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Set Builder |
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Description From a wild west ranch to the planet Mars, set builders build appropriate sets for television, advertising and printing establishments, motion picture productions, theater and stage productions, and other live or recorded productions. Sometimes called grips, they move and set up camera tracks and scenery and other necessary set building features. They are the jack-of-all-trades who do things like moving big set pieces in between scenes, propping up phony set walls, and holding the ladder for the lighting people. A set builder reports directly to the set designer or key grip. Set builders usually do some production and administration work along with the construction. In the set building department, one task is maintaining records to ensure that the inventory of equipment remains stable. Set builders are responsible for checking out, renting, or requisitioning all equipment needed for production and construction of sets. Set builders work as constructors, doing lighting as well as administrative work. Once the lighting technicians have placed, aimed, and adjusted the lights, set builders may set up the equipment used to cast shadows necessary to achieve desired effects. If placement of the camera requires moving the walls of the set, the set builder will rebuild and perform the manual work. Set builders may also unload the parts of the set that come from storage and place them for the carpenters or prop-makers to revamp. Also, whenever the sets need to be reassembled from storage, the set builders do it. Film sets are often built from scratch and thrown away when they are no longer needed. On feature films, set builders usually work in groups. Film sets are often quite flimsy -- instead of nails, set builders use a lot of staples, plywood and glue. Set builders often build hanging scaffolding above the perimeter of sets upon which lights used in the photography are placed. They also construct stationary and rolling scaffolds for platforms to hold the sets, the lights, and the camera. When a backing or a large painted background is required to simulate a view through windows and doors, it is the set builder who installs it. After the photography is completed, the grip crew is responsible for dismantling the backings, sets, and scaffolding. Set builders must also estimate construction costs and try to work within of their budget to maintain income and expenditures. A clerk is usually assigned to this department to help with the administrative burden, including keeping accurate records of the daily building personnel to ensure proper payroll for the department each week. |
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Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014-15 Edition, http://www.bls.gov/ooh/ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics, 2002, http://www.bls.gov/oes/2002/oes_nat.htm |
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