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Watch: Grip

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Career ladder

From first job to head of department

Bectu's Grips Branch keeps a list of certified grips. The route ScreenSkills describes: trainee, then after two years as a grip the Level 2 Diploma in Professional Competence for Grips, then after two to three more years the Level 3 Diploma for Advanced Grips.

Grips

  1. Entry grade Trainee grip Carrying, loading, laying track, helping the grip.
  2. Step 2 Grip Building and running rigs, track, dollies and mounts.Watch and read
  3. Step 3 A-camera gripAlso: dolly grip; best boy grip Runs the dolly on A camera, in time with the actors; or the best boy's logistics.Watch and read
  4. Top of the ladder Key grip Head of department: planning, crew, kit and safety.Watch and read

Specialists branch off the ladder at the grade shown; they aren't steps on it

  • Crane gripbeside GripBuilds and runs cranes and arms.
  • Rigging gripbeside GripPre-rigs mounts, car rigs and heavy builds.
  • Crane technicianbeside A-camera gripTelescopic cranes and remote heads.
Grade by grade: what you need before moving up
Grips
GradeWhat you doBefore moving up
Trainee gripCarrying, loading, laying track, helping the grip.Credits and safe handling of every piece of kit.
GripBuilding and running rigs, track, dollies and mounts.Two years as a grip, then the Level 2 diploma for Bectu certification.
A-camera gripAlso: dolly grip; best boy gripRuns the dolly on A camera, in time with the actors; or the best boy's logistics.Experience across rigs and the Level 3 advanced diploma.
Key gripHead of department: planning, crew, kit and safety.Credits as best boy or A-camera grip and the DoP's trust.

Bectu Grips Branch card, April 2024 · Route in: Junior grip apprenticeship (ST1318) · Every department's ladder: Careers A–Z · Getting work · Working freelance

Learn it, step by step

4 paths
See all: Learn it, step by step

Safety first

Stands, sandbags, loads and height

Grips move the camera and everything that holds it. Weight, height and moving kit are the hazards. The key grip runs it; the trainee's job is to carry right, bag everything and never guess.

Start the safety module Take the safety check

Watch first

Module 1 of Grip. Mark them done there to track your progress.

The hazards

7

What hurts people in this department on UK sets, and what keeps them safe.

  1. Stands and bagsA C-stand goes up with the heavy leg under the load and a sandbag on it. Every stand, every time. A stand that falls on someone is the most common grip accident.
  2. Carrying and liftingDolly track, weights and cases are heavy. Lift with two people, use the trolley, and say "coming through" and "corner" as you move.
  3. Dollies and trackKeep feet, fingers and cables out from under the wheels. Nobody sits on track. The dolly grip calls the move.
  4. Cranes and armsOnly trained, certified grips build and swing a crane. Everyone else stays out of the swing and never steps on or off a loaded crane without the operator saying so.
  5. Working at heightTowers, scaffold and platforms go up only with the right training and a check. Tools are tied off. Nobody works under a load being lifted.
  6. VehiclesCar rigs and tracking vehicles are planned with the key grip and the 1st AD, on closed roads or with police and permits. Nobody rides on a rig unless it was planned that way.
  7. Overhead linesCranes, arms and long poles stay well clear of overhead power lines, outdoors and on backlots.

Who is responsible

  • The key grip runs grip safety and signs off every rig.
  • The dolly grip owns the dolly and the move.
  • Crane and vehicle rigs are built only by certified grips.
  • The 1st AD briefs the unit and calls stop.

As a trainee, never

  • Never leave a stand un-bagged.
  • Never sit or stand on track, a dolly or a crane unless the grip tells you to.
  • Never touch a rig you haven't been shown, even to move it an inch.

Anyone can say stop. If something feels wrong, say so to your head of department or the 1st AD.

Where this comes from

Checked 13 November 2026. This is awareness, not a safety qualification: follow your production's risk assessment and your head of department.

Check yourself

4 situations. Get them all right.

Pass the safety check before the rest of the path. One wrong safety answer means try again. It's practice, and your answers stay on this device.

Question 1: You've put up a C-stand with a flag on it. There are no sandbags left on the truck. What do you do?

Question 2: The crane is loaded and the director wants to sit on it for a look. What do you do as a trainee?

Question 3: You're asked to carry a length of track on your own because everyone's busy. It's heavy and awkward.

Question 4: On an exterior, the crane will swing near some overhead cables. Who do you tell?

AI in film and TV

How AI fits this department

Camera paths planned in 3D and previs are increasingly handed to grips and robotic rigs. Safe, repeatable moves on set are what makes reference-driven AI shots work.

Learning path: AI for camera departments The AI channel Consent and credit

Grip, in detail

What grip does

Grips put the camera where it needs to be and move it. They lay and level track, push the dolly, build cranes and jibs, rig cameras to vehicles and structures, and mount heads and sliders. In prep they plan camera support with the DoP and operator, and write the risk assessment for every rig.

UK grip teams are often small: a key grip, a best boy grip and grips, with specialists for cranes and remote heads.

Who grip works with

The DoP and camera operator, on every move. The focus puller on rigs and builds. The 1st AD on safety and timings. Lighting on shared rigs and power. Locations and the art department on what can be fixed to a set or building.

Kit and vocabulary

  • Dolly: the wheeled camera platform, run on track or floor.
  • Track: straight and curved rails, levelled with wedges.
  • Jib and crane: arms that lift and swing the camera; larger cranes may carry a remote head.
  • Remote head: a camera head operated from a distance.
  • Rostrum / high hat / low boy: platforms and mounts for low and high positions.
  • Car rig / low loader: for shooting in and around moving vehicles.
  • Sandbag and apple box: the most-used pieces of kit on any set.

How to get in

Start as a trainee grip with a rental house or a key grip. In England the Junior grip apprenticeship (ST1318) is a formal route. Bectu certification follows experience and the diplomas above.

Pay: Bectu Grips Branch card, April 2024.

Where Futures in Film helps

Grip has its own apprenticeship and branch grading. Grip: where to go sets out the routes, and on a production simulation week (dates soon: register interest) you can work alongside grips on a crewed unit.

Who to know: Grip

A grip workshop group builds a camera on a stand in a warehouse full of grip equipment.Kit to own · Grip traineeWhat to bring on day one, and what not to buy.Safety boots with toe protection. Don't buy: dollies, track or rigging kit. that comes from the grip house on the production's hire.See the kit list

Other departments

17 departments
See all: Other departments

Where we come in

Grip trainees work on our units with dollies, track and remote heads, alongside a key grip.

ApplyTrain in Grip

Read for grip

The magazines and books people in grip read. Borrow the books free from a library.

All resources and reading: trade press, directories, libraries and more

Next for Grip

Last reviewed 9 November 2026