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Learning path · Camera and lighting

Grip

Safety first: stands, sandbags, loads and working at height. Then the kit and craft: flags and frames, dollies and track, and jibs, cranes and car rigs at awareness level.

Free films in teaching order, for one craft. Watch, tick them off and test yourself. It's practice that prepares you for an Academy course. This one prepares you for the grip course (coming).

19 lessons · About 2 hours · New to set to working crew · Not started

Lesson 1

How to Use Sandbags on Set | Grip 101

Everything Grip and Electric · 5:22 · original on YouTube

You will learn: Bag every stand: where sandbags go and why.

Note: US source. UK terms: a lighting technician is a spark or electrician; the gaffer runs the department and the best boy is the gaffer's second. UK sets run on 230V. Every stand gets a bag, on the leg under the load. Ask your key grip how your crew does it.

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.

The hazards

  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?

By the end you will be able to

  • Set stands, flags and frames safely: bag every stand, handle loads properly, and only work at height when trained
  • Lay and level dolly track and operate a professional dolly
  • Explain how jibs, telescopic cranes and car rigs are built and kept safe
  • Understand UK camera-grip practice and how to get into the grade

Test yourself

Could you do it on a set?

4 real situations, one for each thing this path teaches. It's optional practice, not pass or fail, and your answers stay on this device.

You put up a 4x4 flag on a C-stand on a breezy location. What do you do?

Laying dolly track on uneven ground, how do you get it level?

A telescopic crane is set up. Before the arm swings over people, what must be in place?

In the UK, what are grips mainly responsible for?

Next: do it for real

Grip course: coming.

There isn't an Academy course for grip yet. Register interest and we'll tell you when it opens. Meanwhile, Day One covers safety and how a set runs for every department, and experienced crew can book a competency check directly.

Register interestStart Day One

How learning with FIF works

Learning path. Free films in teaching order, for one craft. Watch, tick them off and test yourself. It's practice that prepares you for an Academy course.

  1. Learn onlineFree films, paths and Academy coursesYou are here
  2. Competency checkA short check with us, online or in person
  3. In-person practicalOn our unit at Pinewood or 3 Mills
  4. FIF CertificateFrom the practical only

The FIF Certificate comes only from the practical. How it works · Book a competency check

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