the primal social hub – like the water cooler of a film prepare – where you tin can find the cast and coiffure hanging out betwixt takes. The sustenance provided by these "crafty" folks keeps everyone on ready energized during long shoots. Not everyone can interruption for the sit-down catered meals, then the crew relies heavily on arts and crafts service to keep them going. In recent years, craft service departments have become more than gourmet and artisanal, stepping up the typical sandwiches, bagels, and fruit to taco bars, fondue fountains, and freshly baked flatbreads.

vii. GRIP

The grip is a skilled technician who works across many departments on a moving picture and is responsible for setting up, rigging, and securing near all of the product equipment on set. The grips work with the lighting techs, and one time the electricians have fix the lights and the cables, then the grips build rigs to refine or "shape" the lite – blocking or diffusing light, using patterns or shadows. Grips ofttimes assist the construction coiffure in moving sets, building walls, and creating platforms. They likewise work closely with the camera section to build rigs and mount cameras on dollies, ladders, or cranes to get a detail shot. Sometimes information technology's as simple equally setting up a tripod in a field, other times the camera might need to hang from a speeding tank.

The key grip manages all the grips on set, and partners with the best male child, gaffer (more on these subsequently), and managing director of photography (DP) to strategize the best setup for each shot and build the necessary infrastructure to support the needs of each scene. Grips are the heavy lifters backside the execution of the pic's aesthetic, and they have a crucial role in bringing the director'south vision to life on the big screen.

explosion

8. PYROTECHNICIAN / ARMORER

This sounds like a function that might exist specific to activity movies, but pyrotechnics involve a lot more than simply blowing things up (though that'due south definitely function of the gig). A pyrotechnician is a licensed expert, both on the state and the federal level, who specializes in fire, explosions, and weapons. An armorer is a like office but tends to focus solely on weapons (armorers typically take a background in the military, police enforcement, or have apprenticed nether a professional weapons expert).

In add-on to blowing up cars and buildings, pyrotechnicians also handle the use of false bullets (squibs), any kind of flames or smoke, and tin even deal with shattered glass and other potentially dangerous and subversive items on set. The pyrotechnician / armorer as well determines which weapons fit a item era or fashion of film, makes certain all weapons are licensed for use, and educates the cast and crew nigh how to handle the weapons safely. This office requires a lot of advice and coordination between departments, from stunt specialists to the director to the camera operators, so the pyrotechnician / armorer tends to exist the liaison that ensures everyone is on the same folio before someone sparks the first friction match.

nine. GAFFER

The Brits apply the term "gaffer" every bit slang to refer to a grandfather, a godfather, or an older gent who's seen as an say-so figure ("There'due south the ol' gaffer!"). But in the U.S., the term unremarkably applies to the chief lighting technician on a moving-picture show set. The gaffer and the DP collaborate in the pre-product phase to design a lighting plan for the diverse scenes and settings. The gaffer oversees the implementation of the programme, working with the best male child and the key grip to consul tasks to their corresponding teams.

In the early days of pic, the studios used natural light to shoot, and controlled the quality and intensity of the sunlight by constructing a canvas ceiling that could be opened or airtight using a gaff (a long pole with a hook at the stop). Nowadays, at that place are computerized lighting boards that the gaffer supervises among other things, so no long hooks are required for the mod-solar day role, only the absurd title however stands.

lighting

10. Best Male child

We saved the all-time (boy) for concluding. A best male child is either the top electrician who functions equally the gaffer'due south right-hand human (er, boy) or the top grip who reports to the key grip – best boy electric and best boy grip, respectively. The best boy is considered second in command, supervising the crew and handling logistics and then that the gaffer or the key grip tin remain on prepare. The best boy electric manages everything from the lighting technicians to the equipment, and monitors the electric load to the generator so it doesn't blow out. The "best boy" title seems to apply regardless of whether a man or a woman holds the position, simply in that location are more than mod means to refer to this role – "banana master lighting technician" rather than "all-time male child electric."

The etymology of the phrase "all-time boy" isn't clear. The movie terminology glossary on IMDb suggests that the term may take originated in the pre-union days. Back and so, the electric and the grip departments were less defined and the gaffer or the key grip would often ask the other to borrow the "best boy" from one section to help out in the other. Another theory is that it comes from the nautical world where a ship captain's correct-mitt human was oft referred to as the "all-time boy" (and might have been a swain who was more appropriate to refer to as a boy). Regardless of the origin story, best boy is definitely the title that gets the most laughs and raised eyebrows during the closing credits.

Photo credits from pinnacle to lesser: Lia Koltyrina/Shutterstock.com; Scott Rothstein; Natalia Khalaman; Creatista; LaineN; a katz/Shutterstock.com.