What Does A Gaffer Do

I am a gaffer, which means I am the chief lighting technician on set. I work closely with the cinematographer and the director to create the mood and accurate lighting of the project, and I give direction to my lighting crew to set up the equipment needed for the scenes we are shooting.

My Typical Day

The fun part of this job is that there is no typical day at work, especially if you work on fiction like feature films, short films, or series. You can work either in the day or night, depending on when the story is set. When I work on commercials in studios though, it’s usually a 12 hour day. I often arrive 30 minutes before to have breakfast with the crew, and then we start working and set up the lighting for the scene. We change the lighting depending on what we are shooting and which story we want to tell.

Pros and Cons

In my opinion, there are way more pros than cons of my job. It feels like I’m not working but I spend my days playing with lights and cameras. Which is a lot of fun. Although, as a gaffer, you have to be able to handle stress pretty well, because you are working with a team and you don’t want to make people wait for you. So you always have to make sure you are working on schedule.

The lighting equipment is very heavy, it can be taken as a con but I do enjoy the feeling of working out as I am setting up the lights. To work as a gaffer, or on any jobs on set, you have to accept you will work a lot of hours, and that you won’t have a routine in your daily life. It’s part of the deal but it’s really worth it to me.

Advice to aspiring Gaffers

There are multiple ways to become a gaffer. The most common path is to go to film school. This way you can learn about each job on set and understand everyone’s role. Having this knowledge is a real asset for teamwork. When it comes to making sure you want to be a gaffer and not an art director, a first Assistant Director (commonly called the 1st AD), a producer, or any other job, I would say pick the one that feels the most right to you and that you enjoy the most. Talent will then come through hard work and never giving up.

One of the most important points that school teaches you is safety. Working with lighting equipment means you will have to work with electricity, and because of this, it can quickly become dangerous if you don’t follow proper safety rules. It is through knowing these safety rules that you will be able to work safely and efficiently when later on set.

After completing film school, the best way to be a good gaffer and learn quickly is to work on as many shoots as possible. At the beginning of your career, you will have to take every single opportunity, even if the shoots are with students and are unpaid. There is nothing better than practicing and learning through the experience of being on real sets.

Lighting is one of the most challenging elements to manage and set up. In order to become a skillful and talented gaffer, you will have to make a lot of tasteless lighting choices and learn from your mistakes. Once you start to feel more confident working with lighting, try to diversify the type of projects you are working on: different film genres, music videos, commercials, etc. You will be able to explore a lot of lighting universes because of the diversity of the projects.

The choice of becoming a filmmaker is not the easiest path. When you freelance you have to work hard and keep moving forward, to make sure you will be able to pay your bills at the end of the month. Routine won’t be in your vocabulary anymore. But is there anything better than having a job that you’re passionate about?

My strongest advice if you want to pursue a career as a gaffer is that making your way in this industry won’t be easy, but if you believe in yourself and you keep working hard you will get there. My deep passion for lighting brought me to this career faster than I could ever imagine. Dream big in order to accomplish bigger things.