Indie Grip Guide

Most filmmakers are trained to obsess over cameras and lights, but the real gap in their skillset is almost always grip.
 
Grip work is what actually builds the shot: shaping light, rigging safely, and supporting camera movement. It quietly determines 15–30% of how your film looks and feels on screen. Yet most indie filmmakers, and even a lot of working directors and DPs, were never properly taught the tools, setups, or on-set etiquette that grips live by.
 
That missing knowledge shows up everywhere:
 
When you can’t explain the rig you want.
When you waste time fighting the sun instead of shaping it.
When you feel out of place around bigger crews or visiting productions.
When “plain English” on set is so packed with jargon it might as well be a foreign language.
When you know the image in your head, but not the grip language to get there.
 
The Indie Grip Guide is built to close that gap. It’s a practical, no-nonsense entry point into the grip world, simple enough for beginners, precise enough for directors, DPs, gaffers, and one-man bands who never got formal grip training but are tired of guessing on set.
 
What You’ll Learn

A clear, real-world breakdown of the tools, terms, setups, and safety habits that quietly separate confident, set-ready filmmakers from everyone else.